Reflect today on your humility and trust

Lord, I am not worthy to let you enter under my roof; just say the word and my servant will be healed. "Matthew 8: 8

This familiar phrase is repeated every time we prepare to go to Holy Communion. It is a declaration of great humility and trust by the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant from afar.

Jesus is impressed by the faith of this man who says that "in no one in Israel have I found such faith". It is worth considering this man's faith as a model for our own faith.

First, let's take a look at his humility. The centurion acknowledges that he is not "worthy" to have Jesus come to his house. This is true. None of us are worthy of such a great grace. The house to which this refers spiritually is our soul. We are not worthy of Jesus who comes to our souls to make His home there. In the beginning this can be difficult to accept. Aren't we really worthy of this? Well, no, we are not. This is just the fact.

It is important to know that this is the case so that, in this humble realization, we can also recognize that Jesus chooses to come to us anyway. Recognizing our unworthiness should do nothing but fill us with great gratitude for the fact that Jesus comes to us in this humble state. This man was justified in the sense that God poured out his grace on him for his humility.

He also had great confidence in Jesus. And the fact that the centurion knew he was not worthy of such grace makes his trust even more sacred. It is sacred in that he knew he was not worthy, but he also knew that Jesus loved him anyway and wanted to come to him and heal his servant.

This shows us that our trust in Jesus should not be based on whether or not we have a right to His presence in our life, rather, it shows us that our trust is based on our knowledge of his infinite mercy and compassion. When we see that mercy and compassion, we will be able to seek it. Again, we don't do it because we have the right; rather, we do it because it is what Jesus wants. He wants us to seek his mercy despite our unworthiness.

Reflect today on your humility and trust. Can you pray this prayer with the same faith as the centurion? Let it be a model for you especially every time you prepare to receive Jesus "under your roof" in Holy Communion.

Sir, I'm not worthy of you. I am not particularly worthy to receive you in Holy Communion. Help me to humbly recognize this fact and, in that humility, help me also to recognize the fact that you want to come to me anyway. Jesus I believe in you.