by Brett Manero
November is the month of the holy souls. The autumn season is in full swing, the Gregorian and Church calendars are nearing the end of their cycles, and we meditate on the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. It is a fitting time of year to focus on these things, as the leaves fall off the trees and we are reminded of the fragility of this life and we look forward to the life of the world to come.
November 2nd is All Souls Day, the day of special remembrance of and praying for the souls of the faithful departed who are undergoing purification in the realms of purgatory, on their way home to the glory of eternal life in heaven. It is a fascinating thought: just how many souls are currently in purgatory, awaiting their eternal reward? Purgatory is a sobering reality, but it is also a wonderful reality. It’s not a sign of God’s wrath, but rather of His mercy. The fact that there exists a spiritual realm in which the soul undergoes a just purification after death is all the more proof of the glory of God.
Not only do we focus on the holy souls on All Souls Day, but throughout the entire month of November. As we close out the calendar year and await the Resurrection, so the holy souls await the Beatific Vision of heaven.
And what is the soul? The Church defines it as the “life element” of the body. To be human is to be the combination of both body and soul. We are both physical and spiritual beings. Our physical bodies are good, and they are animated and elevated by the spiritual, eternal soul. Death is simply the separation of the body and the soul. This is why death is the true enemy of humanity: death was never meant to enter into human history, for God always intended for humans to live forever. “But through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it” (Wisdom 2:24). When we say “I look forward to the Resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come” in the Nicene Creed, we could translate these words as: I look forward to the reunification of my soul and my body, where I will be truly alive and all that I was destined to be, forever.
The Book of Genesis tells us that man and woman are created in the image of God: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). How exactly are men and women created in His image? Through the power of reason and love, humans are like God. We can reason in a way that other creatures cannot, and we can discern truth in ways which the animals, in all of their goodness, cannot. We can also experience love in a higher way than animals do. And yet, there is still another way in which humans are made in God’s image and likeness. God is a Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Trinitarian theology explains that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son, being the very love between the Father and the Son. Humans, too, are made in a Trinitarian image. Just as the Holy Spirit proceeds from the perfect love and unity between the Father and the Son, so something else proceeds from the combination of body and soul. This is the mind itself: that very ability to think, discern, reason, and choose the good. One could say that the mind proceeds from both the body – the physical brain which is essential for a mind- and the spiritual soul. Hence, the human person is a small image of the Trinity.
The eternal soul goes on after the death of the body, and indeed will be reunited with it at the Resurrection. Many near-death experiences confirm the reality of the soul. Likewise, many ghost stories confirm the existence of the soul. And what is a ghost? Ghosts are referenced numerous times in Scripture, including in the Prophet Isaiah:
Then deep from the earth you shall speak,
from low in the dust your words shall come;
your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost,
and your speech shall whisper out of the dust (Isaiah 29:4).
Isaiah is warning Jerusalem of the coming Assyrian siege in 701 BC, which will be one of the great traumatic events for the City of David. Although the city will be spared and the Assyrian army wiped out by an angel of God, the city during the siege will be like a “ghost” calling out for help from death. This one sentence tells us much: firstly, that during the time of Isaiah – about 700 years before the birth of Christ – an awareness of the afterlife existed among the Prophets and some of the ancient Jews. This awareness developed over time but is especially noticeable beginning in Isaiah. This also gives us, perhaps, a subtle insight into the soul in purgatory: the soul in purgatory can also cry out for help from the realms of death. A ghost is, after all, the soul of a deceased person. Many saints throughout history have reported being visited by holy souls to request prayers for their quick purification and speedy entry into heaven. St. Padre Pio famously received requests from countless holy souls for whom he would say Mass. We should never seek to communicate with the souls of deceased persons, but we can certainly pray for them. And if they do manifest to us by the permission of God, then all the more should we intercede for them.
One of the most fascinating (possible) sightings of a soul possibly occurred during the days of the Second World War, when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was staying at the White House. As the story goes, Churchill – as he often enjoyed – took a hot bath during the night hours while smoking a cigar. With the cigar still in his mouth, he walked completely naked into the next room, only to see the ghost of President Abraham Lincoln leaning on the mantle of the fireplace. Churchill, ever the man with an excellent wit, greeted the former President and joked that Lincoln did not find the Prime Minister at the best moment. According to Churchill, Lincoln smiled and laughed, and then vanished.
Can we believe a story like this? Churchill was known for his heavy drinking, and one must always look to possible natural explanations before making a conclusion. But it seems unlikely that Churchill would invent such a story simply for publicity – he was already the most famous man in the world during his first premiership. Perhaps then, we can take his story at face value.
When a soul appears to someone, it is almost always to request prayers. Why, then, would Lincoln appear to the British Prime Minister? What I propose is simply my own theory, and if I am wrong, then I am wrong. I submit all of my thoughts and theories to the timeless wisdom of the Church.
Lincoln was President of the United States from 1861 until 1865, during the Civil War and therefore the worst crisis in American history. The southern states seceded from the Union because of his election, fearing that a Republican President would outlaw slavery in their territories. Lincoln, through sheer grit and perseverance, held the Union together. He knew that allowing the South to go their own way would show to the rest of the world that democratic republics were not sustainable. As he said in the Gettysburg Address: “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” Lincoln knew that the world needed a united United States, to show that democracy could endure. Perhaps he also knew that in the century following the Civil War, the world would not only need American democracy, but American power to defeat the threat of fascism.
Lincoln was horrifically assassinated in April of 1865, but the war had ended and the Union was preserved, slavery was finally abolished, and while problems certainly remained, the United States entered into a period of massive expansion and prosperity in the decades ahead.
Fast forward many decades, and there is another great war in the world: the Second World War. The Axis Powers of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan came terrifyingly close to world domination. One of the reasons for the failure of the Axis to win was due to the bravery of Winston Churchill, who refused to surrender to Germany or negotiate peace. Even when France fell to German invasion in June of 1940 and an invasion of Great Britain seemed inevitable, Churchill refused to surrender or negotiate. He was most certainly a flawed man, but he also recognized that allowing Hitler any leeway would be a disaster for the entire world. In the face of incredible odds, including the brutal bombing of London and several British cities during the Blitz of late 1940, Churchill never surrendered.
Churchill also knew that the key to victory lay in another option: if the United States entered into the war as Britain’s ally, then victory would be assured. American manpower, equipment, and industrial potential would bring about the defeat of the Axis. President Franklin Roosevelt described America as “the great arsenal of democracy” when America entered the war in December of 1941. When Churchill heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he reportedly broke down in tears of joy, knowing that finally the United States would formally enter on the side of Britain. Churchill knew that American involvement was crucial to winning the war, and the Anglo-American alliance of the Second World War proved to be the most consequential alliance in history.
It is worth noting that Churchill’s mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, was American. Winston himself was therefore half-American. He was a Brit through and through, but he always appreciated his American heritage and had a tremendous respect for the American people. This is an example of Divine Providence at work: the fact that the British Prime Minister, during one of the darkest times in history, had an intimate connection to the nation that would be his ally, is not an accident.
Enter the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. Again, this is just my theory, and I could be entirely wrong. But there is something poetic and powerful about the President and preserver of the American Union appearing to the Prime Minister who knew that America’s help against Nazi Germany was essential. Lincoln succeeded in preserving America, and perhaps now he appeared to Churchill to say to him: “Here it is, here is the nation, united and strong, with tremendous potential for good, that will join with you and assure the free world of victory.”
Lincoln and Churchill were not Catholic, and their religious views are up for debate. Lincoln very often read the Bible and quoted it, and Churchill seemed to have a trust in Divine Providence. We can still and should pray for their souls, that they too see or will see the Beatific Vision of God. Both were great men who, while flawed, were the right leaders at the right time.
Let’s pray for both of their souls.