Good as my soul

As a Roman Catholic, I accept the teachings of my faith that a soul exists within me.  

It’s defined as the spiritual principle of my human being.

A soul is the subject of human consciousness and freedom.  Together, soul and body form my unique human nature.

My soul is individual and immortal and created by God.  It does not die with my body, from which it’s separated by death, and with which it’ll be reunited in the final resurrection.

While this is my accepted faith, I still struggle having spiritual comprehension of it.  Seeking the spiritual wisdom of great saints, therefore, does help me with my struggle.

St. John of the Cross, for example, shared:

“. . . the thicket of God’s wisdom and knowledge is so deep and so broad that the soul, however much it has come to know of it, can always penetrate deeper within it.”

While Saint Thérèse of Lisieux shared:

“Then I looked at the poor sick woman whom I was attending. . . I heard her occasional groans and sighs . . . I cannot express what took place in my soul.  All that I do know is that the Lord illumined it with the rays of truth which so surpassed the flickering glow of earthly revels, that I could scarcely believe my happiness."

In his recent apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”, Pope Francis reminds me:

“The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.”

Just like exercise helps me achieve middle-aged man health and wellness fitness, prayer helps me achieve middle-aged man soul fitness.  With prayer, I raise my mind and heart to God and request good things from Him.

I’ve previously shared how, as a middle-aged man, I’m only good as my last workout and what I eat.  Recently, I also shared how I’m only strong as the bottom of my feet.

So now I share my eternal fitness is only good as my soul.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum