Lectio Divina – Matthew 8:5-17
1. Lectio – Reading
Read the passage slowly and attentively.
What does the text say?
First Reading Notes (NABRE):
- Ah, the story of the Roman Centurion, and the response to the Invitation to Communion.
- This was probably my least favorite re-translation I’ve had to re-learn.
- I do like this story, and I remember it being challenging to me as a child. This guy, a sort of paragon of the enemy, he has the most faith? How can that be?
- But it is in fact a beautiful faith. And the Centurion is standing right on the line of risking everything to profess it, but stands to gain so much.
- How scared he must’ve been that he would be turned away, told no, or shamed.
- But as the message is over, and over, and over again: there is endless grace and forgiveness available.
- All we need is a little bravery and a true heart.
Words or phrases that stood out:
- “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.” (NABRE)
Observations about the text (literal meaning, characters, structure, etc.):
This line was one of the re-translations from the 2010 Missal that gave me the most fits. “Why did they change the mass?!” I mentally would rage. (Old Man yells at cloud meme, here.) The line I grew up with, and had memorized is: “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word, and I shall be healed.” Surely, that’s the proper way, “to have you enter under my roof” sounds weird. I hated it.
As a child, you learn the Mass by exposure, copying those around you. It’s rote. Performative. Or at least it was to me. As an adult, coming back into the Church after many years away, and learning a new Missal more than a decade after it came out, I had to ask: “did they really change the mass?” and “If so, why?”
In short, the answer is ‘no.’ And the why makes some sense after some digging.
What is the Mass, is the first question to ask, then. Is the Mass its official English translation or the translation I prefer? Also, no. The language of the Catholic Church in the west is Latin. So, what’s the Latin say? The Latin in both the 1962 Missal and the 1970 Missal is: “Dómine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanábitur ánima mea.”
My Latin is a little rusty, but it does exist. “[U]t intres sub tectum meum,” is fairly clear: “that you should enter under my roof” would be my translation. Intres is the second-person present subjunctive, so neither the 1970 or 2010 English translations capture the subjunctive mood (which sadly is falling out use in modern English). Grammatical moods aside, the 2010 translation is a better word-for-word translation, and does let the congregation know they are actually quoting scripture, rather than merely making a formal, ritual statement. That was news to me. I never recognized this portion of the Mass as scripture. I didn’t recognize it, because the translation I grew up with obfuscated it.
I do appreciate still, however, the flexibility of “to receive you” as that can cover receiving an honored visitor in one’s house, as in the story of the Roman Centurion, or we poor sinners about to receive the Holy Eucharist into our bodies. That “feels more right” than wrangling with what part of my mouth/head is the roof. It’s a more flexible, and dare-I-say-it, useful translation. But there is artistic license in it, that prioritizes spiritual accessibility over literal precision.
Every translation is a synthesis between the author and the translator. No translator “perfectly” captures all of the surface level meaning, the subtext, the context, and the cultural climate of the author compared to the cultural climate of the reader. Translation is serious business, and it is hard. Choices have to be made.
The trend in the 2010 Missal, I now know, is towards a more faithful, word-for-word translation of the Latin Rite Mass.1 That’s the why.
So did they change the Mass? No, not really. But if they did, they only changed it back.
Second Reading Notes (NJB):
- Jesus said, ‘Go back, then; let this be done for you, as your faith demands.’
- Slightly awkward turn of phrase there. I wonder what that is in the Greek.
- ὡς ἐπίστευσας γενηθήτω σοι.
- Something like “as you believed, let it be done to you.”
- σοι is dative, so “to” not “for,” but “for” sounds more natural in English. The NABRE translation (unsurprisingly) is more literal.
- Slightly awkward turn of phrase there. I wonder what that is in the Greek.
2. Meditatio – Meditation
Reflect deeply on the meaning.
What is God saying to me through this passage?
Personal reflections and connections:
- I’m think back on my note above, that the Centurion must’ve been afraid that he would be turned away, or shamed. I’m reminded of the fear or uncomfortableness that we can experience before the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If you have ever had the concern that you would be denied absolution, then you absolutely know the tension I’m talking about. Yet the Centurion goes anyway, heart in hand. We, too, can approach God through both the Eucharist and Confession, heart in hand, with a little bit of bravery and whatever faith we can muster. It was enough for the Centurion, and in God’s mercy, it can be enough for us too.
3. Oratio – Prayer
Respond to God in prayer.
What do I want to say to God?
Prayer (thanksgiving, intercession, sorrow, praise, etc.):
- Lord, as you met the great faith of the Roman Centurion and delivered to him what he needed, may you also meet us where we are, and through your divine mercy deliver to us what we need. The faith of the Centurion, through your power, resulted in your healing of his servant. Help a like faith grow in our hearts. Plant its seeds, that it may bear the fruits of your will in ourselves and in others. Amen.
4. Contemplatio – Contemplation
Rest in God’s presence.
How is God inviting me to simply be with Him?
Time in silence:
What did I experience or notice in the stillness?
- I had a difficult time focusing today, I’m a little under-slept. I called my attention back to the stillness with my breath, and waited. Meeting us where we are at might also be meeting us when we are tired, unfocused, and struggling. Let us become comfortable in that tension, and rest in the faith that there is grace even there.
Extra: Actio – Action
Discern a step to live out the passage.
What action am I being called to take today?
- I will look for opportunities to bring my faith to God, and trust that what I need will be delivered.
Closing Prayer
- Lord, thank your for this time with your Word. Allow understanding to enter our minds and hearts, and change those minds and hearts that we may better emulate your Son, Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Footnotes:
Footnotes
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Liturgiam Authenticam (2001) shifted the Church’s official translation philosophy back toward formal equivalence. ↩