Understanding the Soul
February 7, 2005

We all have a soul! Jesus Christ, in Holy Scripture speaks of the Soul, but does not really define it. So what is a soul? In Latin, the word is "Anima" as in "Anima Christi" - "The Soul of Christ." A 14th Century prayer by that name reads as follows:

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen

Some say that the "soul" is a religious term expressing belief in an eternal self.  It is our true self: the innermost part of each person. It is that part of us that transcends time, it is God in us because God created us with a soul. The word "soul" is mentioned 143+ times in Holy Scriptures. It is mentioned in hundreds of books from Psychology to Spirituality. Yet it is often most neglected.

If a soul, isn't open to God's word, that soul will starve and die. The state of health of the soul determines the state of health of the body. Deep observance of spirituality cures a wounded soul. For a thorough explanation how spirituality benefits the soul, please turn to THE THREE WAYS OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, OP, 1938 (on this website).

The life of the soul has nothing to do with pleasure or "feeling good," but it is directly related to LOVE, God's love. When we have love and we realize that we should love our sisters and brothers as we do love God, then there will not be any emptiness, meaninglessness, depression, nor a hunger for spirituality. Unfortunately many yearn for pleasure, power, supremacy, sexual fulfillment, etc. These hungers are our ego run amuck.

Dr. Thomas Moore, in his book Care of the Soul, writes, "Soul" is not a thing, but a quality or a dimension of experiencing life and ourselves. It has to do with depth, value, relatedness, heart, and personal substance." (1992, © Thomas Moore. HarperCollins Publishers)

Thus our souls are places of substance and value, rather than centers of pleasure and material things. Now if only we can come to grips with our abuses and seek to live our lives in substantially valuable ways. If we find Jesus Christ, and study His Life and Teachings, we will find a happiness we have never known before. There is no room for despondency in such a life, and thus, the more we love Him, the less we will crave for "the pleasures of the world." May God richly bless you in the pursuit of learning more about Jesus and His Ways.

Fred Schaeffer, SFO

LETTING OURSELVES BE MADE SAINTS IS EVERY CHRISTIAN'S TASK
 
VATICAN CITY, NOV 1, 2007 (VIS). Just before noon today, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study overlooking St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with thousands of pilgrims.
 
  "Today, on the solemnity of All Saints," said the Pope, "our heart reaches out beyond the boundaries of space and time, reaches to heaven. At the beginnings of Christianity, the members of the Church were also called 'saints'."
 
"Effectively, Christians are already saints," the Holy Father stressed, "because baptism unites us to Jesus and his paschal mystery, but at the same time we must let ourselves be made holy, make ourselves ever more like him. At times it is thought that holiness is a condition of privilege reserved for the elect few. In reality, to let oneself be made saint is the task of each Christian and, even more, of every human being."
 
  Benedict XVI referenced St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians where it is written that God "has blessed us in Christ, as he chose us in him, so that we might be holy and without blemish before him in love" and explained that "all human beings are thus called to the holiness that, ultimately, consists in living in his 'likeness', as children of God, as all beings were created to do".
 
  "Today, human beings are the children of God and should conform to their call through the path demanded by freedom. God invites us all to be part of his holy people. That path is Christ, the Son, God's holy one."
 
  Afterward, the Pope recalled that "the Church has wisely conformed itself closely to the celebration of All Saints and the commemoration of the dead" so that "our prayers of praise to God and veneration of the blessed souls that the liturgy today presents as 'a great multitude' might join with the prayer for the release of those souls who have gone before us in passing from this world to eternal life".
 
"Truthfully," the Holy Father concluded, "the Church invites us to pray for the dead every day, offering also our sufferings and difficulties that they, once completely purified, might be admitted to enjoy the light and peace of the Lord for all eternity."