Bishop Keehner presides at Mass of Reparation

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

As the Mass of Reparation and Healing opened at the Cathedral of the Epiphany in Sioux City on March 23, Bishop John E. Keehner set aside his miter and crosier – symbols of the episcopal office – as a sign of penance.

The entrance antiphon, “Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned,” set a tone for the liturgy and that same psalm, Psalm 51, was used for the responsorial.

Serving nearly 11 months as bishop, this was Bishop Keehner’s first time to preside at the Mass of Reparation in the diocese. He was joined by 12 priest concelebrants – a mix of active and retired priests some of whom traveled two hours to be at the Mass.

The worship aid for the Mass stated: “In the Catholic tradition, to make reparation means to offer to God an act of atonement or making amends for our individual sins or the sins of others against Christ and his church. The act serves as a way to repair his heart, which has been wounded by sin.”

In the homily, Bishop Keehner reflected on the paradox in the words Jesus offered in the Gospel of John 8:21-30 – the idea of finding refreshment not in letting go but rather in taking up.

“We find freedom and rest not in giving up all that we carry in this life but rather in taking on

Bishop John E. Keehner delivers homily during the Mass of Reparation.

additional burdens and responsibilities in the yoke Jesus offers to us as his followers,” said the bishop. “But this shouldn’t surprise us. Our faith is filled with paradoxes, with signs of contradiction.”

Even the central symbol of the Catholic faith, the cross, he noted was a sign of contradiction. Acknowledging that what can be a stumbling block for others as a sign of death, he said for Christians it is belief that light can outshine darkness, which is a testament that love is stronger than hate and life triumphs over death.

“And it is that same triumph of life over death that must be our hope even as we look upon our sinfulness and the sinfulness of those who have perpetrated the crime of sexual abuse on children and the vulnerable, especially clergy and those who have done so within the context of the church,” said Bishop Keehner.

Gathering for the Mass of Reparation, the bishop said he was conscious of the need for “ongoing conversion in every single aspect of our lives – conscious of the need for conversion among church leaders as we grapple with the reality of sexual abuse and the impact it has had not only on innocent victims but also on the faith of so many others including our priests.”

“We do so, of course, with remorse, with shame and with a certain degree of introspection as we consider how we ourselves may have contributed to a culture in which the dignity and sanctity of human lives have been treated so callously,” he added.

And yet, Bishop Keehner said it was done with hope that Jesus who invites the faithful to lay down their burdens by taking on the yoke of his love will not abandon them.

The bishop asked the congregation to place their faith in Jesus Christ, who by the very fact of his incarnation is a reminder that God loves his people so much that he created them in his likeness.

“Because we are created in the image and likeness of God, we are called, in spite of the burdens that we carry in this world, and the weariness which sometimes overwhelms us, in spite of our sins, to take the yoke of Jesus’ love upon our own shoulders that we might follow him wherever he will lead us,” said Bishop Keehner.

It is only in accepting the yoke and cross of Jesus, the bishop said when the people can live lives that reflect “not who we think we are, not how others see us but rather who and what God has created us to be – his very sons and daughters, whom he loves in a way we can never understand in this world.”

Among the prayers of the faithful were intentions asking that victims of abuse find healing and that members of the church stay committed to the protection of children and the vulnerable.

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