The Family that never ends

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

@gmail.com AT first glance, Christ's words seem unsettling. "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it." (Lk 8,21) Was Jesus distancing himself from his own Mother? Not at all. He was revealing why Mary is the greatest of all creatures. She is blessed not simply because she gave birth to Christ, but because she heard God's word, welcomed it with complete faith, and lived it to the full. Blood relationship is a gift. Spiritual relationship is greater. Christ throws open the doors of his family to everyone. Membership is not determined by race, status, or ancestry. It depends on one thing: hearing God's word and putting it into practice. That changes everything. Christianity is not simply about belonging to an institution or carrying a religious label. We become members of Christ's family by living in communion with him. The Gospel is meant to shape our thoughts, decisions, work, relationships, and even the smallest details of daily life. We may know the teachings of the faith, attend Mass, and say our prayers, yet still fail to let God's word direct our lives. Hearing without obeying is incomplete. Faith must become life. God's word is not merely information to be learned but a living reality meant to transform us. Every command of God is an invitation to share in his own life. Every circumstance becomes an opportunity to seek and fulfill his will. The consequences are far-reaching. If hearing and doing God's word make us members of Christ's family, then holiness cannot be confined to churches or moments of prayer. It must reach the office, the classroom, the marketplace, the home, the traffic jam, and even our moments of rest. There is no neutral ground in the Christian life. Every situation can and should bring us closer to God if we respond with faith and love. Work is no longer just work. It becomes prayer when offered to God. Family life becomes a school of charity. Daily duties become opportunities for sanctification. Ordinary life is not an obstacle to holiness but its ordinary path. This also transforms how we see other people. If everyone is called to belong to Christ's family, then every person deserves respect, patience, and genuine charity. The difficult colleague, the demanding client, the noisy neighbor, and even those who oppose us are persons loved by God and called to holiness. We cannot claim to belong to Christ while refusing to love those whom he loves. There is another important consequence. Belonging to Christ's family also means sharing in its mission. Every Christian is called to be an apostle—not necessarily through preaching, but through professional competence, cheerful service, integrity, kindness, and authentic friendship. Our ordinary life becomes our apostolate. Mary remains our perfect model. She listened, trusted, and obeyed. She united prayer and daily duty so completely that every ordinary task became an expression of her love for God. That is why she is both the Mother of Christ and his first and greatest disciple. The Gospel leaves us with a simple question: Are we merely hearing God's word, or are we living it? The answer is found not in what we say but in how we work, forgive, serve, suffer, and love. Every ordinary day offers countless opportunities to show that we truly belong to Christ's family.

I am thinking about moving to Germany. What are some things I should know beforehand?

 

Manak Shah

 · 

M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering, Hochschule Furtwangen University (Graduated 2016)

The following points are important to know:

1. Learn some German and then come to Germany. Most of them know English but knowing German will help you a lot.
2. Ask for help whenever you need, Germans are the most friendliest people I have ever met. Most of them will try to talk with you in English, just be patient and explain them your situation.
3. It is a safe and a secure place; currently 3 km away from my house there is a refugee camp from 2 months and nothing has changed, I still walk back home at 2 in night safely.
4. Keep yourself posted about the DB Bahn before landing in Germany, the train strikes takes place sometimes in Germany, so that you don't get stuck on Airport when you land. If you are having multiple connections and when you can't get on your 2nd train due to strike or bad weather you can ask for a Taxi at the DB Bahn office.(This condition is rare though)
5. Check the Weather and have proper provisions in order to face them. It rains regularly, sometimes its windy and sometimes it also snows.
6. Don't pay for your rent in advance from your home country if you are renting an apartment for 6 months or more. There are scams sometimes.
7. Learn to keep things clean. Germans take cleanliness seriously and they like things clean and neat.
8. Don't be loud after 10 pm, during afternoon and on weekends.
9. Avoid talking loudly in Public transport too at anytime.
10. Smile at strangers, most of the Germans will say Hello or Morgen in return.
11. If you are coming as a student then you should keep some cash with you, avoid credit cards because at some places they don't accept them.
12. Get temporary health insurance for 2 or 3 moths in order to take care of health problems if they arise.
13. Most of the Train Stations have WiFi and also some restaurants. So use them whenever you need them.
14. Telephone booth still exists in Germany, so you can make calls wherever you want to in Germany.
15. Keep small coins like 1 or 2 € coins for small stuff. If you don't have them, then generally at Airports they do exchange 10 or 20 € notes with small coins
16. Don't talk about the World War 2 and the things of Hitler in Public and don't do the Nazi salute in public, you may get arrested.

Edit:

Joe Hoy suggested one of the most important points which I forgot.

Be Punctual and be always on time or little bit before time