Deacon Rick Soria Reflects on His Path to the Permanent Diaconate: Grateful for God’s Goodness

As Deacon Rick Soria celebrates his 20th anniversary in the permanent diaconate this month, he can’t help but marvel over the ways the Lord has worked in his life. If you have ever heard Deacon Rick talk about his faith journey, then you know he feels a deep affinity for the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel of Luke. Deacon Rick, too, was once lost — about 25 years ago, he was found, and he couldn’t be more grateful for God’s hand in it all.

Deacon Rick grew up in East Los Angeles. His parents divorced when he was 2, and when his mother remarried, her pastor made it clear that she was not welcome in their local Catholic parish. Despite this obstacle, it was important for Deacon Rick’s father that his son grow up in the faith, so he attended Catholic schools all the way through college. Deacon Rick describes his faith life in college as a “rollercoaster.” Lacking a personal connection to Jesus Christ, he struggled to find meaning in the prayers and traditions of the Church. He married his wife, Maureen, at the age of 22, and the couple had two sons within their first two years of marriage. After a few years, he only found himself in church for Baptisms, funerals, and Christmas.

In his late 20s, Deacon Rick faced a series of personal struggles that led him to seek refuge in the Lord for the first time in years.

“During that time, I was an alcoholic and I was just beginning to spiral,” he says. “I got fired from my job, and I got in an accident. My oldest son was thrown from the car and his forehead was shattered. When the ER doctor told me the extent of my son’s injury, I went into the little chapel and prayed. For the first time, I prayed for something other than what I wanted. It was a simple prayer — if You save my son, I’ll go back to church.”

Over the next few years, following the full recovery of his son, Deacon Rick tried to make good on his promise to God by attending Mass. Every so often, however, he would find a reason to stop going. Finally, he and Maureen found a parish that drew Deacon Rick back into the fold for good.

“One day, Maureen and I wandered into a Mass at St. Margaret Mary,” he says. “I just turned to my wife and said, ‘I’ve found home.’ The new pastor there took an interest in me and saw past the foul mouth and hardness of what I was at the time, and he saw the good in me. We would play poker once a month and he was just very present. That pastor and the other men in the parish, they laughed hard, they played hard, and they prayed sincerely. I was getting involved in the parish because I wanted my kids to have a Catholic education. The journey went from me going to Mass just to go to going to Mass because I needed to, and from a life centered on me to a life centered on Christ.”

Deacon Rick’s faith life had completely transformed, but he still could never have predicted the vocation the Lord had in mind for him! In 1994, he ran into an old “drinking buddy” from college who showed him a photo of himself prostrate on the altar during his ordination to the diaconate. Deacon Rick laughed at the time, but nonetheless, a seed was planted. For two years, he felt an invitation to nurture that seed of a vocation and see what might become of it. Finally, he decided to say “yes” to the call to the permanent diaconate, and for the first time in his 46 years, Deacon Rick felt truly at peace.

Going through the diaconate program, Deacon Rick found his life changed even more completely. He began to open his heart up to giving and receiving love in a whole new way. He also went through the AA program and found that experience to be transforming, as well. By the time he was ordained on June 9, 2001, he had no doubt that this had been the Lord’s plan for him all along.

“I felt a profound sense of unworthiness, but at the same time, a profound sense of gratefulness that even though I was unworthy, this was my call,” Deacon Rick says. “There was a surety in what I was doing and an acceptance. The tears I shed on the floor of the church that day were tears of joy that the Lord had looked upon this lowly soul and done great things.”

Throughout the diaconate process — and perhaps especially in the 25 years before Deacon Rick found his way back to the Church — Maureen sustained him with her steadfast support and encouragement.

“Maureen and I have been married for 50 years,” Deacon Rick says. “She is a source of wisdom. She is a spiritual director, and she has this gift for understanding human nature. As I prepare homilies, she reviews my notes and ideas. She has a spirit that hears beyond words. And she will sit with things a lot longer than I will.”

Following his ordination, Deacon Rick served St. Margaret Mary Parish for 17 years before he and Maureen decided to move to Grass Valley to be close to the youngest of their three sons and to their grandchildren. Since arriving in our parish almost four years ago, Deacon Rick has enjoyed serving as our DRE. He is thankful for the gift of Fr. Estrella in our parish and is inspired by the humbleness, service, and love of community and faith demonstrated by the people of St. Patrick.

With gratitude for the loving goodness of a God who saves, Deacon Rick feels truly blessed to be where he is today.

“I grew up with a God that was here for the ‘gotcha’ and the punishment, so to discover a God who loves me — to discover that gift and to give that gift to others — is amazing,” he says. “Just knowing that God loves us beyond measure, every one of us, and He yearns for me and yearns for you to just be with Him. I’m being born again every moment of my life that I’m open to what God has for me, and I’m meeting you that we may grow together.”

Deacon Rick Soria and his wife, Maureen