Question — Merkelbach, Summa Theologiae Moralis
Second Question: On the Internal Effects of Charity
S. Th. II-II, q. 28, 29, 30, 45.
920. There are three internal effects of charity:
The first is joy, which is caused from dilection, either a) on account of this, that good is in the one loved and is preserved in him, and thus we rejoice concerning the immutable goodness of God (the joy of friendship completing the love of complacency), or b) on account of the presence of the one loved, and thus we rejoice fully concerning God in heaven, or even on earth concerning his indwelling in the soul (the joy of concupiscence filling the desire of the one loving). The first joy can have no sadness mixed with it; - likewise the other joy in heaven, where it will be altogether full, because nothing remains to be desired, indeed super-full, because more is given than is desired; but not now on earth, where from it there can also follow sadness concerning those things which are opposed to the perfection of participation of the divine good and which are contrary to the effects of charity in us or in neighbor.
In a similar mode we can rejoice concerning our own goods, and rejoice together concerning the goods of neighbor.
The second is peace, which includes two things: a) concord or union of our will with the will of others: charity makes this insofar as we love neighbors as ourselves; from which it happens that a man wills to fulfill the will of neighbor as of himself, and thus two wills tend into one; b) the union of all our appetites: charity makes this insofar as we love God from the whole heart and refer all things to him; and thus all our appetites tend into one.
The third is mercy, which is defined by St. Augustine, de Civ. Dei, l. 9: "compassion or sadness in our heart over another's misery, by which, indeed, if we are able, we are compelled to give relief." For because one loving regards a friend as himself, he regards his evil as his own, and therefore he grieves over this as over his own, and wills to relieve his misery, as his own.
Joy and peace are secondary acts of charity, naturally and necessarily consequent upon dilection; they have the same object and motive as dilection, whence they are not distinct habits. But mercy is a special virtue because it has a special object, namely, another's misery to be relieved by our aid from compassion, and a special appetite, namely, grief over another's misery, to be moderated by reason. Now misery consists in this, that a man suffers what he does not will, that is, an evil which is in some way involuntary to him; and thus the sin of another is also an object of mercy, insofar as it has certain evils annexed which are contrary to the will of the one sinning, such as the obligation of punishment, infirmity, separation from God, etc.
921. Observation. - Mercy is the greatest of all virtues, if it is considered in itself, because to give to others and to relieve defects belongs most of all to a superior, and therefore it is proper to God, in whom it is not distinguished from gratuitous love or charity, which it includes and extends to others. But if it is considered as regards the man having it, it is not the greatest, because it is greater to be joined to the superior, God, which is done immediately by the theological virtues and mediately by certain others. But among all virtues which pertain to neighbor it is the greatest, because to supply for a defect as such belongs to one better (q. 30, a. 4). Thus it is annexed not only to charity but also to justice, and pertains to liberality, of which it is a species (III Sent., d. 33, q. 3, a. 4, qc. 4).
922. The gift of Wisdom corresponds to charity, as the most perfect among the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom is taken: a) for a natural and acquired intellectual virtue by which man promptly judges concerning all things through the highest causes known by reason; b) for a supernatural and infused gift by which man, through the highest supernatural cause, God, and through divine rules, can judge and order all things from connaturality. Man obtains this judgment through the Holy Spirit (I Cor. II, 15 and 10), and therefore this wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Wisdom resides in the intellect because its act is to judge; but it has its cause in the will, namely, charity by which we are connatural to divine things, since it unites us to God. Hence it belongs to wisdom to judge with savor, taste, sweetness, and delight. Therefore wisdom is not in sinners. Moreover, it not only contemplates divine things but also through divine reasons judges concerning human things; whence it is at once speculative and practical.
From the aforesaid its definition is clear: A divinely infused habit by which the mind is rendered easily movable by the Holy Spirit for contemplating divine things, and for judging concerning them, and concerning human things according to divine reasons.
As charity, according to the threefold state of men, is divided into the charity of beginners, of those progressing, and of the perfect, which is not a specific but a gradual distinction, conformably there is a threefold grade of wisdom.
"All who have charity and grace making one pleasing have the gift of wisdom at least according to this first grade of it. Now this grade of wisdom consists in two things. First, in this, that through it the intellect judges that one must adhere to divine things rather than to created and perishable things, saying that word of the Psalmist: It is good for me to adhere to God. Second, that through it he rightly disposes and regulates his human and external operations according to divine laws, according to divine precepts or counsels...
"The second grade of wisdom belongs to those progressing, consisting in this, that for the sake of perceiving and experiencing the spiritual and most pure sweetness or delight of wisdom, a man should despise and forsake all enticements of the flesh and delights of the world, and should strive with all his powers to stabilize the intellect in clear and savory speculation of divine things, endeavoring to ascend to the brightness of angelic conversation...
"The third grade of wisdom is fitting only to the perfect, and consists in this, that the knowledge of no created thing should be savory, delightful, or pleasing to the intellect except insofar as it contributes to the knowledge of divine things, and thus the mind itself should be totally fixed upon the contemplation of divine things, so that it may be able promptly, sincerely, subtly, and sweetly to behold them, the passions having been so quieted, and the exterior man entirely reformed, ordered, and subjected at the nod of the judgment of reason, as much as the frailty of the present life takes in or sustains..."1
1 Dionysius Carthusianus, De donis, tr. II, a. 15.
To the gift of wisdom is attributed the seventh beatitude: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God: 1. as regards merit, for peacemakers are those who make peace either in themselves or in others, which is done by reducing them to due order; but to order belongs to wisdom; therefore to be a peacemaker is fittingly attributed to wisdom; 2. as regards reward, for they will be sons of God by participating the likeness of the only-begotten Son of God, who is uncreated Wisdom itself begotten.
923. Observation. - Let the words of St. Thomas, q. 45, a. 5, be noted: "Some obtain so much of right judgment both in contemplation of divine things and also in the ordering of human things according to divine rules as is necessary for salvation; and this is lacking to no one existing without mortal sin through grace making pleasing... But some perceive the gift of wisdom in a higher grade, both as regards contemplation of divine things, insofar, namely, as they know certain higher mysteries and can manifest them to others; and also as regards direction of human things according to divine rules, insofar as according to them they can order not only themselves but also others; and this grade of wisdom is not common to all having grace making pleasing, but rather pertains to graces freely given, which the Holy Spirit distributes according as he wills, according to that word I Cor. XII, 8: To one..."