306. Charity as the Principal Source of Merit

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Preeminence of Charity in Merit #

• Charity possesses a special role among virtues because it has the ultimate end (God) as its object
• All other virtues are commanded by charity toward their proper end
• The principle: the habit to which pertains the end commands the habits to which pertain those things which are towards the end
• This Aristotelian principle establishes that the virtue aiming at the ultimate end has authority over those aiming at intermediate means

Reward and Merit #

• Reward is owed to work according to Scripture (Matthew 20:8: “call the workers and render them their reward”)
• Each virtue, being a habit that produces action, is a beginning of meritorious work
• Yet not all virtues are equal sources of merit—charity is principal

The Relationship Between Charity and Other Virtues #

• Acts of faith, patience, and fortitude are not meritorious except insofar as they are performed through charity (“formed faith”)
• The crucial text: 1 Corinthians 13—“If I hand over my body to be burnt, but I do not have charity, it profits me nothing”
• This means even the most demanding acts (martyrdom) lack merit without charity animating them

Eternal Life and Charity #

• Eternal life consists in the enjoyment of God
• The proper act of charity is the emotional elevation of the human mind to the enjoyment of the divine good
• Therefore, merit of eternal life first pertains to charity, and to other virtues only secondarily as their acts are commanded by charity

The Distinction Between Primary and Secondary Merit #

• Primary merit: comes from charity as the directing force toward the ultimate end
• Secondary merit: comes from other virtues insofar as they are commanded by and ordered to charity’s end
• This distinction prevents the error of viewing all virtues as equally meritorious

Key Arguments #

Against the Equality of Virtues in Merit (Objection 1) #

• Claim: Since reward is owed to work, and each virtue produces work, each virtue should be equally a source of merit
• Response: Thomas distinguishes between producing work and directing work to the ultimate end
  • The virtue that aims at the ultimate end has authority over those aiming at means
  • Analogy: the master chef commands the potato peeler because the chef aims at the end (perfect French fries)
  • Charity commands other virtues because charity alone has God as its object

Against Charity’s Preeminence from Acts of Other Virtues (Objection 3) #

• Claim: Faith and fortitude appear most meritorious in the martyrs; therefore, they should be the principal sources of merit
• Response: The acts of faith and fortitude are meritorious only when informed by charity
  • 1 Corinthians 13: Without charity, even bodily sacrifice profits nothing
  • The martyrs’ acts merit precisely because they are animated by love of God (charity)
  • Faith without charity is merely intellectual assent; fortitude without charity is merely natural endurance

The Priority of the Will’s End over Multiplicity of Acts #

• Merit depends on two things: (1) divine ordering, and (2) free judgment
• As regards both, the principality of merit consists in charity
• Why? Because the will’s orientation toward the ultimate end (charity’s function) is more fundamental than the mere multiplication of acts
• Analogy: A mother’s merit consists not in clothing and feeding children, but in doing so because she loves them—the love is what principalizes the acts

Important Definitions #

Charity (Caritas) #

• The virtue of love of God and neighbor
• Has the ultimate end as its object (God as the highest good)
• The form that animates and directs all other virtues toward their proper end

Merit (Meritum) #

• A work deserving reward through justice or fittingness
• Requires: (1) divine ordering, (2) voluntary action, (3) proportionality
• Principal merit: that which directly aims at and secures the reward
• Secondary merit: that which contributes to the reward insofar as it is commanded by what possesses principal merit

Formed Faith (Fides Formata) #

• Faith animated and directed by charity
• In contrast to unformed faith (fides informis), which lacks the directing force of charity
• Only formed faith is truly meritorious

The Last End (Finis Ultimus) #

• The ultimate objective of human action and desire: God
• Distinguished from intermediate ends (means) to which other virtues are ordered
• The object of the will insofar as it seeks the ultimate good

Examples & Illustrations #

The Master Chef and the Potato Peeler #

• The master chef commands the potato peeler how to cut potatoes for French fries
• The chef commands because he aims at the ultimate end (perfect French fries)
• The peeler aims only at the intermediate means (cutting)
• Illustration: Charity is the master chef; other virtues are like the peeler. Charity directs them because it alone aims at the ultimate end (God)

The Mother’s Love Principalizing Her Acts #

• A mother clothes and feeds her children not merely as external actions, but out of love
• The love (charity) is what makes these acts truly meritorious and valuable
• The acts themselves are not the principal source of merit; the love directing them is
• Application: Similarly, faith and fortitude are meritorious only when charity directs them

The Martyr Without Charity #

• A martyr who hands over his body to be burnt but lacks charity gains no merit (1 Corinthians 13)
• This shows that even the most extreme act—bodily sacrifice—is empty without charity
• Significance: Demonstrates that the multiplication or difficulty of acts does not determine merit; the animating virtue (charity) does

The Three Things from Parents #

• Berquist notes that children receive three things from their natural parents: (1) generation/life, (2) nourishment/food, (3) education/instruction
• Christ provides these spiritually: (1) spiritual life through grace, (2) spiritual nourishment through the Eucharist, (3) spiritual teaching through His word
• Connection to merit: The Eucharist as spiritual nourishment exemplifies how the highest goods are received through the mediation of charity

Notable Quotes #

“Always the habit to which pertains the end commands the habits to which pertain those things which are towards the end.” — Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologiae II-II, Question 23, Article 4)

“If I hand over my body to be burnt, but I do not have charity, it profits me nothing.” — 1 Corinthians 13 (cited by Thomas as the decisive text)

“Each one receives his own reward according to his own labor.” — 1 Corinthians 3:8 (used to support the objection that all virtues contribute equally to merit)

“If someone loves me, you will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and I will make myself manifest to him.” — John 14:21 (cited regarding the manifestation of God to those who love Him)

“This is eternal life that might know you, the only God, and Jesus Christ, whom he sent.” — John 17:3 (cited to show that eternal life consists in knowledge of and union with God)

Questions Addressed #

Q1: Is charity the only source of merit? #

• Answer: No, but it is the principal source. Other virtues are secondary sources of merit insofar as they are animated and commanded by charity.

Q2: How can faith and fortitude be less meritorious than charity if martyrs show such great merit? #

• Answer: The martyrs’ acts are meritorious precisely because they are performed through charity (formed faith and fortitude). Without charity, even martyrdom profits nothing (1 Corinthians 13).

Q3: What is the principle by which charity commands other virtues? #

• Answer: The Aristotelian principle that the virtue whose object is the ultimate end has authority over virtues whose objects are means to that end. Charity’s object is God as the ultimate end; therefore, it commands all other virtues.

Q4: Does the difficulty or magnitude of acts determine merit? #

• Answer: No. Acts can be difficult in two ways: (1) from the magnitude of the work (which increases merit), or (2) from defect in the agent (which, if it means lack of prompt will and charity, diminishes merit). Charity removes the second kind of difficulty and makes acts truly meritorious.

Q5: How do the acts of other virtues relate to merit of eternal life? #

• Answer: The acts of other virtues merit eternal life secondarily, in proportion to how they are ordered by charity to the ultimate end (God). Since eternal life consists in the enjoyment of God, the virtue that directly elevates the will to that end (charity) has primary merit.