Back Not by Popular Demand,
But by Fiscal Responsibility

Fr. Malloy Reports on Parish Finances

By Father Thomas Malloy, OSFS
Pastor

In the two parishes I have served as Pastor, I have made it a point of personal pride and honor to be as open and honest with the parish as I could possibly be. The word we are currently using for this attitude is “transparency.” In both parishes, I established the practice of giving a yearly financial report.

Stewardship of our “treasure” is really the easiest and least costly of the trinity of Time, Talent and Treasure. But money is a subject we all relate to and one that Jesus often used to make a deeper point. Perhaps by emphasizing financial stewardship, a deeper understanding of total stewardship of our lives can be realized.

There is only one principle for stewardship, “What return shall I make to the Lord for all the good I have received?” Every time we return to God a portion of our gifts – and all is gift – we make a sacrifice of thanksgiving. And the Lord Jesus tells us, “To whom much has been given much will be expected.”

Stewardship is simply putting God at the top of our list when we decide how we are going to use our Time, Talent and Treasure.

In financial terms, this means resolving to return to God, through contributions to church and charity, a set percentage of one’s income. The biblical ideal is the tithe of 10%, but more important than the amount is the commitment to give to God a promised portion each week or month. God should be the first item in our budgets, not the recipient of what we can afford from what’s left over.
Our giving then, is not determined by what we think we can afford after we have paid all our bills. It is not determined by the needs of the church or the parish. It should be determined by our need to make a sacrifice of thanksgiving. Making a financial offering, we will find, not only that we shall not want, but that our lives will grow spiritually. “Where your treasure is, there will be your heart, also.” (Lk 12.34)

We have often used the term “family” to describe our parish community. This is accurate in many ways. Psychologically and socially, we have many of the same benefits and problems that a nuclear family has. We have much of the same practical, financial situation. I have already said that we live from paycheck to paycheck. Like any family, we would like to have some buffer and a bit of a nest egg.

A few weeks ago, I spoke about the essential element of stewardship: a habit of gratitude for what we have received from God, expressed by a sacrifice of thanksgiving, returning a portion of what has been given to us.

This attitude is expressed liturgically in our celebration of Eucharist. We express gratitude to God by sharing our gifts with others for the building of the Kingdom. The Presentation of Gifts and our Holy Communion are the symbolic acts that speak this commitment. The collection is the sign and practice of our sharing our goods with the parish community and charitable works. Supporting one’s parish is not a work of charity, but of justice; everyone in the parish is expected to bear the costs of ministry. Our second collection most often is for charities beyond the parish, e.g., the collection for retired religious.

How much an individual or a family contributes to the support of the parish or to charities is between the person and his or her own conscience. You don’t have to explain to me or anyone else why you give what you give. The church keeps records for tax and budget purposes. It is no one else’s business.

How should one determine a family’s just contribution to parish support?

Guilt and intimidation work for a short time, but the over-all results are destructive. As St. Paul says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” So we should at least give willingly. Again, to whom much is given, much will be expected. Our return to the Lord should be in proportion to what we have received. Put in practical terms, in stewarding our treasure, what we give should be linked to our income. Our grateful return should be of our “first fruits” – that is, our first concern in budgeting our finances,- not what we think we can afford after all other needs are considered.

A tithe means one tenth.

The biblical ideal is that we should return to God one tenth of our total income. In modern days, a suggested formula is that we should give five percent of our income to the church and five percent to charities of any sort we prefer.

Consider this hypothetical case. A family with two wage earners, working for only minimum wage (currently $5.15 an hour) for 40 hours a week, would earn about $21,424.00 a year, about $412.00 a week. If that family were able to contribute 5% of their income to the church, it would be $1,071.00 a year. It’s pretty sure that most of our families earn a good deal more than minimum wage, but only about 20% of our families contribute over a thousand dollars per year to the church.

Like all matters financial, the key is budgeting. As an aid to financial stewardship, I have distributed a flyer that offers ways of contributing to the church that are more contemporary and easier than the current envelope method. These methods will help ensure that your contribution is a consistent part of your budgeting. They will also offer the usual record of your contributions for tax purposes and as an indication of your participating in the life of the parish.

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