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There are three ways that the Church can actually be financially well supported without reliance on fundraisers: planned giving, direct donations and tithing. In fact, development experts in the Church have said that the Catholic Church, east and west, would not only be amply supported but actually have a surplus of financial resources if every Catholic practiced the Biblical stewardship of tithing.
In asking its faithful to prayerfully consider the spirituality of tithing, the Church is actually asking less than the tithing requirements in the Bible. In the books of Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Numbers, we see that there were actually three tithes that were required of the Israelites; a tithe for Levites and priests, a tithe for Holy Day celebrations, and every third year a tithe for the poor. The Church today only encourages its Faithful to observe one tithe which is the first 10 percent of personal income. Like the law in the Bible that asked the Israelites to consecrate their first-born child to God, there has always been a consistent emphasis in the Bible of offering first things to God whether it is money, a child, food, prayer and thanksgiving.
There is a saying: "Show me your checkbook and I can tell everything about you." The Bible would say it this way: "Where your treasure is, your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). People who tithe can witnessed to the fact that God is never outdone in generosity.
Watch Bishop Robert Pipta's recent video message