"That means ALL my financial decisions are made with prayer. I have to remember whose money it is that I am spending. It is the Lord’s. He gave me what little I have and I will use it for Him even when I am spending it on my own needs and those of my family.
The heart of stewardship is to ask the Lord what He would have me give and how He would have me use His gifts." - Fr. Richard Simon
[T]he observant Israelite didn’t give ten percent. If he was following all the rules laid down in the Law he was giving about twenty five percent! So what is the percent? Twenty five percent? If you are a Christian you give 100 percent...When you give your life to Christ, you give Him everything. - Fr. Simon
People ask me all the time about tithing. Should we give ten percent of our income to the Church? Is that before taxes or after taxes? How much should I give to the parish? How much should I give to all the charities that send me things in the mail? The older I get the more requests I get in the mail. Sometimes they make me so sad, the pictures of starving children in war torn parts of the world. Sometimes they send me a little gift or a penny. These make me feel particularly guilty. What should I do?
The first thing you have to realize is that the observant Israelite didn’t give ten percent. If he was following all the rules laid down in the Law he was giving about twenty five percent! So what is the percent? Twenty five percent? If you are a Christian you give 100 percent! Here’s what I mean. When you give your life to Christ, you give Him everything. In effect you say, “Take my home, my salary, my bank account, my stock portfolio. I give you everything, Lord.” He says to you in return,”thank you, but I am going to have to ask you to take care of these wonderful things until I return”. We Christians don’t own anything. We have a new relationship to the things that used to be ours. We are expected to use them for the purposes of God. He wants us to raise and educate our children well, to make them rich in the things that matter but not to spoil them with materialism. He wants us to take care of ourselves, to live in a home that’s appropriate to our needs, but not ostentatious.
He wants us to rest and be refreshed. He is a kind master, who provides a night out now and then and even the occasional vacation. He wants us to drive a safe and dependable car, not one that says look at me. He want us to have beauty in our lives, not glitz. He want us to spread the gospel and to care for the poor. He wants us to provide a home for those who are in need of Him, and that home is the church building, the schools, and the other buildings needed for the work of the Gospel.
That means ALL my financial decisions are made with prayer. I have to remember whose money it is that I am spending. It is the Lord’s. He gave me what little I have and I will use it for Him even when I am spending it on my own needs and those of my family. The heart of stewardship is to ask the Lord what He would have me give and how He would have me use His gifts. - Fr. Richard Simon, Former Pastor, St. Lambert Parish.
We would like to thank all St. Lambert Parishioners who joined the "To Teach Who Christ Is" campaign. The campaign's 3-years period ended last January 2014 as part of more than 50 parishes comprising the "Wave II" group.
You may want to continue your regular generous giving by kindly channelling it to our Parish's collections. Please remember to change your set up in GiveCentral.org HERE if you are using our online giving or you may place your donation in our collection baskets. Again, thank you for generousity.
Projects fully or partially funded by the TTWCI program's "Parish-based Funds"