Dear Parishioners,

We have finished going through the course on “Lectio Divina”; I hope that you have all profited from it and are building solid habits of daily mental prayer using what we have learned. In some of my earlier articles I spoke about how our tithing is one way that we fulfill God’s Will in our lives and thus build a closer relationship with Him. On the surface this may seem like a stretch, but I am sure that many of you remember the article I had a couple of months ago where I listed out all of the places in scripture where God reveals to us that He wants us to tithe. So it is certainly His Will.

Now the question is: how does this improve my relationship with Him and deepen my love of God? Your tithing implies a sacrifice. If you weren’t giving that time, treasure, and talent to God—you would most likely be using it for your own desires. By sacrificing these desires for God, and giving to His Church and His people, you are sacrificing what you want for what He wants, and that is the foundation of love. When we truly love someone we are willing to give up anything and everything, even our very lives, for them. God is not asking that much, but just 10%, and then we get to keep the other 90% to do with as pleases us the most. Again, I encourage everyone to use their newly acquired “Lectio Divina” skills to truly encounter the Lord in prayer, and there ask Him His will for your tithing.