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Why Did We Change That???

Lots of expressions in our Mass come straight from the words of sacred scripture, and this was not always obvious in our old translation. The prayer that we say before Communion offers a clear example of a mass prayer that comes straight from the Word of God.

The Prayer before Communion:

BEFORE: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

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

In chapter 8 of Matthew’s Gospel, a centurion, which is an officer of the Roman Army, begs Jesus to heal his dying servant. The centurion does not feel that he is special enough to have Jesus enter his house, and he believes that Jesus could heal his servant by simply giving an order for him to be healed. So, in verse 8, the centurion approaches Jesus and says with the utmost respect and humility, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed.”
By praying the centurion’s exact words (except for the words “my servant” which remain “my soul”) before we go to communion, we are saying that we believe in the power of Jesus. We are praying that God would heal us and come to us, just as he healed the centurion’s servant.