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Contents © 2000
by Jim Holman.
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I Wasted A Lot Of Time Playing Nintendo
By Robert Kumpel
A onetime "partying" student, Richard de Lorimier, 22, followed the path of love only to find his true love in an unexpected place.
"I grew up in Monterey and lived in the same house all my life. In the summer '96, after I graduated high school, I had a girlfriend whose dad was in the Navy, and he was getting stationed in San Diego. Her whole family was moving down here, and I had applied and been accepted to universities all over California. I hadn't made a decision as to where I wanted to go, so I just decided to follow her to San Diego and enrolled at State.
"We got pretty serious and ended up getting engaged, but that didn't last very long. I was stressing out a lot, plus I was only 19, immature, and I didn't know what I was doing. I broke up with her and lived the stereotypical partying lifestyle of a college student for a couple of years. I got drunk three or four times a week and smoked pot practically every day. But I was still going to Mass on Sunday, even though I didn't live a life that complemented my faith. Then I came to the Newman Center and met a lot of fellow Catholics my age who could support me and were fired up in the faith." After coming to the Newman Center, things began to change quickly.
"One friend suggested I start praying the rosary, so I started praying it every day. Our Blessed Mother saved me through the rosary and I did a 180 after that. I came back to full communion with the sacraments."
Father Cesar Rubiano of the SDSU Newman Center was pivotal in directing de Lorimier after his conversion. "One day we'd rented a movie and we were going to watch it together at his house. We stopped by my apartment beforehand and my roommates were throwing a party. The place was just a mess. When we walked away from the apartment, he said, 'Richard, we have to get you out of there.' We talked about the discernment house and I soon moved in. That's where my vocation started to grow. I lived at the Eudist house of discernment near Blessed Sacrament [church] about a year ago, but after six months, I decided I did not want to become a Eudist." Instead, De Lorimier believes he has found his order in the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in Boston.
"The Oblates seemed to be more my type of spirituality. They have a very strong devotion to Our Blessed Mother. I knew when I started praying the rosary that she had a hand in my vocation and I was attracted to that. They have a strong commitment to the sacrament of confession, and too many people nowadays don't realize how important confession is."
De Lorimier discovered the Oblates at a friend's parish, St. Peter Chanel, near Long Beach. "The four priests who are there have been a great witness. They're very joyful priests, very well-balanced, with a strong commitment to the truth as taught by the magisterium of the church."
He is currently finishing his degree at San Diego State University. "I'll graduate in 2001 with a B.A. in Liberal Studies and get a teaching credential in English. If I haven't paid off my debt by then, I'd like to teach at a Catholic school for a couple of years or however long it takes me to pay off my debt. I plan to go to the seminary as soon as possible."
"I first realized I wanted to be a priest when I was eight years old when I had a dream with Jesus and Mary in it. After that, I had a thirst and desire to learn more about my faith. They had a children's Mass in the hall at my parish, St. Angela's, in Pacific Grove. After that dream, I didn't want the children's Mass anymore. I was more serious. I started trying to understand the Mass, and that's where Our Lord started calling me. When I was thirteen, the priest in charge of the altar boys teased me about becoming a priest, but I could tell he was sort of serious. My eighth grade CCD teacher was supportive when I shared with him about it. I was 13 at the time. He gave me some materials on apologetics and a subscription to This Rock. I started reading it and it helped me become knowedgeable about the Catholic faith. I had questions about how it was distinct from other Christian faiths. I got a copy of Karl Keating's Catholicism and Fundamentalism and that got me very convicted in my faith.
"In high school I just forgot about it. I didn't have much support with it. Then I started going out with my girlfriend. Then I came to San Diego -- but throughout the whole time I've always hung on to the faith. I still believed in the truth even when I didn't live a life that complemented that truth."
"I told my dad over Easter that I've definitely said 'yes' to my vocation. My mom thinks I still don't know what I'm doing. I started running in high school and ran cross country my sophomore year. I still try to run 5Ks and 10Ks when it's convenient. I wasted a lot of time playing Nintendo before that."
Another occupation that keeps de Lorimier busy is teaching CCD and he is concerned about its content. "I can't say the most orthodox or most knowledgeable people in the faith are running those programs nowadays."
De Lorimier has two sisters, Christina, 25, Aimee, 20, and a brother, Raymond, 18.