My vocational story begins, practically from the moment I was born. When I look back, there are many memories, and I see God’s hand throughout my entire life.
I was born into a Catholic and very close family. Thanks to God, from the beginning I received a good education where God was an important part of our entire life. The happy moments were a gift from God, and the difficult moments were allowed by God so that we would trust more in Him. This was the environment in my family.
One of the most important moments was preparing for my First Communion. I really enjoyed going to catechism and learning more about Jesus, my friend. When I was about 6 years old, I had already learned everything I needed to know to make my First Communion, but I needed to mature more in my friendship with Jesus and become more aware of what it meant to receive Him in my heart. I became impatient knowing I was not yet ready and didn’t quite understand why. Finally, the day of my First Communion arrived, on August 21, 1993. That day I truly experienced that Jesus wanted to be with me forever, and I had to seek never to lose His friendship. It was at that moment when I first consciously felt that perhaps God was calling me to be a priest. It has been one of the happiest days of my life.
Years went by, and the idea of priesthood gradually faded, although it was always there in the back of my heart. Sometimes the idea came to mind again, but for a long time it remained dormant during elementary and secondary school. However, I saw that participating in Missionary Family and ECYD helped me a lot. Little by little, I realized I was very happy doing something for others. This has been a constant in my life: the more I do for others, the happier I am.
After finishing secondary school, we started with Regnum Christi in Tijuana, where I was able to grow a lot with my group of friends. It was during those years that I matured my decision to become a collaborator after finishing high school. After my second year, I became an ECYD collaborator. It was an incredible experience. I confirmed the idea that I was very happy doing something for others and discovered that to be truly happy, I had to be very close to God. It was during that period that the idea of priesthood returned with greater intensity.
After the summer, upon returning home, I felt that I had changed and matured a lot, and the idea of becoming a collaborator remained my priority. However, on September 10, 2002, God began to change my plans. That day, during a moment of prayer, thinking about the people who had died a year earlier in the Twin Towers, a question arose deep within me: how many of the people in the Towers were truly prepared to reach Heaven? This question made me question my present life and Heaven. It was then that I heard a voice deep inside me, which was definitely not mine, that said: Why don’t you help me get many people to Heaven through the sacraments?
It was a very normal day, but something had changed inside me. From then on, I kept asking myself what I wanted to do when I grew up, after finishing high school, and the answer gradually shifted from making my own plans to making God’s plans. This implied not becoming a collaborator, but dedicating my whole life to helping God so that others could know Him and be saved.
I joined the Legion of Christ on September 15, 2003, and since then I have lived very happily being close to God and helping others.
On June 15, 2018, I was ordained a deacon in Tijuana, and, always with God’s grace, I was ordained a priest on March 30 in the same city. I ask for your prayers so I can be the priest that God has envisioned for me.
Brother Ricardo Arriola Alcántara, L.C., was born on January 22, 1985, in Tijuana, Baja California. He is the second of a family of four children. He joined the Legion of Christ on September 15, 2003. He did his novitiate in Monterrey and professed his first vows on September 15, 2005. He studied a year of classical humanities in Salamanca, Spain, and then a year of philosophy in Rome. In March 2007, he began collaborating in vocations promotion in the State of Mexico, the Bajío area, and Quintana Roo. That same year, he started his apostolic practices as a vocations promoter in Torreón and Durango. He made his perpetual profession on September 15, 2011. That same year, he returned to Rome to complete his bachelor’s degree in philosophy. From 2012 to 2014, he collaborated in the Italy territorial secretary, while studying for a licentiate in philosophy with a specialization in anthropology. From 2014 to 2017, he collaborated in the general direction, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in theology. He is currently in charge of vocations promotion at the Student Center in Mexico.
