When Does the Soul Leave?

[Exporter]

Today at the funeral of John Paul II a song was sung. It said," May the Angles and Myrtyrs lead John Paul II to the his reward".

He died about a week ago. I would think the soul would have left the body at the instant of death.

But they sang today as if his spirit was there at the coffin. Is there a teaching about this?

 

[buffalo]

When the body dies as there is no soul to animate it any longer.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

You do have to remember that once a person has died, his or her soul continues to exist, but since there is no body the soul does not exist “in time” the way the body did.

So, even though the Pope “died almost a week ago” his soul is not still existing according to our physical timeline. . .his soul isn’t “6 days dead”, so to speak, but living IN INFINITY and ETERNITY.

 

[Gracie2004]

Yes, thus the prayers for the dead can have an effect on them during their lifetime, even though their lifetime may have been centuries ago…and help them at the moment of death, since they no longer are within time.

The soul is outside of time, and space…thus the prayers for our Beloved Pope help him at the moment of death, even though that moment happened days ago to us…it is at this second(again, we have to use the concepts of time that our human minds are familiar with) to God. It IS.

Gracie

 

[Fidelis]

The Jews believed that the soul lingered around the body fo three days after death, not accepting the fact that the body was dead. After this time, decomposition would set in and the soul would get the hint. This is the significance of Jesus waiting four days to go to Lazarus (John 11:1-44). The raising of his friend was all the more miraculous because the soul was thought to have departed by then.

 

[RSiscoe]

Exporter:

Today at the funeral of John Paul II a song was sung. It said," May the Angles and Myrtyrs lead John Paul II to the his reward".

He died about a week ago. I would think the soul would have left the body at the instant of death.

But they sang today as if his spirit was there at the coffin. Is there a teaching about this?

I once heard a very informed Catholic apologist say that he once baptized a still-born baby. The baby had aparently died only minutes before it was born. The person said he conditionally baptized the baby. Upon returning home, he said he looked through all of his theological manuels to find out if that was appropriate.

He said that the theological manuels all said that it is assumed that the soul stays with the body for up to an hour after aparent death.

It wouls seem to me that the soul would leave at the moment of death, but from what he said that is not necessarily what the Church teaches.