Giving while in debt

  • Thread starter Thread starter BrianKH
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

BrianKH

Guest
As a Catholic, I am obligated to give to the Church to the best of my ability, to give back to God what is God’s. However, I am currently pretty deep in credit card debt. My quandary is that when I do not give, I feel guilty, but when I do give I also feel guilty that I am using money which is not my own. At the same time, I must support my family. I would appreciate any advice on this subject.
 
Tithe confident our dear Lord will NEVER be outdone in generosity. It will be a leap of faith at first and your hands may shake when you write the first few months of checks(s). It is a type of surrender. Oh, and do this joyfully. This will keep you tethered to our Lord and conscious of your need for his mercy and grace at all times.
 
First of all, I would guess that you have a budget set up and a plan to get out of debt. If you haven’t done this, sit down with wife and make financial plans for the future, then stick to it. Included in that budget shoud be a stipend for the church, maybe even $5.00 a week (or month) but do not forget to give. Then, give the church some of your time, maybe only an hour a week helping with the gardening, cleaning the church, anything the priest needs help with that you can do. So, so far you have given “treasure”, “time”, and then how about some “talent”! Can you sing or play the organ or piano? Can you teach CCD classes? Brian, there are so many ways you can give to the church, it does NOT have to be in $$$. Then, when you are out of debt, give to your church generously.

God bless you and your family

Mom of 5
 
My Wife and I have ,more times than not, being in serious debt, without work, either one or the other during these past 10 years,but gave monetarily our 10% of what we had which was not enough to meet our commitments and by the end of the month all our needs were met. As much as it seemed scary at times, it was exciting to see how God was going to work. He never let us down. I know you can give of your time, but I still believe tithing also mean monetarily, whether it be 5% money and 5% time, because when you give money you really have to trust God, and it is through trusting God and seeing how He never lets us down, our faith grows.

Your are in our prayers - Lenis
 
10% of your take home pay should go to long term savings.

20% of your take home pay should go to paying off debts.

The rest of your take home pay can go toward regular living expenses, which include your church contributions.
 
I understand where you’re coming from.

I am in a similar position, but I’m single so all debt is mine. I will give occasionally (and usually forget to use the envelopes so my statement for taxes at the end of the year will be embarassing.)

Not everyone is actually called or required to give 10% of MONEY specifically. Tithing comes in many forms, and this was somewhat addressed in an earlier post.

Our parish is moving to a full-stewardship parish, which translates into being completely financially independent…free tuition for students at the school, etc.

They are very careful to say that some people are blessed with enough money…therefore, they would be those called to give financially. Others have a great deal of talent which can be utilized, and others have the gift of time. If someone has money and gives but has no time, their obligation is fulfilled, others have much talent, little time, but maybe they can find their niche.

What is important is that you pray about what you are able to give of your time, talent, OR treasure or combination thereof, and then follow through. There are many ways to tithe…so keep in mind that maybe God didn’t give you treasure to share, but if that is the case you have a store of some other abundance to be shared with your parish community.
 
I don’t know how your personal finances are, but we can also contribute to our church through volunteering and doing those little mundane things that may need to be done. If you are strapped, but you have talent and time you could give to the Church, that may be an option as well 🙂
 
40.png
BrianKH:
As a Catholic, I am obligated to give to the Church to the best of my ability, to give back to God what is God’s. However, I am currently pretty deep in credit card debt. My quandary is that when I do not give, I feel guilty, but when I do give I also feel guilty that I am using money which is not my own. At the same time, I must support my family. I would appreciate any advice on this subject.
Click to expand...
I was always taught that giving (to the church) was to be in the form of Time, Talents OR Treasures.

If you don’t think that you can give the dollars and cents to equal a decent portion of what you have been able to bring home (Thank God you have an income!), then give some of your time. Spend time reading to the folx in a Senior Home. Or spend time repairing the pews for the church. As for your talents, do you have a talent to share? Singing or artwork, or maybe working with establishing (or maintaining) some 12 step program?

I have a hard time distinguishing ‘Talents’ from ‘Time’, but it’s all in giving!

I won’t knock you for your current situation, but I do know that even when broke, if I put in that offering plate on Sunday, by Tuesday or Wednesday, I have forgotten what I put in, because I was able to continue to do what I needed during the week. It may sound hokey, and yes, there have been some times when I put in less than I wanted (or nothing… I had no cash), but when I was able to put in, I can’t say I did without later on.

Best wishes for you and your wife. Our nation’s economy will turn around!
 
The point of the Offeratory is first to acknowledge that we have brought to Mass our full person (body, mind, spirit) and that offer it all up in participation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in gratitude, Love and reparation for our sins.

The “matter” that you specifically are offering to demonstrate the above Offering can take different forms that week (Time, Talent and Treasure). IMHO, if you are unable to make a sacrificial financial gift, it places an obligation for you to reflect on what of your Time and/or Talent you are going to give to God. It doesn’t always have to be to the Church either (although it is a precept of the Church to support your parish).

And the “matter” that you give is bound to change over your lifetime. There are periods where your proper gift is Time and/or Talent and others when Treasure is most proper. I’m absolutely sure that God knows better than you what is the absolute best but trust that He appreciates whatever gift you bring and understands your circumstances.
 
What if we can’t give treasure OR talent because we have none, and what if there is no activity that we can give our time to? 😦 What then?
 
Do you have hands to work a soup kitchen food line?
Can you mentor a young engaged couple?
Can you come to adoration and offer up prayers for a worthy cause?
Can you volunteer to read at a nursing home or rock cocaine addicted babies in a nursey of a hospital?
Just to mention a few…
The only talent you need for any of these things…is a generous and willing heart. All things can be taught to you.
And if you are infirmed, you can say prayers for those who need it, offering up your sufferings.

You do have talent, God created you! Now all you need is the willingness to try. Never give up.

Keep praying and have a blessed Christmas
 
40.png
Cradle:
What if we can’t give treasure OR talent because we have none, and what if there is no activity that we can give our time to? 😦 What then?
Click to expand...
We are in a similar financial situation as probably a good deal of the people posting here. I stay home while my husband is the sole breadwinner. We have developed substantial credit card debt as well and sometimes I get very worried. When I figure my bills for the month on paper I write in my tithe as one of them. ( It is not as much as I like to give, but I hope to give more someday.) This does help me though because I make sure it is one of the first “bills” I pay in the month, so it’s gone and I am not tempted to “narrow” down my contribution as time goes by.

Believe me, I often do not see any talent I have to offer- you wouldn’t want me up there singing!, and we have little to offer monetarily, but there is always some way you can help. You could help with the nursery if there is one, you could bring the eucharist to someone who can’t make it to mass, or you could find out if there is someone who doesn’t have a car that would like to go to mass and take them. They are some of the many ways you can help. I just try to look and see if there is a spot that needs to filled somewhere and try to step up if I can. Last week I was an angel in a live nativity (basicall just had to stand there- no talent needed for that so it was perfect for me!)- and of course it was freezing that day!

Tamara
 
40.png
Cradle:
What if we can’t give treasure OR talent because we have none, and what if there is no activity that we can give our time to? 😦 What then?
Click to expand...
I don’t know… how can you NOT have treasure OR talent? How do you feed yourself? How do you make your family feel like family?

There is something you can do to give to others, even if those others are just the church. 👍

We all should do more for church than come in and keep a seat warm for an hour
 
The thing is that there are already people who do most if not all the activities at my parish. The EMHCs take Communion to the sick and home-bound, we don’t have a nursery, there are no CCD positions open and at the start of the school year the commissioning happens at a really bad time (this year it was at lunch on a school day, if I remember correctly from what I was told by some), and I can’t drive so I can’t help out anyone with getting to Mass.

Is there a place where we can find a list of possible activities that we can help out with? It seems like everything in my parish is already taken or is impossible for me to do! :eek:
 
Cradle,

I know how you feel. I found it to be like that for quite awhile in my parish. They didn’t need me for anything (that I could do). Now, I’m flooded with stuff I could do. If your parish doesn’t have a time and talent signup sheet, you could offer to create and maintain one.
 
Join the St.Vincent dePaul society…they are constantly needing volunteers to help take care of the poor. Believe me, volunteers are always needed…you could stuff envelopes for flyers, etc…Talk to your pastor and I am sure he will direct someone who can make some suggestions where you can help. Help work at fundraiser for the parish…believe me…it may seem like the parish has a clicque of people…but believe me…there isn’t…Volunteers are always gladly appreciated. It just seems like the same people are always doing the work…but believe me…there are no parishes where new volunteers wouldn’t be greatly appreciated. It gets contagious once you get started
 
40.png
Cradle:
The thing is that there are already people who do most if not all the activities at my parish. The EMHCs take Communion to the sick and home-bound, we don’t have a nursery, there are no CCD positions open and at the start of the school year the commissioning happens at a really bad time (this year it was at lunch on a school day, if I remember correctly from what I was told by some), and I can’t drive so I can’t help out anyone with getting to Mass.

Is there a place where we can find a list of possible activities that we can help out with? It seems like everything in my parish is already taken or is impossible for me to do! :eek:
Click to expand...
Could you help to clean up the church at the end of masses? What about greeting people as they come into church (members and visitors)? Could you address envelopes? Are you part of the Liturgy Team and do readings for mass?

Someone else suggested that you be the one to start a list of talents and maintain that list. There is always something you can do. What you have to do is determine what talents you have that you can share. I just don’t believe that God made anyone with no talents. Don’t discount yourself!
 
touchedbythehandofgod.com/default.aspx?tabid=3811

I just discovered this website. It was mentioned in the Catholic Digest magazine…and this article I am linking you to, relays a wonderful article about Giving her all. I think you will get a lot from it if you take a moment to check it out.

With all things, pray on it! and never cease!
 
Cradle: does your church publish the list of sick parishioners or those asking for special prayers or serving in the military, etc.? If so, you can take time each day and set it aside to especially pray for them.

Just an idea.
 
40.png
Cradle:
Is there a place where we can find a list of possible activities that we can help out with? It seems like everything in my parish is already taken or is impossible for me to do! :eek:
Click to expand...
Have you asked your priest if there is anything you could do for volunteering your time? Landscaping, cutting the grass, shoveling snow, painting, cleaning. I bet he either has something or can refer you to a group you could volunteer with.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top