Merit_Law Flashcards
What is Merit (Mrt)?
that property of a good act which makes it deserving of reward and in CONCRETE it is the good act itself as deserving reward
What is the two kinds of Mrt?
condign and congruous
What is condign Mrt?
found in those good acts for which a reward is due injustice or at least because of some previous promise
What is congruous Mrt based on?
a certain equity or suitability e.g
What is an example of Condign and Congruous Mrt?
employee has strict claim in justice to a fixed salary (condign merit), but it is fitting that he receive some bonus’ from his boss (congruous)
How can both forms of Mrt exist?
perfect and less perfect
What is PERFECT condign (Cnd) Mrt?
based on strict justice, equivalent to the reward obtained which therefore cannot be withheld w/o a manifest violation of justice e.g. salary due to a worker (In the supernatural order only the God-Man possess perfect condign merit
What is CndMrt in its less perfect form?
an which to some extent is equivalent to the reward received. In this way man merits eternal life
What is PERFECT Congruous (Cng) Mrt?
rests on a genuine equity between the act and its reward, it is thus that man in the state of grace who is a fried of God can merit the conversion of another
What is Cng Mrt in its less perfect form?
form of a request e.g. man can mrt or request the grace of final perseverance
What six conditions must be verified for the existence of supernatural Mrt?
Work (Wrk) or act performed must be free, wrk must be morally good, wrk must be done from a desire to please the reward-giver, namely God i.e. some influence of charity, agent must be a wayfarer in this life, Agent must be in the state of sanctifying grace, Divine promise must exist
What is obseqium?
submission of the will
What is the object of merit?
that which can be merited in the sight of God by man’s acts
What acts can a man in a state of grace perform?
Cnd Mrt in reference to: eternal life, an increase of grace and glory
What can a man in the state of grace merit if performed in the state of Cng Mrt in its LESS perfect form?
final perseverance, restoration to divine friendship after a mortal sin that may be committed in the future
What can a man in the state of grace merit if performed in the state of Cng Mrt in its MORE perfect form?
temporal goods, actual graces and the conversion of others
What is the axiom of Psuedo-Dionysius
That act is good whose causes are complete; that act is evil in which a single cause is lacking.
What is effect of Mrt?
reward
What is cause of Mrt?
goodness
Which Mrt is more subjective?
congruous
Recovery of Mrt lost in mortal sin?
effects of absolution are always in proportion to the excellence of the dispositions with which sacrament received (basically dispositions of pentinent matter)
What is law?
ordinance of reason for the common good promulgated by the person who has care of the community
What is required by the ordinance of reason?
that it be efficacious and binding and that it be firm, stable, and enduring
What is “for the common good?”
purpose of any law
Can heroic acts be made law?
no because they are to difficult or impossible
what are the types of common law?
direct and indirect
What is the eternal law?
St Aug “divine reason and will of God commanding the preservation of the natural law and forbidding its disturbance”
What is STA’s definition of eternal law?
plan flowing from God’s wisdom directing all acts and movements