Father Roberto Aspe, LC

Father Roberto Aspe, LC, was born on 20 August 1965 in Mexico City. He studied in the Cumbres Institute and at Anahuac University, both in Mexico City. In 1984 he consecrated his life to God within the Regnum Christi Movement and in 1992 he began his religious life in the Legionaries of Christ at the novitiate in Salamanca, Spain. He received a Master´s Degree (License) in business administration from Anahuac University, a Bachelor´s in theology and a Master´s in philosophy from the Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, Italy. He studied in the Program of Instruction for Lawyers, a continuing education course at Harvard University, and is currently working toward a master´s degree in Canon Law at the Gregorian University in Rome He has been the Finance Director at Anahuac University and the Territorial Administrator of Mexico and South America for the Legionaries of Christ, amongst other responsibilities.

For a long time I resisted surrendering myself to the vocation. I thought about it for over four years. I quite honestly did not want to consecrate my life to God but rather I preferred to keep building my life taking advantage of the opportunities that were coming my way. My great longing was to be a successful entrepreneur and that was what I was preparing myself for. When I was twelve years old, I asked my Dad if I could get a job at an insurance agency for the summer. At that age I am sure it was not the fulfillment of a
dream come true but I saw it as the first step at earning some money on my own and a chance to learn something about the business world.

It was an altogether extraordinary experience and I immediately decided to try it again the next summer. Apart from the work experience that I gained, I also noticed a great superficiality amidst a number of the employees. I belonged to ECYD (a youth organization directed by the Legionaries of Christ) and it made me uncomfortable to know that the employees did not know Christ because they worked in a financial institution; however, I saw that it was not their fault, because an office wasn´t the most appropriate place for a priest either... How could they be guilty if they did not have anyone to preach to them? This stirred my soul and thus the idea to consecrate myself to God as a layman began to arise in order to work in these settings and draw the people who work in the business world closer to Christ.

I thought that it was a great idea and it appeared to go well with my desire to be an entrepreneur; but the "good life," college, and the possibility to have my own business led me to postpone my decision to consecrate myself to God. I really enjoyed being with my friends, the places where we would hang out, the parties, and so many other things that were just plain fun. At the University, the Dean of the Administration Department told us that only one out of every three of us would wind up graduating. From that moment I decided that I was going to be one of that group, so with a good group of friends, we decided to dedicate ourselves to our studies. At this time, the reality of having my own business began to materialize with a focus on the circumstances that surrounded the Mexican government in the area of exports. I thought of exporting silver and onyx to the USA, because I had found a promising contact. I attended a number of courses at the Mexican Institute of Foreign Commerce and it looked very promising that I could begin my own business.

Having a well-established career, the possibility of having my own business, and being a pretty good Christian all seemed to me to be the perfect mix for happiness, but I must admit that my personal experience turned out to be quite the opposite. All of these things really excited me but in a very short period of time, once I got accustomed to things, the excitement just always seemed to vanish. This is what continually happened. I began to
realize that things do not resist the test of time, they get old. I applied this to myself, "in about 40 years I´ll be 60 and I will have lived the greater part of my life".

My plans began to shake a little. I noticed that I held myself back when faced with new challenges because I knew that they would come to an end. I wanted to last and it was becoming clearer and clearer to me that external things would not assure me of that. I wanted to have the security, as any entrepreneur would. I wanted to invest where I could find the best results with next to no risk, but I just could not find the offer that could assure me of all that.

"His hands are bigger", I told myself one day gazing at an enormous bronze image of Christ, elegantly deformed, that is in the Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in Mexico. In front of those hands, proportionally very big in comparison with the whole figure, I realized that God was offering me his hands to carry me and help me take on the commitment of consecrating my life to him as a layman, which I had thought about so many years before. I saw before my eyes a sure path, not because of myself but because of he who was guiding me. A great peace overtook my soul, God was telling me that the
"yoke is heavy, but the burden is light". Now I can say it with great ease, but I remember how much I had to suffer to get to that conclusion.

The most difficult moment was telling my Dad. I didn´t think that he was going to understand my decision. I couldn´t keep back my tears when I went to tell him, because I knew that he never held back anything in order to give us the absolute best formation. I thought that he would say that I was going because I was afraid of facing the world. To my great surprise his answer was the following: "I brought you all up so that each of you could choose what they wanted to be in life, striving to be the best. It doesn´t matter if you want to be a street sweeper, just be the best. If I opposed your decision, I would go against my own principles, and I am not going against my own principles. You can go, and always know that you can come back home." At this moment I can say I have not been the absolute best in this path, but I can assure my father that I have been faithful to my word when I told God that I would follow him.

A few days after speaking with my Dad, I went to consecrate my life to God in the Regnum Christi Movement so I could reach those areas of the business world that I had experienced when I was twelve years old. Afterwards, I realized that God was calling me to be a priest, so I entered religious life in the Legion of Christ.

These 18 years of walking towards the altar have not been easy. At times I have doubted, I have experienced my own weakness, I have fallen, but always, come what may, I have kept on searching for those hands that always clear the fog and help me to understand that I will never be the owner of this vocation that I have received nor to try and make it a personal possession. Now, right before I receive the great gift of the priesthood, I begin to
look for those hands that my parents taught me to search for. At the same time, I entrust myself to those hands so that they will continue to carry me along this path which today once again I want to walk.


Now, right before I receive the great gift of the priesthood, I begin to look for those hands that my parents taught me to search for. At the same time, I entrust myself to those hands so that they will continue to carry me along this path which today once again I want to walk.