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Tithing — “It is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive”
A tithe is tenth part of produce or other goods, which is consecrated to the Lord and used for religious purposes.
The Sixth Precept of the Church is “You shall provide for the material needs of the Church.” This precept requires the faithful to contribute to the Church according to their own abilities. While the Church has the innate right to require from the faithful whatever is necessary to support its legitimate temporal activities (1983 CIC 1260), in fact it rarely exercises this authority. Rather, it leaves to individual Catholics the right to determine precisely when and how they will assist with the temporal needs of the Church (1983 CIC 222, 1261, 1262, 1266). The obvious lack of specificity in these canons, however, should not be taken as a sign that they may be, for all practical purposes, ignored. Sunday collections, annual appeals, spontaneous offerings, bequests and wills, and so on are all ways that Catholics have to satisfy this precept of support. Note that offerings given for a specific purpose can be used by Church authorities only for that purpose (1983 CIC 1267)”.
Catholics have an obligation to contribute to the support of the Church, in not only their own parish but also the worldwide Church and the Holy Father. Tithing is one way in which this obligation can be met.
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