That ultimate sense of wonder within the experience is what drives so many people to engage in [these] rigorous trials.  Father Stephen Canny, an Irish priest who leads a parish in Santa Rosa, California, believes strongly in the effectiveness of pilgrimage.  He has climbed Croagh Patrick, a popular pilgrimage site and storied mountain in Ireland, three times himself and has seen it work wonders on the devoted. "You are more alive after you have overcome something difficult," he says.  "You're changed by the mountain and the fact that you have confirmed your faith.  It's a remarkably effective way to answer the question, What is my purpose?"