God is generous.

At that time most things were done in trade.  So I would give you a sheep in return for wine.  Since we rarely do trades like that anymore most people would now say that a tithe is 10% of what a person makes in a year.  In the Old Testament the tithe owed to God in thanksgiving for what God had first given to us.  Charity was giving over that 10%.  The idea is not that the temple or the church today needs that money.  The idea was to say the giver needed to give that amount to change their heart.  The focus was upon how generous God is to us.  It is rare for people to give 10% of their income to God or charities anymore.  It seems we are more comfortable giving of our time and talent.  We are thankful as a community that when people make a Commitment to Parish Life they realize that a family or a community needs to have time, our abilities and our resources to make a faith community work.  Giving of yourself changes you AND it benefits our parish.  Thank you for all you do for us.  Fr. Mike