"Lord I am not worthy hat you should enter under my roof but only say the words and my soul shall be healed."

I love this prayer that we now say at Mass just before Communion. I know lots of people don't, Alex thinks it's stupid and doesn't make sense but I get such joy from it. It is more subtle than the earlier response we used to say and I love it because it was the reply of a powerful but truly humble man; a Centurian. I think the man's true humility permeates this prayer. It is not a prayer made up by a committee or even an anonymous cleric we know nothing about; we know about this man and know how astonishing such a humble reply by a man of a Master Race to an apparently itinerant Jewish peasant.

I also love it because it has been the traditional response by Catholics for centuries and I am growing in my understanding that the Catholic Church is a Church of Traditions. It has a history and deep, deep roots. Better people than us have developed these roots and preserved them for us. I am learning to embrace them.