TEXT: Sermon Prior to Mass on Parish Giving, May 4, 2025
May 4, 2025 Father De Celles Homily
Sermon Prior to Mass: Parish Giving
May 4, 2025
Homily by Fr. John De Celles
St. Raymond of Peñafort Catholic Church
Springfield, VA
By now I hope you have all received the letter I sent earlier this week.
If not, you’ll probably get it on Monday.
Basically, it says that we need to do something about
increasing the amount of donations, or “giving,” to the parish.
You know I hate to talk about money,
and in fact, it’s been nine years since we’ve done a giving campaign.
I always figure it’s your money and I’ll leave it to you to figure out
what you want to give to the parish.
That’s especially been the case in the last five years
as you’ve had to deal with all sorts of financial concerns,
especially those related to Covid and inflation.
And now, I know some of you are worried
about the potential effects of government cost-cutting.
But the problem is, the same things that have affected your finances
have also affected the parish finances,
so that our annual surplus has been shrinking every year,
and now we’re projecting a possible/probable net deficit this year
for the first time since we built the church.
Covid (with its dramatic lasting effect on Mass attendance) and inflation
have taken a huge toll on our bottom line.
And while we’re not here to make a profit,
as in any family, it is important to have a surplus for emergencies
and to save for the future,
not to mention the flexibility to provide for changing family needs.
And while it is true, thank God and you,
that we have more than $2.1 million in savings,
we need that for some major long-term, very expensive
maintenance costs in the next few years,
like a new roof, replacement of HVAC equipment
and resurfacing the parking lot.
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Another reason I don’t like to talk about parish fundraising is because
I think most people approach this from the wrong perspective.
They talk about how much you owe God because He’s given you so much.
So, they say you have to give X amount to the Church,
and that God is very generous to us if we are generous with Him.
That’s all kind of right, but also kinda wrong.
It’s true that God has given us so much,
and we kinda owe Him something in return.
But I think the Catholic notion of this is that God
has given us everything we have, so in a sense we owe it all to Him.
This is part of what it means to be “poor in spirit.”
Everything we have, God has given to us freely,
so it’s ours to do with as we see fit.
But we don’t cling to it, rather we ask God what He wants us to do with it
—all of it.
God gives us money and everything we have for a reason—His reason.
We know He doesn’t give us things
so we can be selfish or prideful or greedy.
For example, according to His plan,
He gives money to a father and mother first of all so that
they can feed, clothe, house, and educate their children,
not to waste it on fancy cars or entertainment while the kids go without.
And surely, He gives you some of that money so you can help others,
beginning with supporting the Church and its mission in the world.
Maybe He wants you to give something to the Bishop’s Lenten Appeal.
But He may want you to give some of it to support
a group of nuns or Pro-Life causes.
All these also support the Church,
even if it doesn’t go to the bishop and priests.
This means you don’t owe the parish any money,
but since this parish is your spiritual home, your family in Christ,
it would seem like God probably wants you to help out
because without your money I, your spiritual father, can’t run this parish.
Oh, I could.
But I’d have to make budget cuts:
maybe the music, or the flowers, or the cleaning.
Maybe lay off some staff, close down the youth group,
Bible study, or the scholarship program….
What do you want me to cut back on?
Probably not any of those things.
Me neither.
I’m not trying to scare or threaten you or anything.
I’m just making the point that your parish donations are important
—and they do great good.
And they are probably what God wants you to do with some of your money.
Again, it’s up to you and God if and how much you give.
But if you need some point of reference, consider that
under the Old Covenant the Jews were required to “tithe,”
or give 10% of their “income” to the Lord (Leviticus 27:30).
That is not required in the New Covenant.
Even so, that 10% is still a good rule-of-thumb for Christians
since it’s God’s last word on the subject, so to speak.
If you decide on the 10% (tithing), though,
you don’t have to give all that to the parish.
You might give a little to the Little Sisters of the Poor,
Catholic Charities, 40 Days for Life, the BLA,
and to the special collections we have at Mass.
Then you might wind up giving 4% to the parish—for a total of 10%.
Personally, I give 10% to the parish, and then I give extra to other charities.
But studies show that the average gift Christians churches/parishes
is between 2.5% and 4.5%.
All that being said, I ask you to take a week, and think and pray about this.
Examine your conscience, and ask God to help you know what He wants.
Then, next weekend, I’m going to come back here
and we’ll give you envelopes to fill out–kind of like the BLA,
only much less tedious, I promise.
And I’m going to ask each family or household to commit
to increase their giving by at least $10 per month,
or more, if possible.
And if you decide that
maybe you should have given a little more in the last few years,
you can make a “catch up” donation
by placing a check in the envelope or committing to pay later.
Again, this is between you and God.
But please pray about this and ask the Lord to help you discern His will.
Look over the letter I sent; it has some helpful information.
And know that I appreciate your continuing generosity,
I make no judgements,
and I understand financial difficulties.
It’s your money.
Thanks for your patience and generosity. God bless you.