Merit (Catholicism)

Merit (Catholicism)

Merit (Latin meritum), in general, is understood to be that property of a good work which entitles the doer to receive a reward (prœmium, merces) from him in whose service the work is done. By antonomastic usage, the word has come to designate also the good work itself, insofar as it deserves a reward from the person in whose service it was performed.

In Catholic theology, a supernatural merit can only be a salutary act to which God in consequence of his infallible promise may give a reward.