Giving begins with what we have first received

Catholic giving is not fundraising. It is a response. Everything we hold has been given to us first, and the offering we make at Mass, the standing order to the parish, the legacy in our will, all of these flow from the simple act of giving thanks. The Diocese of Shrewsbury has been built on the giving of ordinary Catholics for 175 years. Bishop James Brown began with 26 priests, around 20,000 faithful, and what he called "a want of means". The diocese we know today, with parishes, schools, and a cathedral, was paid for by people who had very little and gave anyway.

The widow's mite

When Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched people give, He noticed a poor widow drop in two small coins. He said to His disciples:

"Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything." (Mark 12:43-44)

The measure of a gift is never the size of the cheque. It is the size of the gap between what we have and what we keep. Two small coins given freely meant more to Christ than a large sum given casually. Catholics across this diocese give in many sizes and many ways. The diocese receives all of it as one offering.

What the Church actually teaches

The Catechism of the Catholic Church lists, among the precepts of the Church, the duty of the faithful "to provide for the material needs of the Church, each according to his abilities" (CCC 2043). This is a duty in justice, not a fundraising appeal. The Church belongs to the people of God, and the people of God carry the cost of keeping her doors open. The phrase that matters here is "according to his abilities". The Church does not ask anyone to give what they do not have. She asks each of us to give in proportion to what we do have.

Proportionate giving, not a fixed rule

Proportionate giving means the percentage of income that we give back to God. For a family on a tight budget that might be a small but regular figure. For someone with more, it might be substantially more. The figure is between you and God. What matters is that it is regular, that it is real, and that it costs you something. A useful test is whether your giving has any effect on the way you live. If it does not, it is unlikely to be proportionate.

Stewardship, not charity

The Catholic word for this is stewardship. A steward is someone who looks after what belongs to another. We are stewards of our money, our time, our skills, and our prayer. Giving to the parish or the diocese is not charity to the Church. It is the steward returning a portion to the master. Bishop Davies, writing for the 175th anniversary of the diocese, described it like this: the diocese was born "by any human calculation" with poor prospects, and grew because each generation made every sacrifice to place the Mass at the centre of their lives. Every brick, every chalice, every priest's training, every Caritas project, every school chaplaincy, has been paid for by people who treated their giving as a duty of love.

Giving and the life of prayer

It helps to give in the same spirit we pray. Set aside a fixed amount before the rest of the budget is spent. Treat it as the first call on your income, not the last. Many Catholics in the diocese set up a standing order so the gift goes out each month before they see it. This protects the gift from competing with whatever else is asking for the same money. It also makes the gift habitual, which is how virtues form.

What your giving carries

When you give to the Diocese of Shrewsbury, registered charity number 234025, your gift carries a number of things at once. It pays for the formation of seminarians at Oscott. It supports the Retired Priests' Fund, which looks after men who have spent their lives at the altar. It funds Caritas Shrewsbury, the diocesan response to poverty. It keeps churches open across Cheshire, Shropshire, the Wirral, and the parts of Greater Manchester and Merseyside that fall within the diocese. None of this happens without giving. None of it would have happened in 1850 either.

A simple next step

If you have never given regularly to the diocese before, the simplest first step is to set up a standing order through the Planned Giving and Gift Aid Service at the Curial Offices. Carol Lawrence is the Financial Secretary and the right person to write to. You can email her at carol.lawrence@dioceseofshrewsbury.org or phone the Curial Offices on 0151 652 9855. Ask for a Standing Order form and a Gift Aid declaration. Choose an amount that would feel real if you stopped to think about it. Begin there, and let the figure grow as your trust grows.