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Q u i c k Q u e s t i o n s
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This Rock
Volume 20, Number 2
 February 2009 
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Does Tithing Still Mean 10 Percent?
Q: Are Catholics required to tithe 10 percent of their income to the Church?
A: Catholics are under no obligation to tithe a certain percentage of their income to the Church. The Church does require the following:
- The fifth precept ("You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church") means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability. . . The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his own abilities. (CCC 2043)
- The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for apostolic works and works of charity, and for the decent sustenance of ministers. They are also obliged to promote social justice and, mindful of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor from their own resources. (CIC 222)
—Peggy Frye
Q: Since Judas’s betrayal of Jesus likely was a grave sin, why did Jesus give him Communion at the Last Supper? Or had Judas left the table by that point?
A: If Judas did receive Communion—as Scripture appears to indicate (Lk 22:19-23)—then there may be any number of reasons why Christ allowed it even though he had already been plotting Christ’s betrayal (Lk 22:3-4). Two possibilities include: Christ may have hoped that the grace of Communion ultimately could save Judas’s soul. Judas did indeed feel remorse for what he did (Mt 27:3-4), although he chose the wrong means to demonstrate that remorse (Mt 27:5). Or perhaps Christ respected Judas’s free will, just as he respects our free will, and so did not deny Judas Communion even though he apparently did not have faith that it was Christ’s body and blood (Jn 6:66-71).
—Michelle Arnold
Q: What is the Church’s teaching on extraordinary care for the sick?
A: The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides some general teaching in this area:
Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.
Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.
Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.
Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of "over-zealous" treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one’s inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected.
Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable. Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged. (CCC 2276-2279).
Also, in the address to the participants in the International Congress on Life-Sustaining Treatments and Vegatative State: Scientific Advances and Ethical Dilemmas (March 20, 2004), Pope John Paul II made it clear that feeding tubes should be considered ordinary care so long as they serve their intended purposes:
[T]he administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory insofar as and until it is seen to have attained its proper finality, which in the present case consists in providing nourishment to the patient and alleviation of his suffering. (4)
For Catholic advice on specific cases, I recommend contacting the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia.
—Jim Blackburn
Q: I was raised Catholic. Now my faith is now all but completely gone. I have been researching the question of God’s existence for some time, reading books from Catholic apologists, listening to theism/atheism debates, and asking God (who I am not sure is there) to help me. Should I continue going to Mass? What steps are good for Catholics who have the desire to believe but are really struggling with their faith?
A: First of all, just because you have doubts does not mean that you don’t believe. If one wills to believe, one believes. I expect that you do believe. Listening to or reading debates between atheists and believers isn’t going to do it for you. It’s not just a matter of finding the right argument. It’s a matter of meeting a Person.
As a favor to me and to yourself, spend a half hour before his presence in the tabernacle for a month. It’s OK if you miss a day or two. But try to make it every day. Tell the Lord that you want to believe in him and all that the Church teaches about him. And then just sit. Let him do the work.
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: In my parish the lay pastoral assistant occasionally preaches at Sunday Mass. Is this OK?
A: This is clearly a liturgical abuse. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states:
The homily should ordinarily be given by the priest celebrant himself. He may entrust it to a concelebrating priest or occasionally, according to circumstances, to the deacon, but never to a lay person. In particular cases and for a just cause, the homily may even be given by a bishop or a priest who is present at the celebration but cannot concelebrate. (GIRM 66)
Redemptionis Sacramentum reiterates GIRM 66 and adds the following:
- It should be borne in mind that any previous norm that may have admitted non-ordained faithful to give the homily during the eucharistic celebration is to be considered abrogated by the norm of canon [law]. This practice is reprobated, so that it cannot be permitted to attain the force of custom. (RS 65)
- If the need arises for the gathered faithful to be given instruction or testimony by a layperson in a Church concerning the Christian life, it is altogether preferable that this be done outside Mass. Nevertheless, for serious reasons it is permissible that this type of instruction or testimony be given after the priest has proclaimed the Prayer after Communion. This should not become a regular practice, however. Furthermore, these instructions and testimony should not be of such a nature that they could be confused with the homily, nor is it permissible to dispense with the homily on their account. (RS 74)
- As was already noted above, the homily on account of its importance and its nature is reserved to the priest or deacon during Mass. As regards other forms of preaching, if necessity demands it in particular circumstances, or if usefulness suggests it in special cases, lay members of Christ’s faithful may be allowed to preach in a church or in an oratory outside Mass in accordance with the norm of law. This may be done only on account of a scarcity of sacred ministers in certain places, in order to meet the need, and it may not be transformed from an exceptional measure into an ordinary practice, nor may it be understood as an authentic form of the advancement of the laity. All must remember besides that the faculty for giving such permission belongs to the local ordinary [bishop], and this as regards individual instances; this permission is not the competence of anyone else, even if they are priests or deacons. (RS 161)
The document goes on to explain that abuses such as this "are not to be considered of little account" and are to be "carefully avoided and corrected." (RS 174)
Any Catholic, whether priest or deacon or lay member of Christ’s faithful, has the right to lodge a complaint regarding a liturgical abuse to the diocesan bishop or the competent ordinary equivalent to him in law, or to the Apostolic See on account of the primacy of the Roman pontiff. It is fitting, however, insofar as possible, that the report or complaint be submitted first to the diocesan bishop. This is naturally to be done in truth and charity. (RS 184)
—Jim Blackburn
Q: The last time I went to confession, the priest gave absolution, followed by the words "so that you might be a faithful and happy Catholic." Was this a valid absolution?
A: Yes. However, the priest should not have taken the liberty to add the words "so that you might be a faithful and happy Catholic." He should have simply said, "I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
The Church teaches that
The form of the sacrament of penance, in which its efficacy chiefly consists, are those words of the minister: I absolve thee, etc., to which are indeed laudably added certain prayers according to the custom of holy Church, which, however, do not by any means belong to the essence of the form nor are they necessary for the administration of the sacrament. . . (Council of Trent, Fourteenth Session, Chapter III)
—Peggy Frye
Q: Someone told me that each Hail Mary that is prayed saves one baby from abortion. Is this true?
A: I believe St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) observed that even the smallest of deeds done for the love of God has infinite value. She presumed, of course, that those deeds were done as acts of love and not in a superstitious fashion with the thought that the action would ensure a fruitful result (cf. CCC 2111).
If someone were to pray a Hail Mary with great devotion and with the intention that, if it be God’s will, an unborn baby be saved from abortion, yes, God could choose to reward that prayer by giving a mother the grace to choose life for her child. But if the prayer was thought of in a superstitious fashion, the sentiment that a Hail Mary saves an unborn child could be reduced to the same level of "Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings."
—Michelle Arnold
Q: One huge impediment to my faith is that God never communicates with me. I pray daily, attend Mass often, and confess at least twice a month. But I still feel nothing but emptiness and silence from God. How is it possible to have a relationship with God if he won’t at least have a conversation with me?
A: If God ever ignored you, you would cease to exist. He affirms you with your every heartbeat. Are you disgruntled because he isn’t conforming to your standards?
He speaks to you on his terms all the time. And I don’t mean just through his creation. He speaks to you by the gift of faith that he has given you. He speaks to you from every crucifix you have ever seen. But most of all he speaks to you from the chalice on the altar which contains the blood that he willingly shed for you.
Think of this: We are attracted to the good in things and then love them for that reason. But when God loves things, he makes them lovable by loving them. When we look at a crucifix and see how much he loves us, we also see how lovable we are! All of this is Jesus speaking to us. But we have to be focused on him and not what we want from him.
As for the good feelings that you want, he obviously has not determined that they would be the best for you at this time. Mother Teresa went without such gratification for 20 years. But he still spoke to her through the graces he gave her. I’m sure she would tell you that such gratification is worth waiting for.
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: One of the attributes of God is that he is all-knowing. If Christ is God, why does he not know the end of days, and only the Father knows?
A: The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: "By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal. What he admitted to not knowing in this area, he elsewhere declared himself not sent to reveal" (CCC 474).
—Peggy Frye
Q: At what age does a baptized person (specifically, a child baptized as an infant) incur the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays?
A: The obligation of worshiping God is imposed on all mankind by the natural law. However, the obligation to participate in Sunday Mass, as imposed by Church law (CIC 1247) is ecclesiastical law. Ecclesiastical law generally is binding on all Catholics at least seven years of age who possess sufficient use of reason. The Code of Canon Law states, "Merely ecclesiastical laws bind those who have been baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it, possess the efficient use of reason, and, unless the law expressly provides otherwise, have completed seven years of age" (CIC 11).
—Jim Blackburn
Q:A Catholic couple is getting married in the Episcopal church by Episcopal clergy. Both bride and groom are Catholics and wanted to marry in the Catholic Church, but the bride is divorced, and the annulment has not been completed yet. They have chosen to get married now in the Episcopal church and then later marry in the Catholic Church. As a Catholic, attending the ceremony seems improper to me.
A: You are correct. To enter into an invalid marriage simply to have a fancy church wedding because of reasons of convenience is sinful and betrays a lack of good judgment. It can also give scandal to those who are not knowledgeable in their Catholic faith.
—Fr. Vincent Serpa
Q: I received ashes on Ash Wednesday, but my two-year-old son did not. Instead he was given a blessing. Is this a new practice?
A: Some think that blessed ashes should only be given to those capable of personal sin and so do not give them to children below the age of reason. This is a misunderstanding of the sacramental. The blessed ashes remind us of our mortality (e.g., the traditional words of imposition are "Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you shall return") and of our common sinful condition, shared through original sin even by those incapable of personal sin (e.g., young children, the cognitively disabled).
If this should happen again on future Ash Wednesdays, politely ask that ashes be given to your son. If you get argument, you might point out that, "Today’s reading from Joel says that ‘children, even nursing infants’ (2:16) are to be included in the communal penance."
—Michelle Arnold
Q: A family member argues that the New Testament doesn’t deal with the issue of homosexuality. To which passages can I refer him?
A: The following New Testament passages deal with homosexual acts:
- For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error. (Rom 1:26-27)
- Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1Cor 6:9-10)
- [T]he law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, immoral persons, sodomites, kidnapers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine. (1 Tm 1:9-10)
- [J]ust as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise acted immorally and indulged in unnatural lust, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. (Jude 7)
But God’s displeasure with acting out on homosexuality is depicted as early as Genesis 19 in the Old Testament. Also see Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13.
—Jim Blackburn
Q: Does a person have to be confirmed to sponsor a person for baptism?
A: Yes. The Code of Canon Law states:
To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must:
- be designated by the one to be baptized, by the parents or the person who takes their place, or in their absence by the pastor or minister and have the aptitude and intention of fulfilling this function;
- have completed the 16th year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has established another age, or the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause;
- be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on;
- not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared;
- not be the father or mother of the one to be baptized.
A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community is not to participate except together with a Catholic sponsor and then only as a witness of the baptism. (CIC 874 §1-2)
—Peggy Frye
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Catholic Answers
