Dictionary
A modern dictionary of Catholic terms, both common and obscure. Find accurate definitions of words and phrases.
PLEASURE
The satisfaction that accompanies the exercise of a human faculty. Depending on the faculty used, there are different kinds of pleasure, namely, sensuous or intellectual. In practice the who forms are never separated, since bodily satisfaction affects the rational part of a human being, and intellectual satisfaction has an influence on the body. Some writers distinguish between pleasure and joy, where pleasure refers to the satisfaction of bodily desire, such as eating and sex, and joy refers to the use of rational powers, such as thinking and loving.
All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.
