In Roman Catholicism, strict merit is is goodness bestowed on a person that is directly due to the person’s work.  An example would be a contractual agreement between two or more parties where a person would get paid money for work performed.

Contrast with Condign Merit and Congruent Merit.

Summary of positions:  Condign merit (reward merit, not owed, but kindly given) the kind of goodness that is bestowed on a person because of the actions of that person. Congruent merit (merit from another) is the goodness bestowed on a person because of the work of another person. Strict merit (merit strictly due, as is a wage for work) is goodness bestowed as a contractual agreement between two or more parties.