it’s more than the body

In America when we say “The Lord be with you” we reply “and also with you”
In Spanish when we say “El Señor esté con ustedes” we reply “Y con tu espiritu.
In Canada, when we say “The Lord be with you”, the reply is “And with your spirit”
The Theology behind this is quite deep actually, why we reply this particular way.
First thing that we need to understand is the teachings of the Soul and Spirit.
The CCC States in Paragraph 363 “In Sacred Scripture, the term “soul” often refers to human life, or the entire human person. But “soul” also refers to the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God’s image: “soul” signifies the spiritual principle in man.
The Aspect that I want to focus on is the innermost aspect of man. There are Scripture References, which I’ll use here.
In the Gospel according to St. Matthew Ch. 10 verse 28 states: And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in Gehenna.
In this context, the term soul is talking about that innermost part of man, the part where Jesus lives.
Again in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, in Chapter 26 verse 38 it states: “He then said to them “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.”
Again in the context of the verse, we see that this term is not describing Jesus’ Body, but rather the inner part of him, of his heart, as he is just about to undergo the agony in the garden. (1st Sorrowful Mystery of the Most Holy Rosary).. Remember Jesus at this point will wish the death not upon himself, later on in the verse.
In the Gospel according to St. John Chapter 12 verse 27 we read “I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.
This here being an allusion to the previous verse. We see that Jesus is very troubled, why because of the fact that he’s going to have to undergo the passion. (heck, I would be too)…Jesus was fully human, and under his human will, he did not want to go through this, however, he did the will of his Father. We see that we’re reading into the soul of Jesus here.
In the 2ND book of Maccabees Chapter 6 verse 30, we read: When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned and said: “The Lord in his holy knowledge knows full well that, although I could have escaped death, I am not only enduring terrible pain in my body from this scourging, but also suffering it with joy in my soul because of my devotion to him”
We see that this Elezar in his soul wanted to escape death, or his martyrdom, however, he doesn’t knowing his higher purpose.
We know that the Soul is where God lives within us. (The Holy Spirit, Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, when we receive the Eucharist)
In Paragraph 364 of the CCC it states: The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that it is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit.
The Scripture References are from St. Paul’s 1st. letter to the Corinthians.
Chapter 6:19-20 state: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
Chapter 15:44-45 state: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. So too is it written. “The first man Adam, became a living being.” The last Adam a life giving spirit.
As we see from the following verses, the Holy Spirit is within us.
Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.
Paragraph 365 states: The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body: i.e., it because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body, spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.
Remember when God made man, what did he do, he breathed their soul into them. (That whole breathing thing is kind of important). Keep this in mind.
So, what is the point of this, The Spirit is where God lives within us, it is the reason why in Latin when we say Dominus Vobiscum (The Lord be with you), we reply Et cum spiritu tuo (And with thy spirit)…Christ is with us, but especially in our Soul, which is where the Spirit lives. Which because of his death on the Cross, shall never perish from us, and be united with our Bodies at the Resurrection of the dead J
Amen!