My Dear Parishioners,

The Church of the Assumption has had a long and beautiful history of building up God’s reign of justice, love, and peace in Morristown from 1848 until the present.  The parishioners of Assumption have always been extremely generous and enthusiastic about our parish.  Thank you for all that you give to our parish.  Your sacrificial giving makes it possible for us to maintain our parish facilities and provide so many ministries. Your generosity enables us to help the poor in Morristown and beyond.  I am writing to you today about Tithing: God’s Plan for Giving.  This is an integral part of our Stewardship program here.

Tithing is giving back to God something He gave to us in the first place. It is thanking Him for our blessings, jobs, and financial resources. The decision to tithe is a personal one, requiring prayer and reflection.  Tithing is a spiritual process between the tither and God.  There are no phone calls, pledge cards, etc.  In the tithing program here and in other parishes we suggest that 5 percent be given to one’s parish and 5 percent be used for God’s other good work and charity.  This is a spiritual process rooted in our gratitude to God for His blessings.  Everything we have comes from God – our talent, stamina, drive, the ability to earn a living and make a life are blessings from the Almighty.  Even our desire to thank God comes from God.

I reintroduced tithing to our parish in 2011. (It was first introduced here in 1983.)  In 2012 we introduced our Time and Talent Initiative.  Tithing and Time and Talent are the two pillars of Stewardship, caring for what has been entrusted to us by God.  Every month at Assumption we register about twenty (20) new families.  This means that some of our people have not heard about Tithing or experienced our Time and Talent presentation.  It is time to speak about tithing again.

This dynamic biblical experience called tithing may be new to some of you; for others, it has become a spiritual way of life. The plan is based in biblical times and has the blessing of Almighty God. It emphasizes the Christian call to generosity – even at times with some personal sacrifice.

        I am pleased to provide to you my homily as well as the talks given by Matthew and Sangita Rossano, our Assumption parishioners at the Masses on our tithing renewal weekend.  We are very blessed that they are sharing with us their experience of living God’s Plan for Giving.  Truly they have tried the Lord in this ‘and He has opened the floodgates of heaven to pour down blessings on them without measure.’  As they said, their family has been blessed and our parish has grown in love and unity. Assumption Parish has been blessed by so many who tithe.
It is our hope now that more families in our parish will experience this ever-increasing blessing from God as a greater number of us are moved to trust Him even more fully.
We must pray that the Lord will move us to try Him in this.  For the spirit of tithing is truly a gift.  It must not be constrained or fearful, for the Lord does not command us to tithe; He ASKS us.  He lovingly invites us to share in His abundance.  May the Lord give each of us this gift.

 
In Christ’s Peace,
  
Rev. Msgr. John E. Hart
Pastor

Pastor's Homily and Witness Talks

FAQ's About Tithing