How much should your Church spend on its building and grounds?

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Lisa44

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Hi all,
I’ve only been a Catholic a short while, and been going to this Church a short while, and its a nice church. Its big, and modern.
Well, at the end of Mass the Priest always asks for money for new construction efforts.

We didn’t give much because we lived in an old rental house that had bugs and was really ugly. And I thought why should the church need so much money when its already such a nice building? (And we have a lot of poverty in our town).

Well, there always seems to be new contstruction projects and massive amounts of money are requested to help the Church.

Does the church just mean to solicit from its wealthy paritioners? Or are poor people expected to continually give money when they themselves cannot even afford to own a home, much less a nice rental.

It kindof bugged me as a new Catholic. And I’m trying to rationalize it so that the Church doesn’t look greedy to have all brand new fancy things.

Should a financially humble family feel obligated every Mass to chip in for a fancier Church?
 
It is a building where God resides. How can any Church be too fancy. It is God’s money anyways. Give what you can. God loves a cheerful giver…2Cor.9.6
 
Well, there’s a few things you should remember.
  1. No one is expected to give more than they can afford. Certainly we should give what we can, but we should also be able to maintian our own household.
  2. The Catholic Church is the largest charity on the face of the planet. It has thousands of different agencies that work in almost every country on earth. All of this does a lot of good, but it does take a lot of donations. Still, no single group has ever done more to help the poor than the Catholic Church.
  3. A Church is the abode of God, and God deserves our finest. Certainly, a Mass can be celebrated anywhere, but if we can, we should do our best for Him. After all, material goods are just things. After our life here on earth, they have no real value anyway. It also serves as a place that it out of the ordinary that can help inspire us to feel closer to God.
  4. Now for the more practical point of view. People have been arguing for ages about whether elaborate church buildings are necessary, or whether we should give all of our money to charity instead of wasting it on things. Yet even in the Gospel, Jesus chastizes the Apostles for scolding the young woman who anoints Jesus’s feet with fine perfume and wipes it with her hair. They are angry over the expensive waste, and yet Jesus says, “The poor will always be with you”. In other words, no amount of charity will EVER save every poor person on earth, and there is nothing wrong with honoring God with your finest. Further, Churches are investments for many generations to come. When the great cathedrals of Europe were built, they cost unbelievable sums of money, and yet, they almost all generated huge profits which allowed the buildings to pay for themselves many times over. Construction could take up to 200 years and could employ thousands. Tourists (even in the early Middle Ages) would come from miles around to worship (and they needed places to stay, food, and souvenirs). They would come to see the great art and architecture, venerate relics, and expand their faith through retreats, pilgrimages, and other spiritual experiences. Many guilds would donate certain exquisite items to the church, so there was no cost involved. Finally, churches were originally teaching tools for the illiterate masses, so that they could come in and learn about the Bible from the paintings, statues, and stained glass windows. Some of these buildings have been in use for 1700 years! Many cathedrals also sponsored seminaries, which became the only places where people could get educated. Eventually, so many lay people entered the seminaries, that they broke off schools for ordinary people, which then became the modern university system. As you can see, investment in a church building can have a hundred-fold return on the surrounding town, and even become the spur for a whole range of economic opportunities. In terms of both finances and faith, great churches are great investments!
 
mesurman said:
It is a building where God resides. How can any Church be too fancy. It is God’s money anyways. Give what you can. God loves a cheerful giver…2Cor.9.6
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In a community where there is wealth, then yes, one would expect to see large Churches, even Cathedrals.

But when the community is largely a ghetto, one doesn’t expect to see such wealth in the Church.

It would seem to me that the emphasis in that community would be to GIVE back… financial aid for the poor, etc. Instead of spending money on an ever better church when the people who attend that Church are largely impovershed.
 
Lisa44 said:
In a community where there is wealth, then yes, one would expect to see large Churches, even Cathedrals.

But when the community is largely a ghetto, one doesn’t expect to see such wealth in the Church.

It would seem to me that the emphasis in that community would be to GIVE back… financial aid for the poor, etc. Instead of spending money on an ever better church when the people who attend that Church are largely impovershed.
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Actually, some of the largest and most beatiful Catholic Churches are in some of the poorest areas of both the US and the world. They stand as beacons to the community, as places where they can come and better themselves physically and spiritually. The Catholic Church prefers to put a lot of investment into a building that will be there for hundreds of years than one that needs constant replacement every fifty. Quality often pays for itself. The church itself also generally offers many services for the surrounding community, such as job and language training, day care, schools, orphanages, health clinics, and so on, and so it needs to have those facilities. All of this serves to provide opportunity to those that are empoverished.

Another thing you have to remember is that often, a poor parish will be supported by donations from the rest of the diocese, so that wealthier churches will chip in for and aid in the construction.
 
I will say, as a relatively new convert to Catholicism, its not the size of the buildings, or the newness of them, or the quality of building materials that draws me to Christ. But it is the spirit of the liturgy.

One thing I’ve always wondered is why Catholics pass the basket during the Mass. Because it seems like money should be seperate from the Mass. I’ve felt guilty for not having money to give, and I know that all poor people feel that when asked to give.

Why can’t people give donations discretely before or after the mass into a box or something? Then poor people wouldn’t feel ashamed during the Mass?

Anyways, when the building is fancy and the liturgy is not what it should be, it doesn’t matter how much money you poor into externals.

My main criticisms of the Catholic Church have to do with the Mass.

But thanks for answering everyone. I’ll continue to take it in stride, and learn as I go.
 
Keep in mind, the Church building is your building, too. The Church building belongs to the whole congregation, but especially to the poor, since it is often the only place the poor can go and sit in a quiet place with some beautiful artwork and beautiful architectural design that uplifts the soul.

When we take the quiet away from the Church, and when we take the artwork and the beauty out of the Church, then we are really robbing people like you, to whom these things really belong.

I would say, don’t worry about not giving to this project if you can’t afford it, but at the same time, don’t feel that they are taking something away from anyone, either, since the ultimate result will belong to you and to all of the poor. It will be a place that is yours, that you can come to whenever you get fed up with the bugs and the noise and the other inconveniences that poverty is forcing you to live with at home.
 
Lisa44 said:
I will say, as a relatively new convert to Catholicism, its not the size of the buildings, or the newness of them, or the quality of building materials that draws me to Christ. But it is the spirit of the liturgy.

One thing I’ve always wondered is why Catholics pass the basket during the Mass. Because it seems like money should be seperate from the Mass. I’ve felt guilty for not having money to give, and I know that all poor people feel that when asked to give.

Why can’t people give donations discretely before or after the mass into a box or something? Then poor people wouldn’t feel ashamed during the Mass?

Anyways, when the building is fancy and the liturgy is not what it should be, it doesn’t matter how much money you poor into externals.

My main criticisms of the Catholic Church have to do with the Mass.

But thanks for answering everyone. I’ll continue to take it in stride, and learn as I go.
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One of the reasons for not making the offering in secret, is one of the purposes of Mass. That being, to re-present the sacrifice of Jesus. In the offering of the gifts, we have the opportunity to offer something concrete along with our spiritual offering of ourselves on the altar in communion with Christs sacrifice.
 
Lisa44 said:
I don’t think so. I think that if you have it to give then great. If not, you shouldn’t feel guilty when you go to Mass because you can’t keep putting money in the basket every time it passes infront of your nose.
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It is not a matter of “if you have it to give then great”. Giving is to be a sacrifice. If it doesn’t hurt, even if only a little bit, it means nothing.
 
Lisa44 said:
One thing I’ve always wondered is why Catholics pass the basket during the Mass. Because it seems like money should be seperate from the Mass. I’ve felt guilty for not having money to give, and I know that all poor people feel that when asked to give.
Click to expand...
This is an AWESOME opportunity for growing in humbleness and humility. Take advantage of it.
 
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