When someone tells you: “Do good to those who hate you; bless those who cursed you; forgive the one who ruined your dignity”, your answer might be: “IMPOSSIBLE!... But there’s nothing impossible with God.

Take a moment now and close your eyes. Imagine that you are with the disciples as Jesus begins to talk. You hear him say, “To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” What is your immediate reaction to hearing these things? In what ways is this teaching challenging for you?

Imagine yourself sitting at the feet of Jesus when he gave the Beatitudes. Hear him say that the rich and satisfied will be unhappy. Hear him offer a path of true happiness through humble obedience and faith. Do you accept this humble path?

"The BEATITUDES are blue print to holiness. They are our “identity card” as they reflect what we can become: A HOLY person or an EVIL one! There are two divisions of the BEATITUDES: “blessings” and “woes.”

Simon Peter had been up all night fishing unsuccessfully, but Jesus tells him to go out and try one more time. It’s easy to imagine how a seasoned fisherman like Simon Peter might resist the suggestion. But, in the end, he agrees. Perhaps he didn’t expect to catch anything. So we can imagine his surprise when his obedience yields more than he could possibly imagine. In that, we have an important lesson.

TRUST is Simon Peter’s response to Jesus; he said: “ Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets”. TRUST is Jesus’ tribute to Simon Peter’s faith-fullness; he said: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth to give a homily in the synagogue. At first, everyone is impressed. But then Jesus takes on the tone of a prophet and his hometown friends take offense, even inhibiting the ability of Jesus to effectively minister there. What lesson might we learn from this event?

We have been successful last year as we went beyond our 2018DDF Goal. From my heart, I say sincerely: “Thank you for your harmonious cooperation and extravagant generosity!” I am praying that this year’s 2019DDF Campaign, you will render again such fascinating visual of charitable action.