Like Margaret Mielenhausen, I give my tithing to the church electronically, though I wasn’t offended by Frank Wessling’s editorial (The Catholic Messenger, Jan. 7).
I once heard a homily that proposed another type of offering. The Scripture was when Christ sent his apostles out to preach his word to others. He told them to take nothing but the clothes on their backs, one walking stick, etc., to travel light. The homily suggested that each Sunday, before we travel out “in peace to love and serve the Lord and one another,” we leave behind the things that weigh us down: our sins, our burdens, our concerns.
In considering that homily, it occurred to me to also offer to Christ each Mass all the times I succeeded in turning the other cheek, in answering evil with love, each time I strove to be more like him. Mr. Wessling says, “The offering made at the altar is Christ living today in the church, which is all of us.”
Each Mass the basket is passed to me, I take it and pass it to the next person. In the past, I have wondered what my fellow parishioners might think, if they think I haven’t joined them in supporting the good work of the church. Mr. Wessling has made me wonder about that again.
So, I’ve decided that in addition to my electronic offering, I will place an offering in the basket each time as a symbol of my joining them in our shared cause. Nothing that will break the bank…it might be a one or a five dollar bill.
Cheryl Costello
LeClaire
