The Fullness of Life
Wholeness
It is a basic reality in life that we all are broken and wounded in some area of our being. We normally experience some inner conflict and division. This can be traced to the theological understanding of the effect of sin and our need of redemption.
When we sin we feel that something is "missing" or "lacking" in our life. Even in our most successful moments we feel that life is just empty and meaningless and incomplete.
This experience shows that sin tends to displace God's presence in us. Although God can never be completely absent in us because nothing can exist without Him. The moment He ceases to be in us we also cease to be; we are annihilated. But sin displaces God's presence in the sense that, because sin ultimately is a rejection of God, deep in our heart we experience His absence.
The heart, as we understand, figuratively refers to the inner self, or inner consciousness of man. Our Lord tells us that out of the fullness of the human heart a person pours out words or deeds either evil or good. When the sin is operative in our hearts, our words and actuations will lack a certain grace and spontaneity. We feel a certain "incompleteness" within us because we have refused God's presence in our hearts, and consequently, in our words and deeds.
The steps to our inner liberation, then, is first of all, to examine our heart and seek out the root of conflicts and uneasiness. Deep in our heart do we feel the guilt of a sin which we continue to deny. Often, this courage to face and examine our conscience is enough to help us regain some degree of inner freedom.
We need a close look at our conscience because sometimes we might even be mistaken. We often accuse ourselves falsely the way we often suspect other people of evil when probably they are innocent. A courageous and honest scrutiny of our heart, in this case, can easily clear us of the feeling of guilt. And this, too, is liberating.
Another step towards inner freedom and restoration into wholeness is to seek out a friend, a guide, or better still, a confessor to whom we can unburden our guilts, fears and anxieties. We need someone who can listen and understand our inner frustrations and real needs, and probably even minister the sacrament of reconciliation (confession) if necessary, in liberating us from the grip of sin.
If sin is the root cause of our feeling of emptiness, anxieties, frustrations, and inner turmoil, the only way to restore our wholeness is to repent, acknowledge our fault and be reconciled to God and to His Church (His people).
The process of reconciliation reminds us of the Gospel parable about the Good Shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep in a safe place in search of the strayed one. Upon finding the stray sheep he carried it on his shoulder and brought it back to restore the flock to wholeness. (Cf. Lk 15:3-7).
The sacrament of reconciliation not only restores the repentant sinner back to the fold of the Church which experienced the pains of missing a member, but also fills up what has been "empty" and "missing" in the heart of the one who had rejected God's presence. With this restored divine presence, there is now a new sense of direction and inner freedom, and above all, a feeling of peace and wholeness in us.