Seeking a Catholic framework for interpreting Bible verses about God's rewards that are commensurate with a believer's work

In the Bible there are passages hinting at optional extra rewards that God promises to believers who perform meritorious works on earth. I'm referring to different **degrees of rewards** that God gives **beyond** the "standard" eternal life / beatific vision that believers can expect if they persevere to the end: - Reward for being persecuted because we follow Jesus: [Matt 5:11-12](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A11-12&version=NLT) , [Luke 6:22-23](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6%3A22-23&version=NLT) - Reward for lending to our enemies without expecting to be repaid: [Luke 6:27-36](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6%3A27-36&version=NLT) , [Luke 6:37-28](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+6%3A37-38&version=NLT) - Jesus's reply to Peter's question "We've given up everything to follow you. What will we get?", after His conversation with the Rich Man [Matt 19:16-30](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+19%3A16-30&version=NLT) - Parable of the Vineyard Workers [Matt 20:1-16](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+20%3A1-16&version=NLT) - Jesus said He will repay each person according to his deeds [Matt 16:27](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matt+16%3A27&version=ESV) , backed by the Parable of talents, [Matt 25:14-30](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matt+25%3A14-30&version=NLT) - Paul's anticipation of his personal reward of bringing people to Christ [1 Cor 3:11-15](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+cor+3%3A11-15&version=NLT) , [Phil 4:1](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4%3A1&version=NLT) , [1 Thess 2:19-20](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+thess+2%3A19-20&version=NLT) which [one argued](https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/are-there-different-degrees-of-reward-in-heaven/) Paul was basing it on [Dan 12:13](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=dan+12%3A13&version=NLT) - Reward to save people from injustice [Prov 24:11-12](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+24%3A11-12&version=NLT) - Reward for giving to the needy done in private [Matt 6:1-4](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matt+6%3A1-4&version=NLT) - Reward for praying to God in private [Matt 6:5-6](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matt+6%3A5-6&version=NLT) - Reward for fasting in private [Matt 6:16-18](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matt+6%3A16-18&version=NLT) - Storing treasures in heaven [Matt 6:19-21](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matt+6%3A19-21&version=NLT) - etc. (*this list is suggestive, not exhaustive*) Besides the Biblical hints, in everyday life we also often hear people saying how God will reward a good samaritan who did a sacrificial / heroic deed to save a stranger, especially if that person ends up dead / seriously injured / disabled. Any serious Christian realizes that our time on earth is very short, **so this is an intensely practical, not a speculative question**. I strongly suspect Biblical statements of God's reward above are to be taken as guidance on how we should adjust our thoughts, words, and deeds so we can love God more, and consequently be in a better state spiritually. **My full question statement is**: Having been secured of the promise of eternal life (which is totally [unmerited](https://www.catholic.com/tract/reward-and-merit)) how should the faithful respond to the reward related verses above based on the teaching of the Catholic church, the Church Fathers, and/or the Doctors of the Church? In other words, I am looking for a church dogma / a **single theological framework** that provides a perspective to interpret all the reward related verses so that, as believers, we can use that framework as a "map" of sorts to direct our will, mind, and emotion into a productive path yielding more and more rewards - not in a mercenary / hoarding-treasures way, but so we can be assured of a well-trodden path toward increasing love for God that is commensurate with increasing "reward" / blessedness / joy / etc. either in earth, heaven, or both. **Notes** - By "works" I of course do not mean performance divorced from the heart (as though we're piling up hourly wage as we work). It's the resulting action (in thoughts, words, deed) produced from a virtuous heart; action that can lead to more virtue within the heart. In Protestant terms, it means "good works" produced by the heart that cooperates with the sanctification work performed by the Holy Spirit; good works which lead to further sanctification. - There is a [related Catholic answer](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/50255/reward-in-heaven-what-is-it-catholic) already which frames the different degrees of rewards in terms of time spent in purgatory (see [CCC 1021-1023](http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm)) but it doesn't offer a framework nor a perspective to interpret the above verses. - I understand each verse has its own context, but it's not necessary to exegete every verse and connect it to the framework. The framework should be broad enough to make an easy connection to what is **common** among the verses, namely that God rewards the faithful beyond eternal life. - From the two answers already provided (by Ken Graham and Thom) it looks like the center is the Catholic teaching on Merit described in the [Catholic Encyclopedia entry](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10202b.htm) . The discussion there comes closest to the framework that I'm looking for, and the encyclopedia entry even mentions some of the verses above! - There is another answer given in the context of *Virtuous living and reward*, Appendix 2 of a paper by Prof. Alfred J. Freddoso on [St. Thomas on Prudence and the Moral Virtues](http://www3.nd.edu/~afreddos/papers/prudence%20and%20the%20moral%20virtues.pdf) quoting St. Josemaría Escrivá and Romano Guardini debating whether Peter's question about reward in Matt 19:27-29 is appropriate especially since the reward is related *intrinsically* to eternal life and following Jesus. - It would be even better if the single framework systematically breaks down the elements of the "rewardable" works we do, similar to how St. Thomas Aquinas provided the faithful a full treatise of the 7 virtues which break down the elements as well as the interconnections. So the type of works covered should be wide ranging to include not only moral deeds & works of mercy, but also private devotional practices (if applicable). - This request is only for Catholic framework. Just for comparison, I found [an answer from the Protestant perspective](https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/are-there-different-degrees-of-reward-in-heaven/) to the question "Are there different degrees of reward in heaven" makes a good case for the **existence** of different degrees of reward promised in the Bible, but stopped short at providing only clues and a perspective (but NOT a framework) which I suspect because of the restriction of self-imposed Sola Scriptura: > What kind of reward might we receive based on our work here on earth? This is actually a very tough question to answer, as the Bible does not give us the clarity we might like on this issue. But there are several clues we can work from. First, let’s remember *joy* is a reward, and the Bible tells us there are degrees of joy in the next life. So we know whatever it is God gives us, it will be something resulting in great joy. Maybe it will be different for each of us, who knows? But there is a reason to believe God has a particular way of rewarding his beloved. - I realize that the question demands a research essay level answer. To fit this site, what I'm looking for instead is **any pointers to articles, books, papers,** that can bring me closer to what I'm ultimately looking for. Again, Thom & Ken Graham's answers are great acceptable samples. Once there are enough responses I can then summarize the findings in my own answer (or within the question itself) as an annotated bibliography for the community's future reference.