In the book “Finding Freedom in Christ: Healing Life’s Hurts,” Matthew Breuninger provides us a “theology (systematically developed religious beliefs and theory) from the intersection of Catholic faith and the science of psychology, as a framework and language we can use for examining and healing painful memories and experiences that have caused wounds in our life.”
Brueninger, associate professor of psychology at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, and founder of Wellspring Counseling and Coaching, does a wonderful job of blending in real-life examples, stories from the Bible, and principles of psychology throughout the book and I really liked how he leads us on a journey from awareness that we all suffer wounds, to understanding as to what causes our wounds, reaffirmation that God loves us and wants to help us heal, and, ultimately through his six-step healing process we experience conversion and more fully live out our giftedness of freedom and loving others freely.
The first six chapters of this book prepare us for the hard work of recognizing and confronting our wounds. We are reminded that we all suffer wounds, that God wants to help us heal so that we can love for the good (Saint John Paul II – “freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”), and by “grafting ourselves with the vine of Christ (John 15:5) we allow his power and grace to flow through every aspect of our lives,” and we are free to love. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)
The focus of chapters 7-10 is on Brueninger’s “Six Step Model for Healing” and the virtues of humility, faith, courage, hope, justice and charity. Working through the steps requires strong commitment (sacrifice of time and pride). It involves abandonment of self-preservation tactics we may use to avoid our wounds and creates new habits that can lead to a closer relationship with Christ.
However, the hard work done here points us to the conversion we may need for using our giftedness in begetting good. “The good that is to be accomplished by our human freedom is precisely the good of the virtues.” (St. Thomas Aquinas)
In the last chapter of the book, Brueninger reminds us that healing our wounds is a life-long journey, and he recommends we utilize four daily actions for the constant support we might need. These actions are prayer, gratitude, forgiveness and acceptance.
In closing, I share a story that helped me connect the journey of conversion discussed in “Finding Freedom in Christ.” The story was delivered by our local parish priest in a recent Mass homily.
According to Father Bala Pudota, “The sages of India commonly prayed the ‘Guru mantra’ in Sanskrit language every morning centuries before Christ: ‘From falsehood lead me to truth, from darkness lead me to light, from mortality lead me to immortality.’ Centuries later Jesus gave the answer to their prayer through his claim: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life.’”
If you are ready to begin healing your wounds so you can live your “giftedness” and grow spiritually, I highly recommend you use “Finding Freedom in Christ” as an “aid” in your conversion. And, if you would like to know more about Brueninger’s general message on “Healing Life’s Hurts,” I suggest you go to the link below and watch a recent presentation he delivered at a luncheon meeting: https://vimeo.com/715750014.
John H. Dolezal is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.