Unworthy, But Miraculously Healed

Have you ever noticed how many of the prayers that are part of the Mass have their origin in Sacred Scripture?  For example, take the following passage from the Gospel of Matthew:

“The centurion said in reply, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed ….’”  (Mat 8:8)

This closely resembles the words we pray immediately before receiving the Eucharist at Mass:

Lord“, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

In the case of the Scripture passage, the centurion had just asked Jesus to heal his servant who was suffering dreadfully due to paralysis.  But in his humility and because of his great faith, he knew that Jesus did not need to make the trek to his home to “enter under my roof,” but rather, he could just simply say the healing words right where they stood.  This, in fact, is what Jesus did.

So, too, at Mass, it is a prayer of humility … we are not worthy.  We are sinful beings and we acknowledge that Jesus can work the miracle of his forgiveness and we can receive him “under our roof" in spite of our unworthiness.  We have faith in Jesus' holy words and can then receive his body and blood in this wonderfully intimate sacrament while miraculously flooding our souls with the abundance of grace that accompanies it!  Amen!