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| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
(Fromdelos, a derivative ofdeo "to boil", to "throb with heat"), is "a necessary effect of love", being "the vehement movement of one who loves to [secure] the object of hislove" (vehemens motus amantis in rem amatam,St. Thomas,Summa Theol. I-II:28:4). Here the distinctive note is in the vehemence, or intensity, of the action to whichlove impels, an intensity which is proportioned to that of thelove felt. As there is two kinds oflove, theamor concupiscentiae, which is self-regarding, and theamor amicitiae, which is altruistic, two corresponding kinds of zeal might be distinguished, but by usage the term is restricted to the zeal prompted by the amor amicitiae; indeed in its religious sense it is applied solely to the zeal inspired by thelove ofGod, to the ardent endeavours and works undertaken to promote His glory. Here again we can subdivide according as this zeal forGod manifests itself in works of devotedness directed towards the fulfillment of the first or the second of the two great Commandments. In theBible (cf.Psalm 63:10;Numbers 25:11;Titus 2:14, etc.) it is mostly used in the first of these applications; in the phrase "zeal forsouls" it is used in the second, and in this sense it is much the more common among religious writers.
Zeal, beinglove in action, just on that account tends to remove as far as lies in its power all that is injurious or hostile to the object of itslove; it has thus its antipathies as well as its attractions. Moreover, since, though itself appertaining to the will, it presupposes an exercise of judgment as to the appropriate means for the attainment of its object, we must further distinguishtrue andfalse zeal, according as the judgment guiding it is sound or unsound. ThusSt. Paul's zeal was zeal throughout, but it wasfalse zeal in the days when hepersecuted theChurch,true zeal when he became its Apostle. "Caritas Christi urget nos" are the words with which this Apostle described the promptings within his own breast of this zeal which contributed so powerfully to lay the foundations of theCatholicChurch. And it is a zeal of like nature which, enkindled in the breasts of so many generations of ardent followers ofChrist, has, in its co-operation with the lavish gifts of the Holy Spirit, built that Church up into the greatest marvel of human history. For it is the zeal of all those devoutsouls which, as distinguished from the lukewarmness of the ordinaryChristian, has sent forth the Apostles and missionaries to their lives of self-sacrifice, has filled the sanctuaries with an unfailing supply of goodpriests and thecloisters with throngs of fervent religious, which has organized, sustained, and developed so splendid an array ofworks of charity to meet almost every conceivable need of suffering humanity.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES, Treatise on the Love of God, X, xii-xv; RODRIGUEZ, The Practice of Christian Perfection, III, tr. 9, chap. x; SAINT-JURE, On the Knowledge and Love of Our Lord, xxii, sect. 13; HOUDRY, Bibliotheca Praedicatorum, s.v. Zeal, which contains a full bibliography and numerous extracts bearing on the subject.
APA citation.Smith, S.(1912).Zeal. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15753a.htm
MLA citation.Smith, Sydney."Zeal."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 15.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1912.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15753a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Michael T. Barrett.Dedicated to all who are zealous for the Catholic Faith.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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