Tithing and Catholicism

[KathleenGee]

A friend shared with me her pastor’s response.

Catholics basically do not tithe, the reference of tithing only a few times in the Old Testament. But we are all called to support our church, our bishop and the local church, as well as ‘Peter’s Pence’…also there are campaigns for Caritas and Catholic social justice, the missions, as well as special needs. We may have a second collection at the end of Mass.

So tithing at 10% in regards to a couple with no children who have a good income cannot compare with a working man and family who has mouths to feeds. I just spoke to someone in an office who said she and her husband and kids had to downsize…to a smaller apartment because rents are going up and I see it happening all over. How can anyone raise a family?

You can go further on this. People are not inclined too much to not only care for priests, the sisters and religious and Catholic schools…but also it doesn’t go over too well to financially support a priest and his family. One priest said such a priest would be paid $50,000 a year…but what about families who make alot less and have to support priests families?

I tend to just support the parish best I can, take a second look at the stuff in my house and think do I need this or that, and instead put more in the basket. In meantime, I have given to some charitable organizations and have a big bag of all of them asking for money I don’t have. Hard times for everyone.

A final thing about not looking at people at Mass, when the collection basket goes by I keep my eyes from looking at people whether they donate or not Some people are paying all the time electronically and nothing goes into the basket. I look away so as not to see someone’s amount…none of my business but God’s.

 

[Tommy999]

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut, CatholicHockey7 and KathleenGee. Whether to tithe or not is a very personal decision and I respect the different points of view on it. For me, I have been tithing for more than 20 years now. I used to tithe off the net, but for at least the past 10 years or so I have tithed off the gross. It used to be kind of financially painful to do that at times, but it became second nature after I went from doing it out of obligation to doing it as a “cheerful giver”.

I can also say that the Lord has blessed me for it with a great family and also financially – not in the sense that He is a heavenly vending machine or something like that who gives me stuff based on me tithing, but He has blessed me with some promotions at work and has helped me to manage my finances with more wisdom than I used to have before I started tithing to help compensate for it.

 

[FathersKnowBest]

Point of clarification:

You are correct that the command for tithing comes from the OT, but that doesn’t mean the command is automatically voided by the NT. The ten commandments are OT law. If we apply the same logic you both used, then because of Christ things like murder and idolatry are now okay. Obviously we know this is not the case.

Not exactly.

The 10 commandments have been validated by Jesus, as well as natural law.
It’s not because they are part of the Mosaic Law that we follow them.
In fact, one of the 10 commandments is fulfilled in a different way: we no longer observe the Sabbath, but we observe the Lord’s Day; we are no longer obligated to celebrate the Creation, but rather celebrate the even more powerful RE-creation (redemption).

We are still under the natural law which includes the ten commandments.

Yes, but NOT because it was part of the Mosaic Law, as the 10% tithe is.
For instance, much of the Constitution was derived from prior documents, such as the Magna Carta & the English Bill of Rights & the Articles of Confederation. That doesn’t mean that we are bound to similar provisions in the Constitution because of those documents, but rather because they are in the Constitution.

We ARE to share our blessings with each other; that is clear from Jesus and natural law.
It’s the 10% that isn’t incorporated.

So the commandment from Paul is to give according to our means. (As poster Paul said)

That is clear from Jesus’ teachings & natural law.

So while there is no set amount, we are still called to give as much as we can and ten some. After all, everything we have is God’s anyways. He has chosen to bless us with it for a limited time.

Totally agree.

Also, the command to tithe was not simply 10 percent of your increase. The tithe was meant to be the “First fruits” of the labor. Of ALL the labor. In today’s terms, that would mean you give 10 percent of your income before you take anything out for yourself or for taxes. (see Numbers 18:8-24)

Yes. And this, like ALL the Mosaic Law, has been abrogated.

 

[KathleenGee]

Tommy,

If things are painful for you, I would advise praying to the Holy Spirit and speaking to your minister, etc. about what to give. It is very hard financially for alot of people, and the Church did not go forward with money, but with the Holy Spirit and constant persecution, resulting in deaths of many Christians.

Yes, ancient Church asked for funds…but they were used primarily for widows and orphans, and people donated the gifts of bread and wine for the Mass.

You might want to do a search on the description of the Mass by St. Justin the Martyr to the Emperor in 154 AD that explained how Mass was done throughout the ancient Christian world at that time. It also shows how people gave.

 

[lutheran_farmer]

What we give should be private. We should give out of love of God with little regard for what anyone else thinks. God doesn’t use a point system. Wasn’t there just a reading about this yesterday?

I was told that number of Baptist and non-denominational churches in my area ask people for a copy of their W-2s to verify how much they make! WHAT?!

 

[Tommy999]

What we give should be private. We should give out of love of God with little regard for what anyone else thinks. God doesn’t use a point system. Wasn’t there just a reading about this yesterday?

I was told that number of Baptist and non-denominational churches in my area ask people for a copy of their W-2s to verify how much they make! WHAT?!

Hi Lutheranfarmer,
I agree that we should give out of love for God and not be forced into it. I willingly tithe now. When I first began tithing, I used to tearfully say goodbye to every one of those dollars like I knew them by name :sad_yes:

Now, I don’t think twice about it. Like I said, God has blessed me more financially since I started tithing and I don’t think it was an accident, but some people might say it was just a coincidence.

By the way, nobody asks to see a copy of anyone’s W-2 at my church and if they did I would tell them to take a hike (politely and with respect, of course).

The main reason I started this thread was to see how tithing was viewed in the Catholic faith because I didn’t know. From the responses here, my understanding is that most Catholics believe tithing is an Old Testament custom/law that doesn’t apply today and that people should give as much as they can afford and want to give, if I understand correctly, whether that is 1%, 5%, 10%, or 20%, depending on their situation. Please correct me if I misunderstood that.

 

[lutheran_farmer]

I’m new, but it sounds right. You can also give of your time or talent instead of money. Or two out of three. Or all three.

 

[PaulDupre1]

From the responses here, my understanding is that most Catholics believe tithing is an Old Testament custom/law that doesn’t apply today and that people should give as much as they can afford and want to give, if I understand correctly, whether that is 1%, 5%, 10%, or 20%, depending on their situation. Please correct me if I misunderstood that.

Sounds right to me.