During a recent episode of The Patrick Madrid Show, Patrick answered a simple but beautiful question from a listener named Bill: Where does the line we pray before Holy Communion actually come from? Does it trace back to the Roman centurion in the Gospels?
“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
Patrick’s answer was clear: yes.
He walked listeners through the scene in the Gospels where a Roman centurion, pagan by background, yet reverent and humble, approached Jesus with a request to heal his beloved servant. Knowing Christ’s authority, the soldier expressed profound faith: he understood that Jesus did not need to enter his home physically. His command alone would bring healing. As Patrick recalled, the centurion used the analogy of his own military authority: “I know what it’s like to tell a soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes; ‘Do this,’ and he does this.”
That moment of humility and trust is exactly what the Church invites us to echo at Mass. Like the centurion, we acknowledge both God’s infinite power and our own unworthiness, yet we come forward in faith, trusting that Christ can heal what we cannot.
Patrick also noted that the priest himself prays in persona Christi at the altar, acknowledging both his own sinfulness and that of the people. This recognition, he explained, is inseparable from the sacrifice made present at every Mass: the offering of Christ at the Cross, first instituted at the Last Supper and fulfilled the next day on Calvary.
Returning again to the centurion, Patrick added a deeper layer: the healing of the servant is symbolic of the healing of the soul. Just as Jesus healed lepers in the Gospels, these miracles point to the far greater healing He offers: the cure for the “disease of sin,” the wound that harms the soul even more than illness harms the body.
“So when the priest says this at Mass,” Patrick concluded, “and when we say the similar words at Mass…the ‘Lord, I am not worthy’… we’re invoking all of those dimensions of it.” It is humility, faith, repentance, and trust in Christ’s mercy all woven together in one short line.
A simple question led to a rich reminder: every time we pray those words, we stand with the centurion. We are poor, small, unworthy, yet confident in the healing power of Jesus Christ.
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