Introduction to Ethan Caligur

Hello, my name is Ethan Caligur. I am a parishioner of St. Michael the Archangel located in the Galleria area. So far this year, this course has taught me to be more passionate about my faith. Leading up to this pilgrimage, we have been exploring the questions "what does it mean to be holy" and "how do we live a Christian life." As this class has progressed, I have learned more about what it truly means to live as a strong Catholic man. More specifically, that we are called by God to surrender our wills in favor of His. To really love God is to put His will above ours. As Catholics we also believe that a relationship with God is the only thing that can bring us true happiness. If we do not get out of our own ways and allow him to work in our lives, then our relationship is stalled at a tension point between our will and God's. The key to improving our faith life is finding these tension points and asking ourselves who do we love more, God or ourselves. Since we believe that our relationship with God is our only source of true happiness and fulfillment, why should not place our full trust in him.
To me a pilgrimage is a physical journey that represents the spirtual journey that takes place in our life. Just like how we use the sacraments as physical signs of God's abstract love, this physical journey symbolizes our ongoing movement towards God. For this pilgrimage, I think my biggest difficulty will be calming myself down, so that I can live in the moment. I know that traveling overseas and being in a foreign country can be stressful, but I ask God for the grace to relax and enjoy this experience. I hope to take back home a deeper passion for my faith after seeing some of the holiest sights in our faith. I hope that I can find inspiration in seeing these holy and historic sights.