Smorgasbord #73

Failing Successfully | Miracle | Oculi Sunday

Mar 21, 2025

Failing Successfully

Last week, I wrote about my need to approach the sacrament of reconciliation. I usually go to my home parish on Saturday mornings. We’re blessed to have two priests hear confessions from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. However, this past weekend, all the Cantú men had haircut appointments in the morning, and I went to St. Bernadette’s a few miles down the road. They also have two priests hearing confessions from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., but the trick is to get there around 2:30 so you’re toward the front of the line and you get to go.

I’d dare say St. Bernadette is the most beautiful Church in the Diocese of Phoenix. Don’t get me wrong; I love St. Joan of Arc (my home parish), but check out St. Bernadette’s virtual tour. It’s very easy to spend time in contemplation by looking up at the different scenes on the ceiling. Plus, they have one of my favorites, Blessed Solanus Casey, along with other blesseds and saints from the Americas.

The light on top of the confessional turned green, and I went into the little room behind it and knelt in front of the screen. I went to confession with the associate pastor, Fr. Darius, from Burundi. After I made my confession, he encouraged me to forget my past and hope for a better future with Christ. He encouraged me to see every annoyance and sacrifice as a way to share in the suffering of our Lord and imitate Him. I was very affected by his words. I felt the tenderness of a father who corrects their child out of love. I barely made it through the act of contrition before I started feeling the tears rolling down my eyes.

It had been a while since I got the gift of tears, and I have to say, it is equal parts embarrassing and wonderful. Imagine you see a 300-pound man with a huge beard sobbing in the pew in front of a statue of Mary. That was me while doing my penance.

Fasting has been challenging this Lent, but prayer has been good. I’ve been doing okay in the almsgiving department, but I’m still impatient, overwhelmed, and angry at the same little things. Maybe not so much right after confession, but give me a week and a half, and I start to get short-fused. This is a good reminder that I need grace and that I can’t do anything outside of Him. And that’s how my Lent is going. In other words, I’m failing successfully.

Miracle

On Sunday, March 2nd, Mrs. Cantú, the kids, and I were with a few other families at our parish to rehearse an Irish dance for the upcoming St. Patrick’s celebration. When we got there, we found out that the son of a fellow parishioner was in the hospital after almost drowning. This is a fourteen-month-old baby. Mrs. Cantú and I are godparents to one of his brothers and friends with the parents to whom our hearts went out in this nightmare scenario.

That night, our pastor asked our parish community to gather at our chapel and pray for baby Vincent's full recovery. Multiple prayer chains started that night. We found out that it took about 50 minutes of CPR to resuscitate him and that he had no pulse. All we knew was that he was in the PICU and that we needed to pray.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Cantú and I helped create a caring bridge page to share updates with anyone who wanted to follow Vincent’s progress. Vincent’s dad, Wes, texted me what they wanted posted, and I did that on their behalf. We also set up a meal train for them, and it was incredible to see every single date claimed within 24 hours. It was no surprise to see all the moms from the parish rally around this family, visit them at the hospital, and help watch Vincent’s siblings on top of everything else.

The next day, they started a novena to Blessed Michael McGivney. Someone from our parish gave them a first-class relic of the founder of the Knights of Columbus, and Vincent continued progressing. His MRI came back normal, with no damage to the brain. His lungs had some fluid in them; they cleared out. He got his feeding tube out and started eating solids without a problem. Vincent got to go home on the last day of the novena.

The power of prayer is real. Miracles are happening all around us; we just need to have eyes to see them. God can and will use everything for good. In your mercy, please pray for the Robinson family to be completely healed from this experience.

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever.

Oculi Sunday

My eyes are always on the Lord, for he will free my feet from the snare; look upon me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor.
V. Lord, I have lifted up my soul to thee; my God, in thee is my confidence, I shall not be ashamed.

Continuing with the Lenten theme, the third Sunday of Lent, or Oculi Sunday, gets its name, you guessed it, from the first word of the introit in Latin, from Psalm 25.

Whether you go to a Scrutiny Mass or a regular third Sunday of Lent Mass, you could hear John 4:5-42 (The Samaritan Woman at the well) or Luke 13:1-9 (The fig tree that bore no fruit) proclaim. Both gospel accounts deal with repentance.

I know I have laid the confession talk thick lately, but it is for a good reason. If we want to receive worthily, we should be in the state of grace. If we are in the state of grace, we’re participating in the life of God. If we participate in the life of God, we can sanctify our lives and the world.

Maybe you have never been to the sacrament. Perhaps you don’t understand why you must confess to a priest instead of going directly to God. Perhaps you think that God can’t forgive that one thing you are holding on to. Perhaps you’ve been away for a while. I would encourage you to examine your conscience and see if it’s time to visit the Divine Physician. He came for those of us who were sick.

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Sobremesa

Are you failing successfully this Lent?
Any miracles you’d like to report?
How awesome is Floriani Sacred Music?