Human beings, are creatures of God composed of a body and a soul. The soul is made in the image and likeness of God. It is a spirit endowed with intelligence and free will. Soul is not just another word for Spirit. Animals have souls, but their souls are not spirits. Only humans have souls that are spirit. The human soul is the only kind of soul that is also a spirits.
Soul is defined as the principle of life in a living body. Angels therefore are not souls. They do not animate a body. Animals have souls which are material and not immortal. The human soul however, is defined as the ultimate internal principle which animates our bodies and by which we feel, think and will.
What Is A Human Being?
The Human Person is a Union of Soul and Body. The human soul is a spiritual substance, capable of existing by itself, and we know from Revelation that it does so exist between physical death and resurrection of the body. In this life, the body cannot perform a single action independent of the soul, nor can the soul do anything independent of the body.
Each soul is a direct creation of God.
Each soul is united with the body at the time of conception. It is spiritual. It is not made up of parts which are distinct and separable. Hence even though the body dies, the soul cannot undergo corruption. The only way it could cease to exist would be through annihilation by God, and that would be against his wisdom, goodness and justice. Men and women were created by God in goodness and holiness. With the fall of Adam (Gen.3:1-8) we were deprived of sanctifying grace, the divine life of the soul. Human beings no longer possessed the state of holiness needed to enter eternal bliss. God promised us a remedy, and when Jesus started his public mission He was recognized as the promised Messiah. He told his disciples, "All power has been given to me in heaven and on earth...." (Mt. 28:18)
Jesus' Mission
Jesus' whole mission, His entire life, His sufferings, death, and resurrection are built on the knowledge that we are called to live in happiness with God for eternity. Christ lived and died to redeem us from the consequences of original sin and to obtain for us the right to call ourselves adopted children of God, with a new life.
Sanctifying Grace
This is the new life of grace which Christ gives us in Baptism is absolutely distinct from the natural life we receive from our parents. It is not just the ennobling of the natural life by the adoption of rules of conduct. We actually receive a new principle of life which changes us and gives us a new life which is supernatural. One way to help us understand the true significance of a supernatural level of existence is to consider adoption. Can we adopt a pet in the same way as we would a human baby? The pet could never function with intellect and will as the human does, because it does not possess our human nature. In Adam our nature had fallen, but Jesus, through His life, death, and resurrection, restored all that had been lost and gave us a created sharing in God's own life, so that we can call God "Abba." That is Father.
How does the soul grow and mature?
The new life of the soul or sanctifying grace is a supernatural gift bestowed on us by God through the merits of Jesus Christ for our salvation. It is something real, just as the soul itself is real. That "seed of glory" which we received at Baptism, must be nourished and grow.The knowledge of God and what He expects of us is, therefore, the most important quest that can claim the attention of our minds. Jesus did not leave us orphans when He went home to the Father. Jesus formed a Church that would be the keeper and despenser of the infinite treasure of His teachings and merits. For us Catholics the word of God comes to us through two channels the Catechism and the Bible. The truths are more detailed in the Catechism. To get to know the man Jesus, so we can come to love him, we need to get acquainted with the New Testament especially the Gospels. Spiritual friends can be a great source of knowledge, help and support to us as we try to live out our high calling as children of God who are called to do the will of the Father in our lives.
The Church continues the work of Jesus.
Jesus consecrated priests, and He impowered them to impart sanctifying grace to us through the sacraments. His Church is still continuing his works. All who receive the Sacrament of Baptism are empowered to grow in grace and to live as "other Christs", accomplishing the will of the Father just as Jesus did. He left us his greatest gift in the Eucharist to nourish our souls, and to live in communion with him. If we turn away from God and lose sanctifying grace through mortal sin, the divine life of our souls can be restored in the sacrament of Penance. Through the other sacraments we get Special Blessings at the major junctures of our lives.Yes, during life we are engaged in the task of making our souls ready for eternity. Many times Our Lord speaks of the afterlife. Here are some examples: "Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life." (John 6:27) "If anyone eats this bread he will live forever" (John 6:52). "For God so loved the world, as to give His only begotten Son; that whoever believeth in him, may not perish, but have life everlasting" (John 3:16). "This day you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).
