Q. I’ve been a Catholic for 70 years and have tried to understand the mystery of the Trinity. The other day I wondered, Did Jesus have a soul?

A. Yes, Jesus had a human soul. He could not be truly God and truly human without a human soul. Otherwise, he would only have pretended to be human. Hebrews 4:15 says of Jesus: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.”

Over the centuries, some Christians have thought that Jesus would be easier to accept if he were only pretending to be human. That idea does not reflect what the Catholic Church believes about Jesus.

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