"Lord I am not worth to receive You, but..."

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Am I the only one who sees a close corrolation between the words said at Mass, and the words of the leper, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean”? I know the words are taken from the Roman centurion, but I feel more akin to the leper when I say these words, for I am the one unclean, not my servant.

BTW, I do love so very much the words before communion, for it acknowledges that we are healed through God’s actions, not of our own - although our works of love are normally necessary to gain these graces.
 
bilop said:
Bad translation into the English. From the old Mass
Dómine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanábitur ánima mea.

Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof; say but the word, and my soul shall be healed
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As said above, it is a quote from the Gospels.
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But is it an appropriate quote from the Gospel?

Enter under what roof? The roof of my mouth?

And scripture says my servant shall be healed? Should we be changing the words of scripture?

If we can change the words why not leave out the bit about the roof as it doesn’t make sense?
 
This is not a botched translation as the Latin word is “anima,” or soul. This is taken directly from the Tridentine mass which I have on my desk before me. The translation is the same in every missal I ever owned. It is not a quotation from scripture but a reference to scripture.
Pick up an old St. Joseph’s Missal, either Sunday or Daily version and look it over. No, we are not worthy, even if we were shriven immediately before mass began. We approach the Eucharist with humility and a sense of shame at our sinfulness. It is fitting that we ask for healing of our souls with the very breath we take at the reception of the sacrament.

Matthew
 
Just a personal observation (rather than church) when we say this prayer directly before receiving the Lord we are reminded that the leper approached Jesus and said that if he (Jesus) wanted to he (Jesus) could heal the leper. Jesus responded by saying that of course he wanted to heal him.

therefore, when we pray this prayer we are telling the Lord that we know we are sinners but that in his infinite love and mercy we trust him (Jesus) to heal us (mind, body, soul & spirit) so that he can work in every area of our lives to make us more like him.

May the Lord show you the power of this prayer each time you pray it.
 
Lynette_Lane said:
Just a personal observation (rather than church) when we say this prayer directly before receiving the Lord we are reminded that the leper approached Jesus and said that if he (Jesus) wanted to he (Jesus) could heal the leper. Jesus responded by saying that of course he wanted to heal him.

therefore, when we pray this prayer we are telling the Lord that we know we are sinners but that in his infinite love and mercy we trust him (Jesus) to heal us (mind, body, soul & spirit) so that he can work in every area of our lives to make us more like him.

May the Lord show you the power of this prayer each time you pray it.
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BRILLIANT!!! This is simply Brilliant!!!

I refer you to post #21 😉

Notworthy’s note: The measure of someone’s perceived intelligence is often proportional to how much they agree with you - Mark Twain.
 
During the second eucharistic prayer we hear that “God counts us worthy to stand in his presence and (to) serve him.” This provides us with a fresh perspective on the words we pray before receiving communion. The context is that none of us is worthy compared to God’s Holy One. The centurion in the scripture verse was not a member of the household of faith so he didn’t feel worthy that Jesus–whom he thought of as a holy miracle worker-- would have to go to the bother of traveling to his house to heal his servant. He reasoned that Jesus could heal his servant merely by the power of his word. And that’s precisely what happened.

Our praying this prayer should fill us with awe at the prospect of being nourished by the Lord’s own body and blood which bring us everlasting life. This reception is far, far more than a moment of pious union with Christ. It is the sacrament that unites us not only with the Triune God but with all the members of Christ’s body as well. How much consciousness is there among the members of this forum that singing the communion song gives audible expression to our being in union with Christ and with each other in this most holy sacrament of the altar? We adore Christ and we bless Him through the action of uniting ourselves with the members of the assembly. I’ve known of people who receive communion and who are so “caught up” with the effort to adore Christ that they think of the other people as a distraction.

We are both worthy and unworthy.
 
fjacks

well said! 👍

Many people who focus too much on their unworthiness, lose what the gospel message really is about. They have little concept of God’s mercy, and although they see themselves as unworthy, the see others as even less worthy, and as a result, they have little mercy toward others.

Don’t go down this path!

We have to remember that God loves us, irrespective of our worth. We tend to place conditions on love, God does not.

Jim
 
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