The Human Soul and its Relations with Other Spirits

“There is nothing deeper, nothing kinder, nothing more merciful than Catholic theology on the human soul. It is the oldest and most persevering sentiment, combined with the highest and most exact thought.” So writes Abbot Vonier in this dynamic and illuminating study of the human spirit.

Following the teachings of the Catholic Church and St. Thomas Aquinas, Vonier expounds the greatness of the human soul, its destiny and glory, its association with the angels and God, its union with the body, and the tragedy of losing one’s soul through sin. This work, which is at once philosophical and mystical, stimulates the mind and heart to a deep contemplation and love for the God who created in man a spiritual soul like to himself.

“There are those who regard The Human Soul as the Abbot’s best work. … For [Vonier], the writing of books was part of his priestly activity. … The book is a study of man both in light of reason and the higher splendor of divine revelation. In that medium, man is seen to be, in St. Augustine’s magnificent phrase, ‘an earthly being, but one fit for heaven.’”—Dom Ernest Graf, in Anscar Vonier: Abbot of Buckfast