Is there happiness for flesh and blood?
My body was lying there, immobile, inert, insensible, and
completely incapable of doing anything, and why not? It had no soul.
“Brother Thomas, how can flesh and blood find happiness?”
-Brother Raymond,-
“. . . it could not be said
that the end of man is some good of the body. For man's being consists in soul
and body; and though the being of the body depends on the soul, yet the being
of the human soul depends not on the body, and the very body is for the soul,
as matter for its (the souls) form, and the instruments for the man that puts
them into motion, that by their means he may do his work. Wherefore all goods
of the body are ordained to the goods of the soul, as to their end.
Consequently happiness, which is man's last end, cannot consist in goods of the
body.” [1] (Brackets
are the author’s.)
“Brother Thomas, if you only knew how much of my life has been wasted in trying to find happiness for my body.
As we see from the graphic, our soul has a spirit with
thread-like hairs that are obviously links between the spirit and parts of the
brain. Though my spirit does not need a brain to function (except while united
with the body) it is nevertheless configured for union with the brain. This
supports the soul’s destiny that it must be reunited with the body, or else go
through eternity searching for a part that is missing, searching for our
brain.
Our soul is also filled with what appears to be
power/energy/guidance cells. These cells seemed to be self-sufficient with
their own energy supply, and they may be responsible for programming the
operation of each of our organs.[2]
Dearest Brother and Sister in the Lord, I have seen it and now you have seen
it. Our loving Father does not create things that become obsolete. The body was
made for the soul and the soul was made for the body.
Every part of that body was there for one reason and one reason only, to be an instrument for my spirit, my mind and my soul to glorify God on this earth, for it is here where he placed me. I do not know how long I stared at that dressed up mass of what is essentially wet meat... but I was in total awe of my body. What lengths God went through, that my spirit, my mind, and my soul should have this incredible wonder with which I should function in this world.
Nothing new for Saint Paul.
In 1 Corinthians, 15: 50-55 our Brother Paul said,
“This I declare, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit
the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell
you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep,[3] but we
will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last
trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For that which is corruptible (our
body) must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must
clothe itself with immortality. And when this which is corruptible clothes
itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with
immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: "Death is
swallowed up in victory. Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your
sting?" [4]
“Thank you Brother Paul. In the blink of an eye I was
changed from a composite (body and soul) to being simply a soul.
The return of my soul into my body was equally amazing. In
one powerful woosh I returned into my body (through the same spot from which I
made my exit) and instantly, my spirit and consciousness enclosed my biological
head. I was also conscious of returning to every part of my body.
Earlier I asked you to imagine you are standing in the
Sahara desert with a giant vacuum cleaner. With one draw, the vacuum cleaner
sucks up every grain of sand in the desert (my soul leaving every cell in my
body) then, in one instant, in reverse, it returns every grain of sand to
its original exact location, without
disturbing another grain, returning everything to exactly as it was. This is
what I experienced and it reflects to some degree how I experienced both
processes. This is simply beyond anything I have seen or known. Our bodies,
marvels and wonders that they are, are nothing when compared to our soul and
it’s capabilities.
Having experienced my leaving 50 trillion or so cells, and
my returning to them, it is easy to accept my body can resurrect from dust
particles and be reunited with my soul. What is so different from a soul that
leaves fifty trillion or so cells or umpteen dust particles returning to a soul
to be reconstituted as a glorified body?
Glory, honor, blessings, adoration, thanksgiving and praise
to our loving God, forever and ever and ever. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, I now know, my
death and your death are not in the cards. Yes, my body will be separated from
my soul and decay, and your body will one day be separated from your soul and
it will decay. However, our bodies are only visible signs of who we are, and
not what we are. The real you and the real me cannot die. My body and your body
retain nothing of our intellects, our memories, our wills, our histories, our
loves, but our souls do. My body cannot love God, or me or my neighbor, but my
soul can, either with my body on this earth or without my body after its
departure. It is little wonder that so much importance is given to our rational
soul, for God deemed it was necessary for His Son to suffer and die for our
redemption.
Dear Brother and Sister in this blessed creation, when one
has an experience such as this, there is absolutely no reason to believe our
bodies are incapable of being restored. If my soul can leave and return into my
body, and make it active and functional once again, our soul can just as easily
do the same to our body’s dust. Morning turns into night and night turns into
morning. Clouds come, clouds go and clouds come. The earth yields its harvest,
then it doesn't, then it does once again. Our God was, and is and forever shall
be. He is the Person who brought creation into existence, molecule by molecule.
Since he made our bodies from the dust of the earth, at his word, this dust can
and will become our bodies once again, this time glorified with our blessed
souls.
“I recognized that whatever God does will endure forever; there is no adding to it, or taking from it. Thus has God done that he may be revered.”[5]
[1] Summa Theologica First Part of the Second
Part Question: 2 Article: 5 Whether man's happiness consists in any
bodily good?
[2] Everyone
knows about the laws that govern the operations of every part of our body. Is
it not reasonable to expect they are programmed? And if they are programmed,
shouldn’t each particular program be present in a particular organ? Is this not
the reason why when a limb is removed, we still sense it’s presence, because
the intellect that provides the motive power to move the limb, is still
configured to do so?
[3] 1Cor 15:50
[4] 1Cor. 15:55