by Carl Brown

When we’re laying for our children an educational foundation in the faith, we don’t always get to see the finished product—the final results. But recently, I did see the foundation my wife and I had built yield good fruit.

When my son, Joseph, first started working a part-time job, I told him, “Now you can start putting money in the Sunday offertory! It’s a precept of the Church, and you remember Malachi 3:10, right?”

“Daaaaaad,” was his response—how do kids learn to stretch that syllable so dramatically?

A somewhat obscure passage from a little-known prophet, Malachi 3:10 is tucked away in the back of the Old Testament and never appears in the cycle of readings, so you might not be aware of it.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And test me in this, says the LORD of hosts: shall I not open the floodgates of Heaven for you and pour down blessing upon you without measure?” (Mal 3:10).

This message is often rephrased as, “God’s generosity can’t be outdone.”

Since I run the Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA) for Archbishop Robert Casey, Joseph has heard me explain this passage many times. He’s also witnessed my wife and I try to live in accordance with that reality.

So, when I reminded him that Malachi 3:10 applies to him, Joseph understood what that meant in his own life.

Still, I didn’t nag—God gave him free will, so I should do the same.  Instead, I had simply planted a seed. And the next Sunday, my wife whispered, “Don’t look now, but Joseph’s putting an envelope in the offertory.”

I was thrilled that he had listened, but the story doesn’t end there! Joseph burst into the family room the following week exclaiming, “Dad, guess what? It’s working already!”

“What’s working?” I asked, puzzled.

“Mr. Hanavan called. He wants me to tutor! And … he’s paying me way more than I’ve been putting in the Sunday offertory!”

I was stunned—God’s generosity had shone through! This was better than Christmas morning! I didn’t know whether I was more proud of my son or in awe of God’s providence.

Did Joseph’s generosity prompt Mr. Hanavan’s call? We can’t know that, but we do know Joseph’s giving changed how he saw God at work. Because of tithing, he started seeking evidence of God’s generosity—and found it everywhere!

Sacrificial giving trains our eyes to recognize God’s gifts. When we give with trust, we become more attuned to how God provides, often in ways we never imagined. It’s not always about money returning to us directly—it’s about noticing the floodgates of Heaven opening, as Malachi promised.

Carl Brown is the Director of Development Operations for the Office of Stewardship and Giving. To learn more about ways to give, visit https://catholicaoc.org/give.