More than Animals

During a chastity talk, a young man asked me, “What are we supposed to do with our animal instincts?”, as if to say we’re not any different than animals, and can do whatever we want. I will not forget the sinking feeling in my heart. This young man saw his own sexual desires as no different than those experienced by animals. I immediately entered into a conversation with those young men affirming that we are more than animals with the ability to master our desires and not let them master us. How great is our dignity!

As human persons, we have a body and an immortal soul; we are a unity of spirit and matter. This sets us apart from all the other animals! No other animals were given the gift of an immortal soul. Our soul has primarily two capacities or powers:

1. Intellect. You may be thinking this is a funny word, but simply it is the capacity to know and seek the truth. We can have knowledge about the world, ourselves, and even God. The ability to know and pursue the truth is characteristic only of persons. Mere animals do not have this ability. I have never seen a dog reading Shakespeare or the daily newspaper for that matter (Though they may retrieve it). God has given us our intellects, so that we might know the truth–ultimately, the truth that he is.

1. Will. You can choose. You can choose what to wear, what to eat, whom to talk to. You can choose whom to love. This allows us to be responsible for our actions. Animals simply act on their instinctive drives. They do not choose. Ultimately, God has given us our will to choose the good, so that we might love him.

These two gifts allow us to do the most human thing: love. The more we know about a person, the more we can love them. The more we love them, the more we want to know about them.  Love is built on “willing the good of the other…” (St. Thomas Aquinas). This involves both our intellect and our will. We must know what is good for the person (the intellect’s work), and then choose it (the will’s work). At the heart of love, we find a decision–not just a feeling–a decision for the other. Love allows the human heart to grow and expand. I would like to highlight two aspects of love:

1. Self-Gift. Love cannot be contained; it overflows in the gift of oneself to another. At the root of love, we find two persons giving of themselves to each other. This is true of all forms of love, not just romantic loves. Each time we encounter a person, we should strive to give of ourselves to them if not but through a smile, a conversation, a glance. This is something each one of us can do, and something that animals cannot.
2. Communion. When two people give of themselves to one other, they enter into communion. Though this most readily pertains to married spouses, it is true of any two persons. We are made for communion (with God and others); without which, we cannot live full human lives. My life has been changed by a handful of these moments of communion with others. Some took the form of meaningful conversations, others international trips, still others simple moments with family and friends. Communion changes everything! Truly, animals do not experience this level of communion.

I wish that I could have had more time with those young men who were questioning their own dignity and the depth of their desires. God has created us with such dignity and care; how far above the animals we stand! May we never forget that we are called to be the masters of our own desires, and not let our desires master us, in order that we may know the truth, will the good, and love God and neighbor.