Determining How Much to Give

[Elijah Baley]

What is the general rule for determining how much is too much to give, and what may honestly constitute a financial hardship? My judgement is somewhat clouded on this, because I don't have much, but as a single man working full time I also need much less than I earn.

Thank you for your replies.

[jgalloway]

I recently read an entry in the devotional Take Five: On-the-job Meditations with St. Ignatius that caused me to think about this in a whole new way. I copy excerpts from a post on Itsnotyourmoney.org that will share my thoughts on the subject:

It goes on to instruct us to “behold Christ in His plight, nailed to the cross, and ponder:
• What have I done for Christ?
• What am I doing for Christ?
• What ought I to do for Christ?

That socked me in the face. Punched me in the gut. What am I doing? What can I do?

Or for giving, How much can I give?

We all know the teachings about tithing. Ten percent is the rule. This is easy to compute. I can carve out 10% of pay and feel good about that and feel I've done my part. Finding 10% of my time to donate is a little tougher. I can't figure out how to give 10% of my talents.

And anyway, is ten percent enough - especially in light of Christ's plight on the cross?

As Stewards, we are called to change how we understand and live our lives. Christ gave His all for us. Shouldn't we give our all back to Him in grateful thanksgiving? But, how?

St. Ignatius understood that. His solution was to bring Christ into the workday. He was able to see the supernatural dimension in his everyday tasks whether mundane or difficult. He embodied the teaching of Paul who urged in Corinthians that in everything we do, we are to do everything for the glory of God. Tithing then becomes more than ten percent. It is giving all of everything.

So, don't worry about financial hardship. It's not your money.

Good luck to all of our efforts to be good stewards.

[Julian0404]

The tithe is 10%
The offering is anything above 10%
And volunteer work at the Church has the same value, teaching CCD, serving food for funerals, etc.

And remember JESUS comments after watching a few men puts sacks of gold in the temple treasury and an old lady put in what would be a penny. HE said, she gave all that she had and her contribution was beyond all the gold. JESUS knows.

[Elijah Baley]

Unlike other Christian denominations, the Catholic Church doesn't require entry dues. I might crack five figures this year; it may be that the tithe is more than I can reasonably afford, and the Church understands this.

A percentage doesn't help me: I'm looking for a process of reasoning to help me consistently find a proper dollar amount each year, so I don't feel anxious about giving too much or much too little. Knowing myself, I feel anxious very easily and I might have reasonable doubts at my ability to tithe and, even when I do tithe, I might worry that I haven't given enough. It is determining the nature and validity of these doubts on which I seek counsel.

[puzzleannie]

Originally Posted by Elijah Baley

What is the general rule for determining how much is too much to give, and what may honestly constitute a financial hardship? My judgement is somewhat clouded on this, because I don't have much, but as a single man working full time I also need much less than I earn.

Thank you for your replies.

there is not a rule, except that your sacrificial giving should have an element of sacrifice, something you give up, no matter how small, to make the gift. There are some suggestions that help you make what should be a regular commitment through good times and bad: one hour's wage, a set percentage of take-home pay (you call it, even if it is only 1 or 2% the commitment is more important than the dollar amount), a comparison with something else--say, cost of morning coffee, a movie date, a restaurant dinner etc.

[ausculta]

Originally Posted by Elijah Baley

What is the general rule for determining how much is too much to give, and what may honestly constitute a financial hardship? My judgement is somewhat clouded on this, because I don't have much, but as a single man working full time I also need much less than I earn.

Thank you for your replies.

All the advice so far is great.

I use a simple formula:

5% to parish
1% to diocese
4% in time/talents or other charitable organizations.

This isn't written in stone or anything. It's a general rule of thumb. The percentages will differ with everyone depending on how much time, talent and treasure each is given from God to steward. I think the best thing to do is to pray about what you can reasonably offer in these three areas on a regular basis. As time goes on you will probably see these percentages change as your commitments and personal life change.

The most important variable in all of this is LOVE. Give (however you can) out of love. It's really not so much how much you give, because the gift isn't what changes us...it's the giving. Salvation is a process

I like to keep a little proverb in mind when I think about giving:

In the end whatever isn't given is wasted.

God's peace!

[Joseph Kemp]

You wrote: “We all know the teachings about tithing. Ten percent is the rule. This is easy to compute.”

The Roman Catholic Church does not teach tithing. The Vatican does not. The Catechism does not. No papal document or encyclical requires Catholics to tithe. It is simply bizarre that ANY Catholics discusses tithing at all.

It is sometimes mentioned that Catholics should give 5% of their income to the Church, and 5% to charity. This is a suggestion ONLY. Nothing more. No Catholic is obligated to follow such a thing in any way. Such suggestions on giving are occasionally spoken by Bishops (very seldomly.) They are not morally binding on Catholics at all. It is entirely up to you whether you wish to follow it or not.

There is nothing in Canon Law, the Catechism, or any official Church publication or teaching about giving 5%, 2.5%, 1%, or any other percent of your income to Church or charity. You will never find any authoritative documentation to back up such a belief. It does not exist.

Quoted from Jim Blackburn, Catholic Answers:

“Scripture provides insight on how Christians should give:
On the first day of every week (Sunday), each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper. (1 Cor. 16:2)

The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor. 9:6–7)

There is no mandatory requirement to give a specific amount of money or percentage of our income (to the Church). We should each decide for ourselves how much to give and then do so in the true spirit of giving a gift."

QUOTE ENDS.

We ARE obligated to support the Church materially (monetarily), as stated in the Precepts of the Church. But beyond this initial obligation, there are no rules. Total freedom. We can give whatever amount we want. You can do charity with 50 cents, 1 dollar, 20 dollars, whatever. If it is done, as Scripture says, “not reluctantly or under compulsion,” (2 Cor. 9:6–7) then what we give qualifies as a true gift – no matter how little or how much we decide to give.

You wrote: “Knowing myself, I feel anxious very easily and I might have reasonable doubts at my ability to tithe and, even when I do tithe, I might worry that I haven't given enough.”

A friend of mine had exactly the same problem you do. But my friend isn’t too poor to give to the Church. He is enormously rich. A billionaire, in fact. He owns his own (vast) island. And for years he worried about how much he should give to the Church. He tortured himself for being so rich, because he simply wasn’t moved to do great charities, like plenty of other rich people are. Perhaps it will help you to see the contrast and similarity between your difficulty and his.

My friend finally met an understanding priest who made it clear that God does not base His judgment of us on what percentage of money we give away – whether we are rich OR poor. You can't buy your way into Heaven. A person could own the entire world and give very little, and God would still be happy with that, if such giving is done out of freedom and love.

Mother Theresa once said: “It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.” She also said: “We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” This is perfectly in accord with Corinthians 2, as stated above.

My friend now gives (roughly) 40 dollars a week to his Church collection. That is the extent to which his mind and heart are moved to do charity. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Many people are not accustomed to thinking this way. Many people believe that ALL the rich must pay enormous charities, or else risk hellfire. Such a view is downright evil. It is not officially taught by the Roman Catholic Church. It is cruel and hurtful. If people give simply because they wish to avoid Hell, they are giving “reluctantly (and) under compulsion,” and NOBODY can be a “cheerful giver” under such conditions. Giving out of fear will not be rewarded by God. And it will never seem satisfying or authentic. Because it isn’t.

It is simply up to the individual person to make a subjective decision about how much to give. If you are looking for some kind of "golden percentage" in official Catholic teaching on how much money you must give away to get into Heaven, you will never find it. Because there is none. Any such percentage would be completely arbitrary. Totally relative. The Catholic Church does not teach it for precisely this reason. You cannot put a percentage on salvation – no matter how rich or poor you happen to be. And you certainly cannot create authentic giving by scaring people with hellfire. This is an ugly tactic, and is simply wrong.

And if anyone says otherwise, it is good to remember Canon Law 219:

“All Christ's faithful have the right to immunity from any kind of coercion in choosing a state in life.”

And that includes the state in your life on how much you wish to give, according to Corinthians 2. And we are under no obligation as Roman Catholics to believe otherwise.

[GeorgeTheWild]

DISCLAIMER: I'm Baptist, not Catholic, so I'm not nearly as knowledgeable on the teachings of the RCC as many of the fine people here. Hopefully yall won't mind me offering my opinion here despite that.

As Baptists, we're usually called to give 10%. However, as the Catholic Church has wisely determined, giving a 10th is not possible for many people. I believe the RCC has classified tithing under the laws of the old covenant that do not apply under the new covenant.

If you're having trouble giving monetarily as much as you would like or you feel called to contribute, I would suggest you make up the difference through service. It's much easier (in my opinion) to get to the heart of tithing through serving people as we have been called to do by Christ. As it is written:

Matthew 23:23 (NAB)
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. (But) these you should have done, without neglecting the others.

How much you should serve is going to depend on the time you have. But if you're looking at it as giving, you could always set a goal for how much money you want to give, and then value your time spent serving at your normal wage rate. Whatever you decide to do, God Bless you and your desire to give of your resources to the RCC so they can continue the good work they were called to do

[DebChris]

Originally Posted by ausculta

All the advice so far is great.

I use a simple formula:

5% to parish
1% to diocese
4% in time/talents or other charitable organizations.

This isn't written in stone or anything. It's a general rule of thumb. The percentages will differ with everyone depending on how much time, talent and treasure each is given from God to steward. I think the best thing to do is to pray about what you can reasonably offer in these three areas on a regular basis. As time goes on you will probably see these percentages change as your commitments and personal life change.

The most important variable in all of this is LOVE. Give (however you can) out of love. It's really not so much how much you give, because the gift isn't what changes us...it's the giving. Salvation is a process

I like to keep a little proverb in mind when I think about giving:

God's peace!

As already mentioned, the Church does not require a strict tithe. The widow's mite is a story with which we are familiar as she "gave all that she had to live." St. Paul tells us not to impoverish ourselves.
One parish priest recommended an hour's wage. This works out to about 5%. I used to keep 10% of my income in a special box with a widow's mite glued to the outside. My hourly wage went into the weekly envelopes. The rest would go to various charities of choice, God's people.
Stewardship involves time, talent, and treasure. A person with less treasure than time, may offer more of his/her talent. Examples of time and talent include carpenters who make furnishings for the parish, a gardener who donates flowers, or the sacristan who cares for the linens. There are numerous other examples. You might even have fun as part of a cleaning/decorating party before Christmas and Easter.