Domine, non sum dignus...

...ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo et sanabitur anima mea.

Today I went to my last Sunday EF Mass for probably a very long time. And so I'm quite sad. The older liturgy has really enriched my view of Catholicism, and made me feel connected to the very same Mass that so many saints of old attended while here on earth. Today, the Gospel concerned the curing of a leper and the faith of the centurion when Jesus cured his servant. It is from this passage that we get the (soon to be) "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed". It is in this confession (in the EF it is said threefold while beating the breast) that we acknowledge how we are always unworthy to receive the Lord, yet He still invites us to come to Him, for He is "meek and humble of heart" and in Him we "find rest for [our] souls". Yet again we can marvel at the depths of the love of our Saviour, that He suffers our sinfulness even in our reception of Him (sadly, given the large difference in the Communion lines with the Confession lines, many people receive truly unworthily with mortal sin on their souls). In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Lord calls us and moves our hearts to approach the fountain of mercy which pours from His own, and then gives His Body and Blood for us, that we may become like Him, and love to a greater capacity, and love more truly, with the love of God. Lord, we truly are not worthy of such favour. And that is why it is called grace - gratia - because it is gratis.