One of the Christian ideals is tithing. The idea is to give back 10% of one's income to Chruch or charity..
Last year, I did that. In fact, I donated nearly 12% of my income.
That's fine, but this morning I thought about the fact that we are called to give more of our money back. Father,at mass, talked about what we spend our time on. Do we spend more time at work or on watching television that we do on Church or on prayer?
That's more challenging.
So I started thinking about how time I spend in serving God or praying each day.
My daily prayer routine includes Morning Prayer and Night Prayers from the Liturgy of the Hours, a Rosary, a Divine Mercy Chaplet, the Twelve Year Prayer of St. Bridget, the Seven Sorrows of Mary as given to St. Bridget, 10 minutes of reading the Bible, at least 15 minutes of other spiritual reading, daily Mass four days a week, and Sunday Mass. I also have weekly volunteering at the St. Padre Pio Chapel and at the Mt. Carmel House (hospice), working on the Franciscan weekly newsletter, and preparing for and leading our monthly Fraternity gathering. There are also the regular prayers outside Planned parenthood, involvement with 40 Days for Life, the Good Friday Stations for life, and monthly holy hours.
The exact amount of time varies depending on the day. but I can estimate an average.
It works out to about 13% of each day!
So I'm tithing my time as well.
That's all to the good, but I can do more and do it better.
God deserves it.
Pax et bonum
1 comment:
"My" time and "my" money. I think that perspective is what makes it difficult. A better perspective is that it is His time and His money, which I am asked to be a caregiver for. That perspective makes it easier for me to consider donations, or time with those I don't particularly like. Someone recently said they changed their view about finding time for Christ in prayer. They said they were trying to fit in prayer around their earthly tasks, but re-oriented their thinking to put Christ at the center of their life, and they would try to fit in their earthly tasks around time they spent with Him.
I just finished re-reading Jesus Christus, by Guardini. (It was on sale for $3/copy, and I bought 10 to give away.) It also beautifully puts into perspective WHERE I am, and where He is --- and it gives me further incentive to see (or at least ask to see) things His way.
Post a Comment