Admitting Mistakes (05/05/2024)

December 8, 1967 was a big day for me. I was going to a state science fair to present my project. My parents were allowing me to drive the family station wagon and take two of my classmates. Everything went well and we arrived back home safely. But it was a holy day of obligation, the Immaculate Conception. My mother told us to go to church. A mass was starting in 10 minutes down the hill at Cathedral. We hopped back in the car and headed there. There was absolutely no parking anywhere; the Bishop was there, and from the parking lot, it looked like everyone in Sioux City was there, too.

One of my classmates suggested that we go to South Sioux to the mass there that started in 30 minutes. So, we did. But when we arrived back home, my mother was livid with me. When we weren’t home when she thought we should be, she sent my dad looking for us. I was nowhere to be found at Cathedral. I tried to explain, but to no avail. I was grounded. My friends looked on in amazement. We waited in silence until their parents picked them up.

Late the next day, my father came to my room where I was spending my “grounding.” My father sat down on the edge of the bed. He said he’d found the hymn sheet from the South Sioux church in the car. He said he’d realized we were trying to explain. And then he said, “I made a mistake. I am sorry.”

Obviously, I have never forgotten that moment nor its lesson. We make mistakes. And when we do, we need to admit it to those impacted. It’s not a sign of weakness to make mistakes; the sign of weakness is found in the inability to admit mistakes and to apologize to those who suffer because of them. It may seem odd to some, but that incident is one of the most meaningful in my teens. It taught me so much about who we are called to be in our relationships with others. It taught me how to be honest with myself and others. And it taught me the power of loving kindness and honesty when applied to a relationship is distress.

As we continue on our journeys of faith, hope and love, let us be aware that we will probably make mistakes along the way. Let us not be afraid to own our mistakes. Let us resolve to be the kind of disciples who can take responsibility, admit our failings, and seek forgiveness from those impacted.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.