Message from Dcn Tom

07-09-2023Weekly ReflectionDeacon Tom Henrich

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

We affirm this as Catholics. We know this from experience. When God entrusts us with the gift of faith, He also entrusts us with the task of instructing our children in that same faith. Teaching children to tithe is an important part of their faith education that we often overlook. Giving to God is a core value of our faith that should be taught early and reinforced often. Yet, it rarely enters our minds to teach our youngest Catholics to start practicing generosity not just with their siblings but toward God and His church from a very young age.

Our children will either grow up knowing how to be generous and put the Lord first financially, or they won’t. As weighty as this reality is, it is inescapable: Whether our children know how to be generous is often up to their parents. Teaching children to give to the church is the best first step in helping children to become primally generous. But teaching children to tithe does more than rescue them from a life of selfishness it actually gifts them with an abundance of positive experiences as well.

The most common way that I see tithing taught to children is simple by giving our children a quarter to put in the offering plate. This is fine for very young children because it gives them an opportunity to participate. For our elementary school children it may send the wrong message. First, the money wasn’t theirs to begin with, so they do not feel the satisfaction of it being a personal gift to God. Second, it does not teach consistency in giving or the idea of putting God first in our tithes and being part of the sacrifice of the Mass. Getting children to bring money to church is not the same as teaching them to sacrifice. Our goal is not to bring in money; our goal is to teach children to sacrifice. We are not teaching them anything by having them give someone else’s money. Giving requires sacrifice. It’s Okay to expect the children to be the ones to sacrifice.

Let’s begin by teaching our children to give out of love rather than guilt. Let that sink in for a moment and reflect on what you were taught as a child about giving. “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

God desires children to give from the heart. (If they learn that giving is deeply associated with guilt now, they will be less likely to give later.)

If they are given an allowance, instruct them on giving the first portion of the allowance to God, not what is left over. This is likely to be met with resistance, but that is where we develop and grow. If there is no allowance, perhaps find some extra chores they can do for a fair wage (resist being overly generous here) from which they can take their offering. We don’t want Mom and Dad’s offering just ending up in the “Children’s Offering Basket” at church.

Use these strategies to help the young children in our church learn to practice generosity early in life. They will thank you for it, because they will not only learn to practice gratitude, but they will also enjoy deeper fellowship with God as they become fluent in giving God the first fruits of what they have received. By implementing this approach into church, we are not merely increasing giving on a small scale from the youngest generation, but increasing the generosity of the adults in our churches 20 years from now. God will work wonders through a church full of hearts that have been taught to be generous from a young age. May God begin this work in our church this year.