Newsletters
Spring Newsletter, 2004
Volume 1, Issue 2

The Reality of the Human Soul
You are immortal: a composite physical/spiritual being. How often do you think only of the physical aspect of your being and overlook the spiritual. Your intellect and will do not exist in your brain but in your soul. In this life, your soul utilizes and depends upon your brain to think thoughts, but those thoughts originate in your soul. Your body changes dramatically throughout life: from a tiny fetus, to a child, to an adult, and to an old man or woman, but you are always the same person: the same soul.

A soul is the principle of life in a living thing. As such, even plants and animals have souls, although these souls cease to exist once the plant or animal dies. Only a human being has an immortal, spiritual soul, endowed with a rational intellect and free will: the ability to choose between right and wrong. This free will places us infinitely above the animals who function by instinct alone, even when they demonstrate such noble traits as love and loyalty. Animals do not choose to act this way. The beauty, intelligence and love apparent in their acts are reflections of the beauty, intelligence and love of God who created their instincts. An animal's instinct does not allow it the freedom to reject God's will. This leads some to believe that animals are superior to humans who often do reject God's will and commit evil acts. What is superior is not the animal, but the unaltered beauty of God reflected in the animal's instinct. That beauty is obscured in human beings who use their free will to turn away from God and commit sin.

The Soul and Medical Ethics
How does all this apply to day-to-day living? When this understanding of the human soul is forgotten, a proper sense of ethics and morality is lost. Many people believe that human beings have souls, yet they still support abortion, somehow thinking that an embryo does not have a soul. Since the human being is physically complete after conception, it makes sense that the soul would also be present. But the soul is spiritual, nonmaterial; you cannot see, touch, or feel its presence. It is impossible to scientifically prove that the soul is present at the moment of conception, but by the same token, it is impossible to prove that it is not present. Just as a demolition team is morally obliged to be absolutely certain there are no children playing in a building they are about to demolish, so too are physicians and scientists obliged to be absolutely certain there are not human souls in the early embryos they are destroying, freezing or experimenting upon. Since they cannot prove the absence of the soul, they cannot ethically harm these tiny human beings.

A confused understanding of the mind also leads to profound immoral and unethical acts. When you forget that the intellect is above the brain, not within it, you can look at a brain damaged person as being dead or a "vegetable". The brain is an organ, and like other organs such as the kidneys or heart, it can fail. Sometimes the failure is irreversible, though often the brain recovers. There have been patients considered "brain dead" and removed from life support who have subsequently recovered with full mental and physical abilities. A human person is not just a pattern of electrical impulses within a brain. A person is the combination of an immortal soul with a human body.

When people fail to understand the difference between human beings and animals, they overlook our amazing and unique gift of free will, as well as the responsibility associated with it. Our superiority to other animals should not lead to a lack of respect for them, but instead to a profound recognition of our responsibility to use our free will in the proper manner: to choose to do the will of God.

Our Souls are Restless
The thirst and hunger for happiness is a part of our bodies; we're wired that way. But the fulfillment of this hunger is beyond the body. True happiness is not found in physical things or in self-gratification, but in seeking God.

We are meant to enjoy the things of this world, like eating ice cream sundaes, playing volleyball, listening to music or watching a comedy. But these things which we enjoy are meant to lead us to God. If we become overly attached to them, like eating ice cream with gluttony, then they pull us away from God. For our own happiness, we should be seeking God in all that we do, regardless of what that is. Mel Gibson and Jim Caviezel are excellent examples of how people can live in the midst of extreme materialism and self-gratification such as in the Hollywood world, and yet seek God first and foremost in their lives. They are quenching their thirst for happiness in the only effective way possible: through the soul, not the body.

Prayer and The Soul
Something to keep in mind when you pray is the infinite difference between yourself and God. As your soul reaches out to God, you are moving from the world you see, know and touch, to the unfathomable God : the "darkness that is light." In this life, total understanding of God is beyond our senses, just as a man born blind cannot comprehend color. Try as he may, he can never "feel" the difference between red and blue.

Jesus as true man is our way because we can comprehend his humanity. We read his words and visualize his actions. We picture his humanity, but we must not forget his divinity. Jesus with The Father and Holy Spirit are present in our souls. Through faith we know they are there, even though our senses cannot perceive them. Prayer is not primarily about feeling, or even thinking, but about loving. Bring to mind a concept or image which makes you aware of your love for God and His love for you. Put yourself closer to God's presence in your soul. Live the gospels. Make your choices according to the Church's teaching, and you will see visible effects in your life from the invisible graces you will receive.

Newsletters:
Evolution
The Stigmata
Extraterrestrials
The Real Presence
The Eucharist
Providence
Theology of the Body
Faith and Reason
The Reality of the Human Soul