Written by Ana Perišić
Most often, we speak of freedom as the ability for man to do only good over and over again. Freedom and consciousness are the main determinants that define man’s anthropological-spiritual reality, his spiritual soul. Man can be, is and should be aware of who he is, who is his Source, what it is worth living for. And he is free if he agrees to the answers he senses in himself, which are true, good, constructive.
But man was not created by himself and only for himself. Man is woven into the image of God, he is one in himself – he is in communion with others. To exist, to be realized, to be purposeful, designed, ultimately happy, man needs another. Man should first know and associate with the Creator, and with the people around him, who are in his coexistence. In these healthy relationships, the ability to accept oneself is also created.
I have experienced many times how people are enslaved by their principles, thinking that by forgiving the person who hurt them, they lose themselves. I have often met those who, due to insults of their ancestors, without any acquaintance with the younger generations, brought negative attitudes about them, almost hating them. Many take over the life-style of the ideologies of their ancestors, despising God, morals, the Church and all those who are faithful to it. Creator is „killed“ in their heads and hearts, because they know that this is the only way to justify their affiliation with ideology.
No matter how misguided or forced, man decides. Which means that the path to freedom is the resolution of conflicts in relationships. The law of physics is almost valid if you acknowledge the Creator, if you know that you exist as long as you are grafted into his absoluteness, then you can coexist with others, equally wounded, relatively good people around you, but only then are you able to recognize your value , what you truly are. The cure, the most excellent way is forgiveness. Here are some examples from hagiotherapeutical practice.
A young woman came to the Centre. She was called out in a very ugly way at work. They wanted to impute a lie that could get her fired and be truly disgraced. She was so struck by the news that she ended up on sick leave for several months with tranquilizers. Her health condition deteriorated, although medically it did not indicate any real threat to her health. Upon arrival at hagiotherapy, it took time to point out her core value. It was only gradually that this unfortunate event began to be touched upon. Communicating what forgiveness means was decisive. When this young woman realized that it was a cure for her wounded soul, not an amnesty for the person who had done her injustice, she began to apply it daily. Over time, the weight around her heart gave way, she felt freedom. But the moment came to encounter with the person who had hurt her. She was extremely scared again. The meeting brought the expected relief, because as she went to meet her she listened to her insides realizing that she was free, that she forgave. The happiness was immeasurable. An apology from the person in question followed, but it would not have been even close enough to our hagiopatient if she had not become free from the evil that had wounded her heart by this injustice.
Another example relates to the experience of a person injured by a close family member. The disappointment was strong, but not only because the insult came from the neighbor, but also because the hagiopatient closed his eyes to that evil and negative behavior of his household.
Anger and bitterness towards oneself was greater than the insult. Anger at God was also evident as the hagiopatient was asked to sacrifice for the good of the family, helping the person concerned. Whatever was touched was painful. The therapy started with hagiotherapeutic laws in the human spiritual soul. Pointing out what anthropological health is, was a way out of the torment. It has been shown how important it is to accept the truth about oneself and that, as a seed, it will eventually bear the fruit of freedom and dignity. The image of the Creator was healed through the truth brought by Jesus Christ, since the hagiopatient was a practical believer. Over time, the importance of forgiveness was emphasized. The person accepted the medicine, at first with skepticism, but over time, anger, quarrels, feelings of lack of value subsided, so the meaning of these steps seemed logical, effective. Today, our hagiopatient treats his family member, who is an addict and thus a seriously ill man, with almost no symptoms of anger. This sacrifice, to live with such a person, is no longer a problem for the hagiopatient, because he distinguishes evil and disease from the man himself. He continued to forgive, as he has hope for the complete healing of his neighbour.
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Born in Split. For many years she worked as a teacher of vocational subjects at the Secondary Agricultural School in Zagreb, for which she previously studied at the Faculty of Agriculture and the Pedagogical Academy, also in Zagreb. After graduating from ITKL in 2004 at the Catholic Faculty of Theology in Zagreb, she took over the position of director of the Children’s Home and head of the Center for Rehabilitation and Occupational Therapy of the CZN. She also led the project Psychosocial and spiritual assistance to people in need in CZN. She currently works as a hagioassistant and mentor at the Center for Hagiotherapy – Split, and is one of the members of the editorial board of Hagio.hr.