“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in My house, and try Me in this, saith the Lord: if I open not unto you the flood-gates of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing even to abundance” (Malachi 3:10)
The Old Law Was Fulfilled in Christ
The fifth precept of the Catholic Church requires us to support the Church and clergy by our contributions to her. However, because of the false Protestant ideology, some Catholics wrongly think that they are required to give one-tenth (a tithe) of their earnings to fulfill this precept. Responding to this issue, we begin by turning to an article written by Fr. Peter Scott, which we quote on tithing:
“The obligation of offering a tenth part of the produce as an offering to God and to His ministers is one of the legal prescriptions of the Mosaic law (Dt. 14:22) that Our Lord did away with when He came to fulfill the law in His own person.[1] It is certainly true that under the new law, as under the old, the faithful owe support to the ministers of the altar. However, since the new law is interior, it is left to the generosity of the faithful in the practice of the virtues of justice and charity to determine the quantity.”
Christian Tithing
The concept of contributing alms for the good of the Church is without question an apostolic practice. We know that Judas oversaw the donations which Jesus and His close companions received (cf. John 13:29) and that certain women provided for them out of their substance (cf. Luke 8:3). In Acts we read how the early Christians shared their goods with one another (cf. 4:32-35), and we know St. Paul collected alms from many of the Christian communities for the more impoverished ones (cf. Acts 24:17; 2 Corinthians 8:14).
Many of the Church Fathers also speak on the importance of tithing. In providing a defense of the Christian religion, St. Justin Martyr (†165 A.D.) wrote: “We who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions now bring what we have into a common stock and share with everyone in need.” Saint Irenaeus (†203 A.D.), the great martyr bishop who links East and West, explains that Our Lord, instead of commanding the giving of tithes, enjoins us to share all our possessions with the poor.” Clement of Alexandria (†215 AD) adds that “the tithes of the fruits and of the flocks taught both piety towards God and not to covetously grasp everything. Instead, one should share gifts of kindness with one’s neighbors.”
St. John Chrysostom (†407 A.D) goes so far as to say that the tithe we provide for the Church and the poor is a debt we owe to the Blessed Trinity. God has given us everything we have and others have not been so materially fortunate. Therefore, our joyfully and generously sharing our goods with them is something God expects of us. Saint John also states that no one should think well of himself by giving a tithe, as that is Christian duty, and one should only consider himself generous when he gives more than a tithe. Saint John Chrysostom was preaching in the blatantly rich and luxurious capital of the empire (Constantinople), to clergy and nobility who were obsessed with a life of luxury and pleasure.
While none of these statements by the Church Fathers are de fide, as a whole they do show quite conclusively that it is an obligatory part of the Christian life to give alms.
Contributions to the Church Are Mandatory
“Give, and it shall be given to you: good measure and pressed down and shaken together and running over shall they give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38)
While the offering of a strict “tenth” of one’s wages is not in force, Catholics nevertheless have a serious obligation to support, according to their abilities, the Church. We find this expressed with clarity in the Baltimore Catechism:
“We are obliged to contribute to the support of our pastors, and to bear our share in the expense of the Church and school. The duty of contributing to the support of the Church and clergy originated in the Old Law, when God commanded all the people to contribute to the support of the temple and of its priests. The obligation of supporting the Church and school implies the duty of making use of the Church and school by attending religious worship in the one and by giving Catholic education in the other;[2] because if the Church and school were not necessary for our spiritual welfare, we would not be commanded to support them” (Baltimore Catechism #3, QQ. 1356-1358).
But to whom are we obligated to offer this support? The Baltimore Catechism advises:
“The fifth commandment of the Church includes the support also of our holy father, the Pope, bishops, priests, missions, religious institutions and religion in general” (Baltimore Catechism #3, Q. 1359).
Heretics Denied the Necessity of Contributions to the Church
Fr. Peter Scott continued in his article by illustrating in the Church’s history how refusing to contribute to the support of the Church incurs two sins:
“In fact, the Church has declared that support is strictly owed in justice to the ministers of the Church, and that it is not pure alms that can be withdrawn at will. The contrary opinion was one of the errors of John Wycliffe condemned at the Council of Constance in 1415 (Dz. 598). This is indeed a part of the natural law, that requires that those who minister receive a commensurate remuneration. It is also according to the divine law, as taught by Our Lord, ‘for the workman is worthy of his meat’ (Mt. 10:10) and by St. Paul: ‘Know you not, that they who work in the holy place, eat the things that are of the holy place; and they that serve the altar, partake with the altar. So also the Lord ordained that they who preach the gospel should live by the gospel’ (I Cor. 9:13, 14).
“Thus it is that the Waldensian heretics had to recant the denial of this when being received back into the Church in 1208 by professing: ‘We believe that tithes and first fruits and oblations should be paid to the clergy, according to the Lord’s command.’ (Dz. 427). Consequently, those who refuse to contribute to the support of the Church and the clergy are guilty of two sins: they are guilty of injustice, by refusing the support that they owe, and they are guilty of a sin against religion by not contributing according to their means to the support of the Church.
“In many places during the Middle Ages, it became custom and particular law for the 10% figure to become obligatory, especially in the East. Bouscaren & Ellis, in their Canon Law: A Text and Commentary, have this to say: ‘(This) has long since become obsolete except in a few churches which have kept the ancient custom by reason of local statutes’ (p. 747). Consequently, the Church’s law gives no precision about the quantity of the donations that are to be given in support of the clergy. The current mind of the Church on the matter is reflected in canon 1502 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law: ‘Local statutes as well as laudable customs regarding tithes and first fruits are to be respected.’”
Summary
As a result, it is important to understand that while we are required to support the Church, the Church does not unjustly burden us by requiring a certain percentage of our earnings. Rather, we are to willingly offer up our time, talent, and treasure for the good of the Church. The Law of Charity requires us to be generous, but the right amount for each person differs from person to person. For some it may be more than 10% and for others it may be less.
Prudential Selectivity
While God’s law and the Church’s precepts do oblige us to tithe in accordance with our capacity, and strongly encourage us to be generous, individual Catholics retain the prerogative as to whom they will donate. In justice, one ought to support those priests and Religious who directly provide spiritual nourishment. It also makes sense to support those apostolates which are advancing the causes most necessary for the salvation of souls. And, of course, it is to be expected that people will support those groups which are involved in work particularly dear to them.
A good rule of thumb is to provide half of one’s tithe to those most immediately involved in one’s spiritual life and the other half to various other groups. For example, if someone decided to give 10% of their income, they might provide 5% to their local parish and split the other 5% among the apostolates of their choice.
We also strongly encourage all Catholics to be very prudent in their tithing. It is true that “money talks.” How we spend our money shows our values and priorities. There is a great crisis in the Church today and a great loss of faith. Therefore, it is imperative for faithful Catholics to use their tithe to support the restoration and recovery of the Faith. It is imperative for Catholics devoted to Our Lady to use their tithe to help spread the Message of Fatima. It is also imperative for faithful Catholics to support those priests and religious who are striving to promote the true Catholic Faith and the good of souls.
Sadly, there is also a great mismanagement of funds being tithed to Catholic dioceses and organizations. Many Catholics seem to be unaware that numerous Church organizations that are Catholic “in name only” are giving money to immoral causes, such as Planned Parenthood and groups that advocate the normalization of unnatural vice, sexual education, false religious ecumenism, liturgical abuse, and theological heterodoxy. We would encourage everyone to exercise prudence and find out what is actually being done with the dollars they donate. This does require some research and study, but we must inform ourselves. Given the current situation in the Catholic Church today, this is a responsibility each person should take seriously.
CONCLUSION
We should willingly donate to our parishes, our schools, pro-life causes, Catholic associations and societies, missionaries, monasteries and convents, and other Catholic causes. All of these, along with our support for those who are poor and suffering, comprise our almsgiving.[3] While Lent is a period of intensive almsgiving in the life of a Catholic, almsgiving should be done routinely and deliberately. And, as with all virtuous actions, those who are miserly will find that in time it becomes easier and easier to donate to those in need.
[1] The Baltimore Catechism explains: “The Jewish religion, which, up to the death of Christ, had been the true religion, ceased at that time to be the true religion, because it was only a promise of the redemption and figure of the Christian religion, and when the redemption was accomplished and the Christian religion established by the death of Christ, the promise and the figure were no longer necessary” (Baltimore Catechism #3, Question 391).
Furthermore, the Baltimore Catechism clarifies what was abolished: “The moral laws of the Jewish religion were not abolished by the establishment of Christianity, for Christ came not to destroy these laws, but to make them more perfect. Its ceremonial laws were abolished when the Temple of Jerusalem ceased to be the House of God… By moral laws we mean laws regarding good and evil. By ceremonial laws we mean laws regulating the manner of worshipping God in Temple or Church” (Baltimore Catechism #3, Questions 392-393).
[2] Editor’s Note: It is important to keep in mind that the Baltimore Catechism was written at a time period when it was standard for Catholics to send their children to Catholic schools. This was a time when Catholic schools were actually teaching the Catholic Faith and were staffed primarily by faithful Religious (priests, brothers, and nuns) and the schooling was free (or at a very low cost). Sadly, most Catholic schools today are no longer handing on the Catholic Faith and cost an exorbitant expense. Every one of us surely knows people who went through the Catholic educational system (K-12, even college) and did not learn the Faith. Many of them have even abandoned the practice of the Faith, and many have become secular atheists. Countless parents have lamented that sending their children to these schools – which were Catholic in name only – advanced the loss of their children’s faith. Parents do have the obligation to form their children in the Faith. If parents prudentially judge that a Catholic school is not accomplishing this goal, then there is no obligation to support the school or to send their children there.
[3] Almsgiving is one of the four types of penance.