By Fr. Tony Fortman, C.PP.S.
Many times, we are asked to make decisions without having a total picture of the outcome. I can remember making my lifetime commitment to the Precious Blood Community. I did not know what my life would be like as a C.PP.S. member and a priest. I had to collect all my experiences throughout life and in formation and then I had to decide to become a C.PP.S. member or not. I had to go with my best thinking. Keep in mind that the C.PP.S. Community had to decide on whether it wanted me or not.
Sometimes we can be hesitant or scared to make decisions because we want the best outcome for our decisions and we do not know if our decision is just perfect. Those of us who have a German heritage know that it can come with a core belief that says something like: “If you are going to do something then you better do it just perfect.” But I don’t believe in that. My belief is, “If something is worth doing, it is worth doing imperfectly.” We can keep ourselves from experiences because we are afraid to make mistakes others will notice. God has a plan for us and it will come to completion.
In today’s first reading from the book of Genesis, we see that God had a plan for Abram, who is later named Abraham. “The Lord God took Abram outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,’ he added, ‘shall your descendants be.’ Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.”
What is interesting in this passage is that it was day when God asked Abram to look up into the sky. You can’t see stars in the sky during the day, only at night. Abram had to believe there were many stars in the sky even though he couldn’t see them. Later in this passage, we read, “As the sun was about to set, a trance fell upon Abram, and a deep, terrifying darkness enveloped him.” This proves that Abram looked up into the sky during the daytime.
We may not know everything about our faith or have everything spelled out about what we believe but we are still called to believe. We can believe without knowing everything. How much are you willing to trust Jesus and his Church? God bless you all.
Fr. Tony Fortman C.PP.S. is the pastor at St. John the Baptist Church in Glandorf, Ohio.