CatholicTheology.info

Choose a topic from Part 3 Suppl:

• Penance (Continued)
• Extreme Unction
• Order (Holy Orders)
• Matrimony
• The General Resurrection
• The Last Things
  • 87. Knowledge in Risen Man
  • 88. Time and Place of the General Judgment
  • 89. Persons to be Present at the Last Judgment
  • 90. Christ, the Judge
  • 92. Heaven: The Beatific Vision
  • 93. The Happiness of Heaven: Mansions
  • 94. The Saved and the Damned
  • 95. The Endowments of the Blessed
  • 96. Special Heavenly Rewards
  • 97. The Punishment of the Damned
  • 98. The Will and the Intellect of the Damned
  • 99. God's Mercy and Justice Towards the Damned
• Appendix I (The Innocents in Limbo)
• Appendix II (Two Notes on Purgatory)

95. The Endowments of the Blessed

1. When the blessed, or the saints-for the names mean thesame here-are brought to the glory of heaven, they are dowered withsuitable gifts.

2. These endowments do not constitute beatitude. Beatitudeis perfect happiness in the beatific vision; this happiness orbeatitude is what the soul has merited through Christ and by hisgrace. But endowments are gifts that are not merited in anysense.

3. Christ our Lord as man has all possible perfections andevery gift and endowment, for his humanity is united to Godhead.Still, strictly speaking, it is not proper to say that Christ asman is adorned with gifts and endowments. For Christ is God as wellas man; endowments are his to give, not to receive.

4. Now, an endowment is a dowry, and a dowry suggests awedding and a bride. Human nature is wedded to the divine nature inChrist; Christ himself is wedded to the Church. Hence, whenspeaking of human beings, we may use the term dowry or endowmentwith propriety to indicate the perfections of the blessed. But thisis not the case when we speak of angels, for the metaphor ofmarriage and bride does not apply in their case. Of course, angelshave all the perfections that can adorn a rational being in heaven.The point we make here is merely that the term dowry or the termendowment is not suitably employed to express angelicperfection.

5. The dowries or endowments of the blessed are: vision,love, and fruition. These gifts may be said to correspond,respectively, to the theological virtues of faith, hope, andcharity. Faith is fulfilled in vision; hope, in loving possession;charity, in the fruition or full enjoyment of what is loved.

"To think of oneself as nothing, and always to think well and highly of others is the best and most perfect wisdom. Wherefore, if you see another sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in good estate. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself. "
Thomas á Kempis

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"The Lord has always revealed to mortals the treasures of his wisdom and his spirit, but now that the face of evil bares itself more and more, so does the Lord bare his treasures more."
St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church

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"The name of Jesus, pronounced with reverence and affection, has a kind of power to soften the heart. "
St Philip Neri

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