Bringing a family back.

Rick Ricciardi is a revert with a past. Catholic, Southern Baptist, miscellaneous Baptist, Pentecostal and finally Catholic again. All along, Rick had a burning desire to love and serve our Lord with all his heart. That’s what ultimately brought him home to the Church. I hope you enjoy getting to know Rick. He has a real heart for ex-Catholics who love Jesus and are wandering the vast expanse of Protestantism. Check out Rick’s web site at www.returninghome.com and take a homeless friend with you.
— Kristine L. Franklin

Rick Ricciardi with another former Protestant minister turned Catholic, Dr. Scott Hahn.

I was away from the Church for twenty-three years, but now I’m back. In 1996, my life took a drastic and unexpected turn as I began a one year journey that would result in my returning home to the Roman Catholic Church. I left the Church in 1974 and spent the next twenty-three years as a licensed Southern Baptist minister, a lay leader in other Baptist churches and finally a deacon in an Assembly of God church. Very often, just before I would preach or teach, I’d have everyone sing the great hymn, "Victory In Jesus." If you were to ask me what Jesus means to me, I would have to answer, victory.

I have the promise of God that whatever life sends my way, He is with me. When I rejoice in the good times, or weep in the sad times, He is there, feeling my joy or sorrow. He understands. I do not consider wealth and luxury to be evidence of God’s love for me or for that matter, a lack of wealth and luxury to be some type of sign that God doesn’t love me. I look at my life and see the important things that God has blessed me with.

I have a wife, Jeannie, who loves me. She has also become Catholic and together, as a couple, we’re growing in our faith. My daughter, JoAnna, completed RCIA and became Catholic last May 31. She married another Catholic, Jason, in December. My son, James, entered the Church in November.

The Internet apostolate that I started, Returning Home, ministers to former Catholics who are now questioning their decision. It continues to be a tremendous blessing and a wonderful surprise as I receive dozens of e-mails a week.

I have to admit that during this past year as a Catholic, rediscovering my Faith and relearning all about the Church, I’ve struggled with the sharing of my attention toward Jesus with our Blessed Mother and the saints. Slowly, I began to see that the communion of saints, although very strange to Protestants, is actually a wonderful source of comfort. It became very clear to me at the time of my father’s death in April 1997.

As Catholics, we have a unique personal relationship with Jesus because it includes all that He loves. Our relationship with Him includes His Mother, all of the saints in heaven and our brothers and sisters in Christ alive with us here. As we show our love to those He loves, we show our love to Him.

I think the many converts and reverts to the Church can all agree on how awesome the Eucharist is to us. As we waited for the time when we could actually receive Him in the Eucharist, we ached because we wanted Him so badly. At this point in my life, my personal relationship with Jesus centers around the Eucharist, because it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Savior. This wonderful gift of God to His children is available through the victory over sin and death that is the Resurrection. Christ’s victory is our victory.

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