treasury of merits

American  

noun

Roman Catholic Church.

1. the superabundant store of merits and satisfactions, comprising those of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.

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Etymology

Origin of treasury of merits

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Oh, blessed Treasury of merits!

From Project Gutenberg

In exchange for a meritorious work�frequently, contributing to a worthy cause or making a pilgrimage to a shrine�the church would dispense a sinner from his temporal punishment through its "treasury of merits."

From Time Magazine Archive

The individual Israelite, moreover, could supply his own deficiencies in righteousness out of the treasury of merits which belonged to him in virtue of his descent from the common fathers of the race, or the holy progenitors of his own family.

From Project Gutenberg

The doctrine of the treasury of merits.

From Project Gutenberg

The connexion of the mediaeval doctrine of the treasury of merits with the similar Jewish doctrine needs to be traced out.

From Project Gutenberg