On March 30th, Monsignor Francisco Moreno Barrón, Archbishop of Tijuana, ordained Father Ricardo Arriola, LC, as a priest at the Holy Spirit Parish. Present at the ordination were, among others, Father Ricardo’s family members, staff from the Cumbres Institute of Tijuana, members of Regnum Christi, the lay consecrated who live in his community in Mexico City, 31 Legionary priests, and 5 diocesan priests.

«The Lord has chosen you among many, not because you are the best, not because you have many qualities, surely you do. He has chosen you because He calls whom He wills, and you have freely said to Him: “Here I am, Lord, to do your will”», said Monsignor Francisco Moreno Barrón to Father Ricardo Arriola, L.C., during the homily.

«First of all, you must make the Word of God your own: Scripture. You will never preach your own words or your convictions or what you think, but you must be faithful to the Word of God: to bring the good news of the Gospel to those around you in a faithful manner. That means meditating, keeping the Gospel in your heart, and also with your life, being a living word for all those around you», added Monsignor Francisco Moreno Barrón.

At the end of the celebration, Father Ricardo Sada, LC, Territorial Director of Mexico, gave «thanks to God for giving us this new priest», and added: «we could not be happier because we have one more priest; moreover, a young, enthusiastic priest, eager to make Jesus Christ present in many souls. That is what our world needs today. That is what our Church needs».

The vocational path of Father Ricardo Arriola, LC, as he himself mentions in his vocational story, begins at a very early age. Referring to his First Communion, he comments: «That day I was truly able to experience 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 maybe God was calling me to be a priest. It has been one of the happiest days of my life!».

Several years have passed since that August 21, 1993. Today, Father Ricardo is already a priest and has, if one can say, a greater appreciation for the calling he receives: «I ask for your prayers to be the priest that God has envisioned for me».

More information about this news can be read on the website of the Mexico communication office and view a photo gallery of the ordination on Flickr. You can also listen here to Monsignor Francisco Moreno Barrón’s homily.