Is there a minimum donation requirement in canon law?

[TIK]

I remember a comment from my mother a few years ago, when she was trying to discourage me from becoming a Christian. She said “You know that you have to give the church 10% of your income!!!”

I was just wondering if there’s any truth to this? Is there somewhere in canon law that says “Catholics should/must donate 10% of their income to the church”? If there is, I’m totally on board with doing it. As it is now, I just drop 100HKD in the collection basket every Sunday, because I feel comfortable with that. But if I’m supposed to be giving more than that then I’m happy to do so.

 

[otjm]

It is my understanding that the LDS Church requires 10%, and at the end of the year/beginning of the next, the bishop will sit down with you and determine if you did that (which will go to whether or not you have a temple recommend for the next year); and that a good practicing Mormon will actually end up at about 12%, with the residual going to their charity work.

That said, the Gospels speak to giving; 10% may be more than you should morally give, or it may be far less. It depends on your circumstances. Additionally, the Church considers that money is only part of the equation; you should give of your time and talents.

Giving to your parish is the first responsibility; but there are also other areas - Catholic Charities; Right to Life; diocesan appeals. They all should be considered.

The Catholic Church does more work in and around the world than any other charitable organization; but that in part is driven by the sheer size. Catholics are notorious for for being near the bottom of any Christian denominations as to average giving; I have seen 2% as an average. They are also somewhat notorious about getting anywhere from grumpy to angry when the topic comes up at Mass.

I try for 10%, but that includes time (I am involved in three ministries at my parish, plus have started, along with other volunteers, a 3,600 sf garden to raise fresh vegetables for our Food Pantry for the Poor. The largest $ goes to the parish, then to several charities and the archdiocese.

You should assess what you actually have in income, and then you need to set your priorities. Where does God come in your life? Once a week for an hour? What do you spend on entertainment? (I am always bemused by those who spent $70 - $100/month on cable and entertainment, and put $5 in the collection when they have it in their wallet).

It is a personal matter between you and God. You cannot be more generous than God is. And beyond that, it is not my business or your neighbor’s as to what you give. God blesses a generous giver - not always with material blessings.

 

[MT1926]

Here is an answer from this website:

Although the Church teaches that offering some form of material support to the Church is obligatory for all Catholic adults who are able to do so, it doesn’t specify what percent of one’s income should be given. Remember, tithing was an Old Testament obligation that was incumbent on the Jews under the Law of Moses. Christians are dispensed from the obligation of tithing ten percent of their incomes, but not from the obligation to help the Church.

The key to understanding how God wants us to give to the Church is found in:
1 Corinthians 16:2
“On the first day of the week [Sunday] each of you should set aside whatever he can afford,” and in
2 Corinthians 9:5-8
So I thought it necessary to encourage the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for your promised gift [donation], so that in this way it might be ready as a bountiful gift and not as an exaction. Consider this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.

To paraphrase: God doesn’t demand a fixed amount of money from us; he wants us to give from the heart. If people are forced by their church to give a certain percent of their income, that’s extortion. If they give freely and cheerfully the amount they are able, that’s a gift.

I would also like to mention that donation isn’t just monetary. Getting involved in your church is just as (if not more in certain circumstances) important as donating money to the church. What good is a warehouse full of food for the poor if no one volunteers to package it up and pass it out. I find giving your time to the Church is a donation that is long forgotten. So many want to know the price of admission and then decide if it is worth giving up “cable” as the other poster mentioned. Well Jesus stretched out his arms and showed us what the price of admission is, when he died on the cross…give til it hurts. If I am only squeezing in the hour of weekend mass or dropping my end of the week cash in the collection basket, then I am definitely not following Jesus example.

God Bless

 

[1ke]

I was just wondering if there’s any truth to this?

No, the Church does not specify an amount. We are to be generous towards God, according to our ability. The bible is replete with verses regarding this, from the first fruits of Abel to the Widow’s Mite.

The Fifth Precept of the Church, from the Catechism:

The fifth precept (“You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church”) means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.

Canon Law says this:

*Can. 222 §1. The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for the works of the apostolate and of charity, and for the decent support of ministers.

§2. They are also obliged to promote social justice and, mindful of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor from their own resources.*

It’s a serious obligation that we have to support the material needs of the Church-- the parish, the diocese, and the universal church. It is a serious obligation to support our priests, in active ministry and in retirement. It is a serious obligation to assist the poor through charitable works and through material support.

It is up to each of us to decide if we are giving generously or not. It is up to each of us to decide what is within our ability, and to revisit that periodically as our means change. As you get raises or change jobs, for instance, or if you receive a bonus, an inheritance, or other unexpected money. Also if you lose your job, or your pay decreases or expenses increase.

Additionally, our stewardship is not limited to money. We give the church time, talent and treasure. We work in the vineyards-- as the parable says-- doing to work of God in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. We give our time to assisting at Mass through ministries, through teaching CCD or other classes, through working in social concerns ministries, giving to the food pantry or the resale shop or other works of the parish or diocese, Catholic Charities, etc. We give our time helping in these endeavors, or in community based works of charity. We give our talents-- are we a carpenter? We help repair the church if needed. Are we good at arranging flowers? We do bouquets for the altar. Are we good at bookkeeping? We offer to help with the parish in that way by serving on the finance council or doing the bookkeeping for the parish (large parishes hire full time bookkeepers, small ones like mine rely on volunteers).

But all of this is up to you via discernment in prayer.

 

[dans0622]

Back in “the old days” there was a “tithing” “requirement” in the law of the Church. I say “requirement” since there would have always been the understanding that it is sometimes impossible to actually give 10%. There was also a practice of offering “first fruits” as was done in Old Testament times.

By the time of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, this “requirement” was left to local law/custom/practice. It is entirely absent from the 1983 Code, as already noted: we are simply told of our obligation to support the Church (e.g. c. 222). That means we are obliged to give something.

We are left to make our own decision as to what is appropriate for personal giving. In my own opinion, the “10% rule” is a good starting point for discernment.

Dan

 

[TIK]

Thanks for your responses, I suspected that this might be the case and it makes the most intuitive sense to me. A hard and fast 10% rule seems quite legalistic and arbitrary, but a “Give as you are able, and not just your money” seems much more in line with what I read in the Bible