Creative Writing Studies Pray/Reflect at La Ermita
Eva de la Torre, Emmanuel Roca, Leandra Obando, Diego Gamarra, Bruna Egea, Cămilă Vela, Ana Lynch, Daniela Murcia, Jasmine Rossi, Martina Tonkin, and Lucia Salazar – standing. Alma Penaloza, Madison Walsh, and Mariana Perez- seated.
October 7, 2022
As time goes on, my relationship with God and my faith continue to get stronger. I believe that God gave everyone on Earth a purpose to be here and he will always be there for us, especially during our toughest times. I’ve learned that God only gives hard battles to his toughest soldiers. I just need to know that there will always be light at the end of the tunnel. Even when it’s hard to think of a reason to stay, I think it’s important to know that creation was planned. We are here for a reason. God made everyone perfect in his image, and he has the most wonderful plan for every single one of us. Since none of us is perfect, as long as we repent and ask for forgiveness, we’re on the right track in our Catholic faith. God loves every single one of us, no matter who you are. He sent his only son to die on the cross for our sins.
Going to a Catholic school has helped with my faith a lot as well. Our main purpose here on Earth is to love God and to love one another. Love and prayer are two very important things in the Catholic faith.
I found it really easy to concentrate in the Ermita even though there was a lot of background noise from the construction. I found the time we spent inside very serene and happy. Being outside in the nature was also very calming, although it was really sunny and hot.
Watching the ocean helped me appreciate ILS, and also made me realize how beautiful nature really is. Since I’m from Cuba, learning about the Ermita’s origin was really interesting and felt important to me personally.- Camila Vela
When I was younger, there was never a lot of pressure to being Catholic, I was sort of just put into the faith by my parents which is okay because I was just a kid so I just kind of went with it. As I grow older, I feel the need to keep my faith in God and sometimes feel bad for doubting. This is because my dad always told me about everyone in my family before me who immigrated from Cuba and worked so hard to be here, as well as all Catholics/Christian’s who fought for their religion and were persecuted and tortured because of their beliefs. That is why I feel bad when I do not living up to those expectations. While these expectations can be daunting, I still look to them for inspiration. Now in La Ermita, I am looking at the beautiful mural of people from Cuba and the whole story going back hundreds of years. I am inspired as always by their constant perseverance, bravery, and faith in God.-Lucia Salazar
