Tithing While Catholic

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The one thing that my daughter said is that the Mormon religion has a financial meeting at their stake and the bishop or someone in authority goes over everyone’s income… They then determine the tithe, which is generally considered the norm. I don’t know if everyone who goes to the Mormon church is compelled to tithe due to financial problems. They do bring it all out in the open where one’s income is known and if they don’t tithe, they are considered in the wrong.

My daughter was Mormon several years ago. Now she is a “none”.
 
Oh people say that alot. Then they complain that the young people are leaving the Church .
I used to ask the senior meme]bers of the parish if they would teach religious ed . NO WAY! I’m DONE! I’m not teaching someone else’s kid!

Terrible attitude for a church that supposed to promote family values.
Catholic schools are FAR from free.

Most no longer have a program where you can work it off. Teachers no longer get free tuition. TImes have changed because there are not any nuns running the schools. They have lay teachers like everywhere else, that need a decent (although75% salary) and benefits.

The church asks for 2%.

People blow more than that annually on Starbucks.

I know you’re just being frank, but people need to understand that being part of the CHurch means supporting the ministries, paying the bills, and funding the charitable work.
You wouldn’t believe how many people we have to bury and buy caskets for.
Most people have no idea how often the Church office is called for assistance.
 
I’m a church secretary in a large parish. I had a lot of people say they felt weird just sitting there when the basket went around because they used online giving, which is what I do as well. My solution was to make little laminated cards that said “I give online”. I leave them in the church and anyone who gives online can pick one up so they have something to put in the basket. The counters just give them back and I put them back in the church each week.
 
Anesis said:
I’m a church secretary in a large parish. I had a lot of people say they felt weird just sitting there when the basket went around because they used online giving, which is what I do as well. My solution was to make little laminated cards that said “I give online”. I leave them in the church and anyone who gives online can pick one up so they have something to put in the basket. The counters just give them back and I put them back in the church each week.
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Yes! Please do! I LOVEEEEEE parishes that have these.

I asked Father if we could create these for our parish, at our expense. He refused suggesting we should either give cash in addition to our electronic gift or learn to avoid the sin of pride. We no longer attend for more serious reasons.

Our new parish has those cards, but we stopped using them because we told the ushers the second week and they remember and don’t even bother to put the basket in our pew.
 
Of the parishes I’ve belonged to as an adult, two have had schools, but neither one has asked for a specific donation, percentage of income, etc from parishioners generally (as opposed to parents) to help pay for the school. I have no idea what their funding arrangements are, as my husband and I did not have children or any friends with children attending those schools. If the church is budgeting something from a general collection fund to go towards school costs, it’s their business, but I’m just saying I would be unlikely to contribute to a special percentage tithe imposed on everyone to pay specifically for children’s Catholic school. As for leaving the Church, I attended 2 different Catholic schools for elementary and high school, and while from an academic standpoint they were okay (not great, just okay), they were NOT great catechetically, did not have much impact on my knowledge of Catholicism, and did not have much impact on whether I stayed in the Church. I realize different students may have different experiences in this regard but I’m a bit skeptical of the religious benefits and I remember my mother also being disappointed in the poor quality of the religious education there.

In the areas where I grew up, I also got the impression that many people sent their children to Catholic school to avoid issues going on with the public schools, or because the “private” school was seen as more prestigious, rather than out of a true desire to get their child a religious education. This may vary for different communities, but I would really have to see a big commitment to quality religious education and some sort of emphasis on that before I’d want to give an income percentage on the basis of “it helps keep young people in the church”. I’m happy to support fundraisers for youth group programs, trips to Steubenville for the kids, etc. which appear to me to be bearing more fruit in that regard.
 
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The Catholic church recommends 5 percent to the parish and 5 percent to charity.
 
Malachi says: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

Jesus said “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.”

I think tithing is still important. My friend wrote a book that I find very helpful: The Best Financial News I Ever Got: The Power of the Tithe.

He explains from Scripture that tithing creates a partnership with God, which allows Him to maximize the other 90%. We really can’t outgive God.
 
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I appreciate your comments that some give a lot of time through volunteering. When I couldn’t tithe as much as I would have liked, I became a volunteer unpaid Catechist for 4 years or so. I felt my time which was 1.5 hours a week during the school year and prep time was a talent I could give.

Our Church Motto then was something along the lines of time, treasure and talent.
 
Viki63 said:
Malachi says: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

Jesus said “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.”

I think tithing is still important. My friend wrote a book that I find very helpful: The Best Financial News I Ever Got: The Power of the Tithe.

He explains from Scripture that tithing creates a partnership with God, which allows Him to maximize the other 90%. We really can’t outgive God.
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God, in His Prudence, has given us other options.

My husband and I live in a high cost of living area. We own a home–which carries great expense. That said, even a small apartment that would be sufficient for our family and legal for us to live in would be a large chunk of income. The only way we could tithe and still afford to eat would be for me to take on a full-time job and put our children in daycare.

I think that God would rather children have their mother with them rather than working to have enough money to tithe.

We give all we can. That’s all that God requests.
 
My mother was widowed in her early 40’s with several children at home and very little money. She’s a strong and faithful woman, and the finest person I’ve ever known. When we were growing up, our church was an old one, with the long and narrow narthex across the back of church. Embedded in the wall was a large safe where collection money was put right after Mass, and it had a small letter-drop slot at the top for last-minute additions. Every week when we went to church, mom would quietly drop her envelope into the letter-drop slot at the top of the safe before we went in for Mass and it never occurred to me to wonder about it; it was just something she did.

Now that I’m an adult, I now understand her modesty and humility in everything she does. For decades, anyone who had nothing better to do in church could see that she never put anything into the collection basket and could choose to judge her accordingly.

I’ve still been at the point where my pride makes me need people to see me put something into the basket each week, but this thread has made me resolve to sign up for electronic donation and I’ll do that now. Years ago, after talking with a good Catholic friend about tithing, I upped my donations even though that time in my life was close to rock-bottom, financially, and I’ve never looked back and I’ve never regretted my giving, as God has seen to it that I have enough, over and over, in unexpected ways.
 
Same here, I have a set amount that is auto withdrawn each month, so I don’t put anything into the collection basket unless there is a special collection that I know about ahead of time (hurricane relief).
 
As many have said, we are encouraged to give what we can, whether it is in money, time, talents and/or gifts.

My friend goes to a church that allows you to attend a service as a guest, but from afterwards you have to give 10% of your income or go away. I can never figure out if it is 10% of net pay, pay after bills or what. I do know when I was an Evangelical and started my first job which was very low paid I was told my potential offerings were not worth bothering about.

I do not calculate how much I give (whether financially or in time), except when moved to think about if I should revisit the regular electronic donation to the parish. And I do not want to know how much other people give as it is none of my business. All I want to be is a joyful giver and I can’t be that if I am pressured by people into paying to worship God.
 
Since Jesus said we shouldn’t neglect tithing, I really think we should consider it. I think we make God too small when we think he can’t help us handle our finances. I don’t know why he would promise something in the Old Testament and then take it back when it comes to the New,

It sounds like some folks are concerned that others might be judging us by whether or what we put in the collection. But I really think no one is watching at all. I’ve been working as a counter, counting the offerings after one Sunday a month, and even us counters don’t pay any attention to who gives what. One person keeps track of checks and envelopes for tax purposes, and the rest pay no attention whatsoever.
 
I give via the envelopes every week at Mass, and I also put something into the collection as I leave. However, I also buy food every week for another parish’s charitable food distribution service, and I give one morning a week of my time to work at that project.

I think that all counts as “giving”.
 
I got set free from this false protestant 10% tithing system saying God can’t bless you if you don’t give. Your money is unclean and you need to make it clean, give 10% and the other 90% will be clean or the devourer is going to attack!! I asked what the Catholic position is and the tithing is the law. I still give to the parish /place I go to but it’s out of love and guide from God. The 10% isn’t an investment fund to get back blessings etc but any money given is always out of love - how small or big it is.
 
My husband has a set amount going to his CofE church through the banking system. I give when I go to Mass but I can’t give a lot because of constrained circumstances. I’m hoping to get a job soon (got an interview on Wednesday!) And I will try to give more. I pray beforehand and try to give thoughtfully. Most often I am impressed to give a pound in both the first and second collection, but sometimes need to keep something back for the bus fare.
 
JoyToTheWhirled will be praying for your job interview that God’s will be done.
 
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