Reflections on Giving and Gratitude

The bread and wine taken up the aisle are presented in all our names, and in the name of all creation as well. The bread and the wine, “the work of human hands” represent our – and all those involved in getting these elements there – co-creative, co-operation with the Creator and with the fullness of all he has made.

Likewise, we present our monetary gifts during the Mass. “Money is our work… the hours of our lives… And now we sacrifice it for the work of the Church, which in the end is its work of charity and evangelization.” (Abbot Jeremy Driscoll) Collectively, our contributions declare our consent and commitment: “Let this work of the Church continue, this announcement of salvation through the death and resurrection of Christ continue; let our outreach to our neighbors near and far continue; let our church pay its workers, pay its bills, maintain its buildings, so that we have a suitable place and culture for worship, fellowship and communion.” Our donations say, “God has given to us; we are making a sacrifice to God in return.”
Sacrifice: A Matter of Trust
Our monetary donation is both an act of gratitude in returning part of God’s gifts and an act of trust. We first trust that our gifts, large and small, will become a part of something much bigger than ourselves and do a greater good than we could individually do. We also trust in God’s word, that our generosity will always redound to us in the fullest possible measure. St. Bernadette advised, “God is never outdone in generosity.” Pope St. John Paul II called it The Law of the Gift: “Your being will increase in the measure that you give it away.” Jesus said…
“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” (Luke 6:38)
This is part of the “water welling up to eternal life” that Jesus spoke of. This is a mystery King Solomon recognized, “One person is lavish yet grows still richer; another is too sparing, yet is the poorer…” (Proverbs 11:24)

Bishop Barron points out that God is in no need of our sacrifices. “What do I care for the multitude of your sacrifices”, God asks in Isaiah (Is 1:11). “For it is loyalty that I desire, not sacrifices, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6) WE need to make them, though, for the conversion that happens in our selves. We open our hearts to others as we open our resources to them. We become more grateful and more generous. “We need sacrifice,”, Barron says, “…we return it to God as a sign of love, of thanksgiving, of sorrow and expiation. The act of returning to God what God has given us sets us right. It returns our lives to God, and our being ends up increased.”

Excerpts from Bishop Robert Barron’s The Mass, Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, © 2018