Saint Augustine Church "A Tithing Parish"

Our parish family has adopted "God’s Plan" – a modern adaptation of the ancient practice of tithing. We hope that you will find, as many of your friends and neighbors have found that this is the best way to satisfy both your need to acknowledge God’s goodness and the needs of His Church.

THE MATERIAL NEEDS OF THE CHURCH
Almighty God, as a pure and infinitely perfect spirit, has no need of material goods.  In His wisdom, however, He has made His work on earth, the work of the Church, dependent on material goods.  In spite of the entrance of the government into various areas of charity and education, the basic needs of religion must be met by the offerings of individual church members.

OUR NEED TO EXPRESS GRATITUDE
It is basic to our human nature and our self-respect to desire to express gratitude when we receive something.  All our spiritual and material blessings, even our very existence, we have received as a gift from God.   God has providentially united our need to acknowledge His goodness with the needs of His Church.

THE MEASURE OF OUR RETURN
The practical question arises: "How much of our material goods should we return to God?"  The only direct answer that God has ever given is the tithe, or 10%.  Even though this standard was set in a different economic situation, it is still found to be the best answer to this question.  It is both an adequate response and an economically possible one.

TITHING IN THE BIBLE …
Tithing is mentioned more than 40 times in scripture.  Numerous Old Testament stories recount how God asked that the first ten percent of the land’s produce be set aside as a sign of gratitude for His goodness.  The early Church had no tithing system, but as it grew, so did its material needs.  Gradually, the Old Testament model of tithing was adopted.  A number of regional Church Councils and finally the Council of Trent made the tithe Church law.  With the later separation of Church and State, tithing was abandoned.

AND TODAY …
In our time, the difficulty of raising funds for the growing needs of the Church has led to a modified and voluntary system of tithing.   Since 1977, more than 1000 Catholic parishes, most of them on the East coast, have become tithing parishes.  Here in our Archdiocese, almost half of the parishes are presently participating as tithing parishes.

WHAT IS A TITHE?
The word tithe means tenth.   A tithe is the first tenth of a wage earner’s income.  It’s giving back to God something God gave in the first place.  Tithing is not any tenth; it’s the first tenth of one’s income – salary, dividends, interest, and income from any source.

HOW DOES TITHING WORK?
Five percent of one’s income is given to God through the parish church.  The other 5% can be used for Catholic school tuition, Catholic charities, care of one’s parents, special diocesan collections, missions and private charities.   The spirit of tithing, the most important part of the program, means giving to God, not to me, your pastor, or to this church.  And it means giving to a point of sacrifice, for the word sacrifice means "to make holy."  The spirit of tithing means not caring what anyone else gives; it’s spiritual giving in every sense.   What you give to God is between you and God.  The ideal tithe of 5% to God’s church and 5% to His other works can be explained by the following example.

If your income from all sources before taxes is $300 per week, the 5% Sunday Mass offering would be$15.00.  You might give the other 5% to private charities, school tuition and diocesan extra collections. Tithing is really very logical.   Everything we have comes from God, and when we give back the first 10% of our earnings, we are saying to Him, "Thank you, God, for letting me use the other nine-tenths."

Tithing is budgeting God first. It’s not caring what anyone else gives; it’s knowing that what you give is between you and God.   For senior citizens on limited incomes or parents with heavy parochial tuition bills, the percentage may differ, but we hope that the commitment will be made, and that it will be a realistic and conscientious one.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO THE TITHER AND TO THE PARISH?
Every parish that has adopted this method has improved its spiritual and material status.  It means one collection for the parish at the Offertory of the Mass with the true spirit of offering oneself with the offering of Christ.   And for the individual, tithing tells us what God expects.  Most important for the tither, however, is the spiritual effect.   Tithing helps establish a proper sense of values.  It helps us to remember that God comes before all else and that everything we have comes from Him.

WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
You will not be asked to sign anything.  No one will call on you.  There are no meetings or pledges. Much will happen should you choose to tithe.  It’s your choice, your option.  .   Remember, God said, "Try me in this."   You fill find that God will not be outdone in generosity!  Seek God’s will through earnest prayer.  And when you pray, please remember that the true purpose of tithing is to secure not the tithe, but the tither; not the gift, but the giver; not your money, but you – God.