A Roman centurion of the imperial garrison at Capernaum — a Gentile who had built the local synagogue out of his own funds — had a beloved servant lying paralysed and 'tormented' at the point of death. He sent Jewish elders to Christ, asking for help. As Christ approached the house, the centurion sent friends with the words that have entered the Roman liturgy itself: 'Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof; only say the word and my servant shall be healed.'
Christ marvelled at the faith of this Gentile soldier of the occupying army. 'I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.' At that hour the servant, miles away, was healed. The centurion's words have been preserved in the Catholic Mass before Communion for nearly two millennia: 'Domine, non sum dignus.'