General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Do you know why Catholics put money in the collection plate at Sunday mass? [View all]AnotherMcIntosh
(11,064 posts)or changed in the last several decades (more than 50 years for me), one factor is that a weekly list is posted to identify the names of those who attended Mass and the amounts that they contributed.
The lists are compiled from the envelopes which are dropped in the collection plates. The envelopes have the names of the persons putting them into the collection plates. People can also just drop money into the collection plates without such envelopes, but the ones that do so are often kids and sometimes strangers who don't care whether their contributions are going to be counted towards their names.
If you regularly attend and don't make contributions in line with what others are contributing, your friends and neighbors will know. A friendly priest might even ask whether you are having financial difficulties and need assistance.