Why We Tithe

- You Can Count on Me -

Everything we have is a gift from God. Nothing that we have or enjoy came from any other source but God. God has provided for all our needs.  In return, we offer to God our praise and thanksgiving. We should constantly askourselves if we are truly thankful to Him for his many blessings.   
 
Each day at Mass, the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer is said as follows: 

Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. 

People: It is right and just. 

We give thanks through prayer and by our offering at Mass. As members of the Church, where we receive the Sacraments of eternal life, we participate in the Church’s offering by giving our gift to the Church. We call it our tithe. 

Our tithe is generally defined as, “the tenth part of the increase arising from profits of land and stock” (a tenth of our income before taxes, if you’re wondering). The Lord in the writing of the Prophet Malachi, reminds the people to tithe. In fact, it is the only place that God invites the people to test Him, as He will outpour blessings upon them if they give Him his due (Malachi 3:10). As you can see, tithing goes back to antiquity and is not something new.  

Do we prioritize the Lord in our lives? Meaning, does He come first in everything we do?  

Because the Lord is at the center of our lives, the tithe should come from the “first fruits” of what we have received from God, and not what is left over at the end. One way to do this is to offer to God, at minimum the equivalent of the first hour of each week’s salary or income. If you make $20 and hour, consider that you should at least give your first $20 of each week’s salary or income. That is the starting point. If you already give your first hour, can you increase it? Each of us can give to God 10% of our income. I, as your pastor also tithe. Each of us should be praying thankfully, with an open heart, and seeking ways to increase our gift. 

One guideline would be to give 5% of our income to our parish, 3% to the Diocese (Catholic Services Appeal),  and 2% to second collections and other charities. Our parish depends on the support of our parish family for all the works we undertake. Each of us has the responsibility to tithe, which allows us to maintain our beautiful parish grounds and provide the wonderful ministry of Encounter to those who attend our parish. Each time you use an envelope, place your envelope number when giving online or via Venmo, you demonstrate “Here I am, Lord. You can count on me!” 


Ad Jesum per Mariam,


Fr. Francisco Rodriguez III
Pastor