The Wisdom of Our Soul

By George E Pfautsch

In the era we live in today, a substantial amount of time is devoted to the development of human intelligence and to the material things around us. We depend on government's secular laws and regulations to help provide our code of proper conduct. Those in elective offices of government enact the laws and regulations which attempt to make available the best standards for citizens. But throughout the history of mankind such standards have often led to wars and other immoral practices. Secular laws and regulations determined by those in power often conflict with other standards within a country and with the standards of other nations. In that environment, we can lose sight of the knowledge that provides humans the best wisdom. Our Creator is the source of spiritual wisdom and that wisdom is the best standard for the governance of humans on earth. The foundation of spiritual wisdom is the love of God above all else and loving our neighbor as our self. From the wisdom of the writers of the old and new Testaments of the Bible, we are told that our soul is the source of wisdom which provides humans with the best moral standards of conduct. Spiritual wisdom is to some degree the antithesis of human intelligence and materialism, and receives far too little attention in the world today. It is spiritual wisdom that provides the ultimate joy and happiness in this life and life hereafter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 28, 2010
• ISBN: 9781491848715

George E Pfautsch

George E Pfautsch spent most of his working life as a financial executive for a major forest products and paper company. His final years with Potlatch Corporation (now Potlatch Deltic Corporation) were spent as the Senior Vice-President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Following his retirement, he began writing about the national morality he believes was intended for this country by the founding fathers. He is the author of fifteen previous books covering the subjects of faith, freedom, morality, and justice. In addition, he is the co-author of a book written by Melitta Strandberg, which is the story of her family’s quest for freedom, before, during and after World War II. He is also the co-author of a book written by Leroy New, the “Guitar Wizard” of Branson, Missouri. George is married to Dodi, his wife of more than 60 years. He has two children, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

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© 2010 George E Pfautsch. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 5/25/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4520-2442-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-4871-5 (ebook)

Contents

Introduction

1.    The source of wisdom

2.    Human intelligence versus spiritual wisdom

3.    Wisdom from the Old Testament

4.    Wisdom from the New Testament

5.    The influence of the soul

6.    Prayer - the nourishment of the soul

7.    Wisdom of saints

8.    The forgotten soul

9.    The eternal soul

10.   About the author

Introduction

Of all God’s creation, nothing is nearer and dearer to Him, than our human soul. It is the soul, which was his special creation. If we live our life on earth in a manner pleasing to our Lord, it is the soul, upon the death of the body, which will be with Him forever. Our purpose on earth is to live a life which will permit that to happen.

When we are in the state of grace, the soul is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit within us. After Jesus died for us so we might be saved, he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell with us and be our Spiritual Director. When our thoughts and actions follow the direction of the Holy Spirit within our soul, we will think and act in a manner which is pleasing to our Savior.

In the world we live in today, we hear too little of the soul. We hear much regarding secular and diverse opinions on those things which provide the best secular morality. Government officials, representatives of political parties, and media pundits bombard us constantly with opinions regarding the best secular moral options. We have thousands of laws and regulations which attempt to provide the best secular morality. But if such laws and regulations are not derived from a faith-based morality they are futile. It is through faith that goodness prevails and it is the human soul that establishes and increases our faith.

Our faith and our soul involve mystery. They demand a trust of our Lord as well as a belief in his omnipotence, his great love for us and that his commands lead us to a better life on earth. Such beliefs also keep us on the path to our eternal home in heaven. All of us need to heed the urgings of our soul.

Following the fall of Adam and Eve, mankind has been plagued with original sin. Original sin manifests itself through false pride and a love of self that creates an attraction of things on earth and thus sin. It is sin that too often plays a role in determining secular morality. When secular morality is based on faith it is good. When it is based solely on earthly considerations and selfish motivations it can be bad. Secular morality without faith-based considerations led to government sanctioned slavery, abortions and other actions not pleasing to our Lord.

As already noted, the goodness of man and mankind is a product of the soul. But just as faith is a mystery so it is with our soul. Holy Scripture provides some wonderful insights to the soul and much of this book will contain references to Scripture. Apostolic Tradition is less extensive on teaching us of the beauty of our soul but it too will be referenced in this book. The soul does involve mystery, and as is also true of faith, it is very individualistic. Therefore, personal views will also be used frequently in this book.

Catechesis does provide some important insights to the soul. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the soul refers to the innermost aspect of man - that which is of the greatest value in him - that by which he is most especially in God’s image. It goes on to say that the soul signifies the spiritual principle in man.

The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not produced by parents - and also teaches that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be resurrected with the body at the final resurrection.

In 1513 AD at the 8th session of the 5th Lateran Council, the church provided some important clarifications regarding the soul. At that time there were a number of heresies regarding the soul. Those heresies included the falsehood that the soul was mortal and others said that there was only a single soul and that it was a