Dear PJ:

I think the source of your confusion is a misunderstanding of the nature of body and soul. These elements are not "one". We have one nature composed of both body and soul. Each is ordered to the other, and incomplete without each other, but they are not "one".  Thus, they can, and are, separated at death temporarily.

The Bible implies this distinction in Matthew 10:28, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

St. Thomas's doctrine is briefly stated:

• the rational soul, which is one with the sensitive and vegetative principle, is the form of the body. This was defined as of faith by the Council of Vienne of 1311;
• the soul is a substance, but an incomplete substance, i.e. it has a natural aptitude and exigency for existence in the body, in conjunction with which it makes up the substantial unity of human nature;
• though connaturally related to the body, it is itself absolutely simple, i.e. of an unextended and spiritual nature. It is not wholly immersed in matter, its higher operations being intrinsically independent of the organism. (my emphasis)

The soul is certainly incomplete without the body, but this does not mean that they cannot be separated temporarily.

In any event, we must always remember that God is not limited by our theological understandings and limited reason. He can do what we cannot understand. That is why our Faith contains mysteries. Sometimes we must just accept what is true without understanding it. That acceptance includes the acceptance that what is true is reasonable and not contradictory. God is not a contradiction or unreasonable. When there is an appearance of contradiction and/or reason, the deficit is in man's limited mind, and not in the Truth of God and His ways.

For example, the Trinity appears to be a contradiction and unreasonable. How can there be three in one? This is why some groups consider Christians to be polytheist. They just cannot understand or reason the apparent contradiction.

The Church does not resolve this problem. Rather, the Church teaches that the Trinity is a mystery, and as such, cannot be fully understood by man's reason. We, then, accept the doctrine of the Trinity on faith because the Church teaches it.

As St. Augustine said about matters of Christian doctrine: "I would not believe the Gospel itself, if the authority of the Catholic Church did not move me to do so."

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary.