The first time that I ever heard about that concept of “tithing” was about 16 years ago. I was a manufacturing supervisor, and a young man who drove a fork truck for the company was lamenting to me about his paycheck. With divorce looming, his modest paycheck was about to be further strained by alimony and child support. Then he said, “and of course I have to pay 10% to my church.” As a very “hardworking and career-oriented” person, my response was “10% to your church, are you nuts?”

Before Father Kevin left for Rome, he delegated assignments for the bulletin newsletters in his absence. My topic was stewardship. The older I get, the more I am aware that God has a sense of humor and remembers everything I ever said! So here goes…

You may have heard the phrase “time, talent, and treasure” used to describe ways we each can give back to God. Why do we need to do this? To begin, we must realize that everything we possess is truly a gift from God.  We are merely stewards of God's resources.  He is the Creator of all things: the world we live in, the food we eat, and even the very life He has given us. What we “earn” in the world is based on the talents and opportunities He has provided. So God rightly asks each of us to give back according to the gifts we have been given. 

We are also called to give our "first fruits" in gratitude to God.  This is really what tithing is about – giving back to God first, and not what is merely left over from our disposable income. St. Augustine wrote in the fifth century, “Tithes ought to be paid, whatever your occupation. He who has given us the whole thought it right to ask for a tenth. It is not for His benefit, but for ours.”  However, with mortgages, car payments, tuition, and all other of life’s expenses, it can be all too easy to push our obligation to God down our priority list. Sacrificial giving means that we may have to give up a few things that we want in order to fulfill our commitment to God. In Luke’s gospel, when the poor widow donates her two small coins, Jesus teaches us that this is an even higher form of giving that we can offer to Him. 

Like many tenets of our Catholic faith, I have come to understand that tithing is actually a pretty simple way to determine how we should give of “our” treasure. It takes into account the ebbs and flows of our financial circumstances as we journey through this life. If you get laid off, 10% of zero is zero. If you’re just muddling though, it is proportionate. And if you make it big in your business life, or win the lottery, well… Whatever your financial state, SMG has very nice pamphlet available in the Narthex that gives you some additional details on what the Church asks of us financially.

Still not convinced? I’ll admit that for me, it was a conversion of mind, and more importantly of heart. Many fellow parishioners also have told me that sharing their financial gifts became much easier after they opened up to Jesus through serving Him in the parish and the community. There are dozens of ministries listed in the front of the bulletin. Try your hand at something new. As we continue to grow, SMG needs more helping hands than ever. That is also a great way to get to know more people here at SMG. Or if you are not tithing yet, perhaps try increasing your weekly giving a few bucks each month until you get there. Every journey starts with the first step, and it is amazing what a little momentum will do. Finally, I highly recommend Christ Renews His Parish as a way to better understand your faith, grow closer to Jesus, and plug into St. Maria Goretti.

As we begin our new fiscal year as a parish, we will face many challenges. The debt on our beautiful church still needs to be paid. Our weekly giving will need to continue to grow to allow us to expand our school enrollment. But we always have met our challenges through much prayer and hard work, and have received many, many blessings from God along the way. When you start to have doubt, I invite you to keep in mind what Jesus promised the disciples in the Gospel of Luke: “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive (back) an overabundant return in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.” 

Yours In Christ,

Pat Gorman

Parish Business Manager

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