Tithing Catholic

[Jump4Joy]

Is a Catholic doctrine? How much money are we required to give the church? Will God judge us because of how much or how little decided to give? Like what if we have a great job but we are stingy givers. Is stinginess a sin? Like we’d rather give our time than our money

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Tithing is not a Catholic doctrine.

The only thing mentioned in the Catechism is this:

2043 The fourth precept (“You shall keep holy the holy days of obligation.") completes the Sunday observance by participation in the principal liturgical feasts which honor the mysteries of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.85

The fifth precept (“You shall observe the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence.") ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts; they help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart.86

The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities.

There is also this requirement in canon law:

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.

 

[otrrl]

The Bible says (somewhere) do not appear before the LORD empty handed.

I had a into economics class in college and learned a few things that stuck with me. One of these is called the marginal propensity to spend ( I think). Starting from zero, you get a dollar for all your living needs. Well, of course you spend the dollar and get hardly anything. Then you get another dollar and similarly spend it because nobody can live on two dollars. ETC,

How much money do you have to have before you can even think of donating money to the church? Well, all the bills have to be paid first, of course. But. when you start to have money above a certain level, you can start to think of giving money to the Church and to charities, etc,

Now people who have lots of money may talk about tithing (10%) because they know that they will have enough left over to live on. But, I think it’s far-fetched to ask poor people to give up 10% of their meager incomes. IMO affluent people should give more to the church than 10%.

I’m retired, and my medical costs ( for drugs) are astronomical. Everybody’s situation is different, but we should remember that what we give to the Church IS and ALWAYS WILL BE a sacrifice, whatever it is.

Again, the affluent people will come up with formulas like this: 5% to the church, 1% to the diocesan collection, and 4% to other charities , When I was working, I gave enough money to American Leprosy Missions to treat (cure) ten lepers, like Christ did. For a couple years, I sponsored a poor child in a third world country (until the African agency backed out of the arrangement). I’ve given funds to the International Association of Christians and Jews to help fly ten refugees from Russia to Israel. etc. I’m surrounded by people with their hands out. I do the best that I can, I would encourage you to be generous.

 

[1ke]

Is a Catholic doctrine?

“Tithing” is a concept of the Mosaic law. Tithing is not a concept in Catholic doctrine or law.

Stewardship of time, of talent, and of treasure comes from the Gospels and Epistles.

How much money are we required to give the church?

The Church does not tell us any amount we are required to give. Everyone is of different means.

Will God judge us because of how much or how little decided to give?

God will judge us on what we did and did not do in all areas of our life. This is just one of them. We are all called to be stewards of God’s gifts to us, material gifts included. We have ample examples in the Gospels and Epistles to properly form our consciences and give according to our abilities to support the needs of the Church, both local and broadly, as well as the community.

Like what if we have a great job but we are stingy givers.

Then you will be judged according to your heart and your actions.

Is stinginess a sin? Like we’d rather give our time than our money

Yes. Stinginess, a.k.a. avarice or greed are indeed sinful.

You are called to give in the areas of time, talent, and treasure. Not just one.

 

[JanetF]

So I would break this down in 3 ways, time, talent and treasure, understanding that over the course of your entire lifetime, your ablity to share in any of these three ways will vary. Hypothetically speaking, a young family with 5 kids, may not have a lot of time to donate to various causes, but they may be able to give more treasure. Someone who is unemployed may not be able to share treasure, but can donate more time/talent.

I love the fact that my parish participates in online giving and I can set up a monthly deduction so it gets paid just like any other bill. I set the base at 10% (I don’t give to a lot of different charities–just the church for personal reasons). Some months are better than others and I can give more.

The ability to share my talent comes in to play when various events are in the planning stages–I’m super organized, so I help out in that way. I’m also a quilter, so when the parish auction rolls around I usually donate a quilt to be auctioned off.

Sharing my time, I think volunteering to work at various parish events qualifies for this category

These are just examples of course, and your original question about whether tithing is doctrinal has been answered. I believe that it’s up to each person/family to give to the Church to be best of their ability (til it hurts).

 

[Evenshlomo]

One of the commandments giving to us Jews is to tithe produce of the land (Israel). And so it does not refer to Non-Jews and produce of other countries outside of the holy land.
Since your religion tells you to love others, I could imagine that giving from your income to the poor is self evident to you, if you are financially able to, that is.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Tithing was a bare minimum that was in place before Christ died for us.

We are called to something far more radical - to give all we can give. To a radical generosity!

 

[HolySpirit]

I have heard of the 5% and 10% rule. 5% to the church, especially to the parish, and 5% to other charities. I think that is a good rule of thumb unless you are wealthy and can afford to give more.

If you can not afford the above suggested amount, you can always give your time to charitable endeavors. I think God would view that as a fair trade off.

 

[Hereiam]

Giving alms and to support the Church should not be viewed as an obligation, but that should not be an excuse for not giving gladly…and like the widow you gave the single coin, we should give out of poverty, not out of excess…its not a sacrifice if it doesnt hurt…and giving and serving God should be sacrificial in order that we imitate Christ who gave his blood for us!

Pax et bonum!

 

[Reuben_J]

As an aside, there are churches that require their members to give certain percentage of their income to the church. How the money collected be spent sometimes can be problematic and lead to scandal. Who spend the money?

Also giving money only may be a good excuse not to be involved personally in the church.

It is better that we give according to our individual capability to meet the needs of the church. Some have money but others may not. Instead they still can contribute with their talent or their time, which can be used to derive money in today’s world. Some people earn money with their talent, while for some time means money to them.

As there are many services needed thus there are different types of services that can be rendered. They need not be necessarily in the form of money.

 

[redbaron162]

Others have already summed it up well. Time, Talent, Treasure.

For example

Talent: Bob is an accountant and decides to spent some of his free time helping to manage the Parish’s finances so they don’t have to pay for an accountant.

Time: Tinna is unemployed and looking for a job and so has very little money. While looking for a job she also volunteers to help clean the church since, being unemployed, she has more time.

Money: Jimmy has a full time job and several young children so is not usually able to volunteer, however he gives money to the parish to help with its needs.

Now most people aren’t just one or the other but some of each. Now the Church does not set a % of money a person has to give but all members of the Church are called to give something to help the needs of the Church. The Old Testament amount of 10% is a good starting place to aim for someone who is trying to find a good place to start. We are called to give God the best since he gave us the best and everything. (Our life, our home, our job, our family, and of course most of all gave up his only Son for our salvation). 10% of our proceeds is hardly too much to ask.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Catholics overall get a poor report card when it comes to giving (yes, parishes need time and talent, but, talent does not pay the electric bill)

This blogger distilled studies (links in the original article)

https://www.catholicstand.com/why-are-catholics-cheapskates-regarding-giving/

Research Shows

The Philanthropy Roundtable analyzed data from a study done by Empty Tomb that showed religious donations in the late 1990s by Catholics, at 1.5% of gross income, running about half that of mainline Protestants, and about one-third to one-fourth of what evangelical and charismatic/Pentecostal Christians were giving.

But, you may be thinking, these are old statistics! Surely it must be different today? Matthew Kelly, in his book, The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic, discussed research showing that only 1.9% of American Catholics were tithing, while about 5% of Americans as a whole tithed. In 2007, Christians of all denominations in the U.S. gave an average of just over $1,400 to their church and other charities, while Catholics as a subgroup of that population gave just under $1,000—about the same as non-Christians.

Karl Keating of Catholic Answers subsequently wrote about research done by the Presbyterian Church USA that showed the average Catholic gives about one-half of what the average Evangelical gives, and a bit less than that percentage in comparison with average mainline Protestants. Similarly, Notre Dame’s Catholic Social and Pastoral Research Initiative (CSPRI) published a report based on a 2010 survey that shows Catholics are less generous in voluntary financial giving than other Christian groups in the U.S. Although the research shows varying ratios of our giving to other denominations’ giving, no matter how you look at it, we Catholics do not, on average, give as much to the Church as members of other denominations give to their churches.

 

[Jump4Joy]

Do priests attain their salary through donations? What do they go to? Is it a sin to be a cheapskate?

 

[TheLittleLady]

Is it a sin to be a cheapskate?

What did Jesus say about storing up earthly goods? Of course it is moral to support yourself and your family, but, God gave you everything you have. Is it sinful to be stingy with the Church? I think we all know the answer to that.

Also, many complain that the parish does not have XYZ program, has a charge for RE/CCD or VBS, has less than modern facilities, no state of the art parish center, like first Baptist up the street. Well, when Catholics donate at the levels of their Protestant neighbors the parishes can then afford all of those luxuries.

Ask your parish finance committee about ways you can help your parish.

In the US, Diocesan priests are paid a very small salary in an amount that is determined by the Diocese. They are also provided an apartment or small house, health insurance, the basic utilities are paid and they likely get a mileage allowance. If they are sent to a very small, very rural, very poor parish their salary may be paid a small amount by a Missions priest fund at the Diocese. Those Mission parishes, if there is one near you, should be considered when you want to have a Mass said because often the stipend from Masses is the only way that priest can afford luxuries like gas or new shoes.

The priest has to pay for their car and insurance, food and clothes and shampoo and cable and all of the other expenses you have. Many priests give back to their parishes, they are generous with charitable giving.

This is simply the average Diocesan priest. Priests from various orders may have no salary at all and rely on the donations from others to keep the order running.

When you think of charities, remember to consider your Diocese funds like:

Retired Priests and Religious Fund
Seminarian Fund
Mission Parishes Fund

On Father’s Day or Christmas, you might want to give your priest a small gift card to a place that sells gasoline or tires (around here that is Walmart or Sams).