Question: How is the soul similar to God?

Answer: The soul resembles God in that it is a spirit which will never die. It possesses understanding and free will.

The Physician’s Vision

The immortality of the soul is a well-documented belief. St. Augustine shares a story about a God-fearing physician from Carthage named Gennadius, who received divine revelation about the soul’s immortality.

The End of Man

Gennadius harbored doubts about the afterlife, believing that human existence ceased at death. However, one night, he experienced a transformative dream. In the dream, he encountered a young man in radiant attire who asked Gennadius whether he was awake or asleep. Gennadius replied that he was asleep. When asked if he could see the youth, Gennadius confirmed that he could, though not with his physical eyes; he was unsure how he was seeing him. Similarly, he could hear and speak to the youth without using his ears or mouth, not knowing the means by which this occurred.

The youth then explained to Gennadius that although his physical senses were inactive during the dream, he was still able to see, hear, and speak. He stated that even in death, when the senses are completely incapacitated, one would still be able to perform these functions. After this encounter, the angel disappeared, and Gennadius awoke, his doubts dispelled. He firmly believed in the soul’s existence beyond physical death, convinced that the soul, though confined within the body, remains unconstrained and becomes free once the bodily “prison” collapses.

Spirago, Rev. Fr. Francis. Anecdotes and Examples Illustrating the Catholic Catechism. Professor of Theology.