Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, “How are we robbing you?” in your tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me; the whole nation of you. Malachi 3:8-9. This passage recently came up in my Liturgy of the Hours which priest pray daily. It is a popular passage used to encourage Christians to give financially. It’s powerful and scary. You can understand why the prophets were not popular. But we must keep in mind that they spoke for the Lord. I bring this before you not for the purpose of strong arming you into giving more money. I put this before you because I noticed something I have missed in the multiple times I have read or heard this passage. They are condemned for withholding their “…tithes and offerings.” Now under the law of the Old Testament, the faithful were required to give one tenth of everything they received, money, crops, livestock, and even garden produce. So wouldn’t this also be their ‘offering’? Malachi has them separated. What is the offering? Offering would be specifically related to the practices of worship. They are withholding the worship owed to God alone. This has a direct bearing on our worship during Mass. We must ask ourselves, am I withholding my offering of sincere praise, thanksgiving, faith, hope and love that are due to God our creator and savior. We see the bitter fruits of the curse in our nation that has forsaken God. We truly need to examine our hearts and make our full offering which we are privileged to join to the perfect offering of Jesus, the Only Begotten Son, offered in every single Mass we attend. Yours in Christ our Lord, Fr. Sid.