Two missionaries of the Neocatechumenal Way were ordained as priests of the Sydney Archdiocese by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP on Friday in St Mary’s Cathedral. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Fr Julio Gonzalez comes from Colombia and Fr Mairena Marquez from Costa Rica, both famed for their aromatic coffees.
Archbishop Fisher wove the brew into his homily about the self-sacrificing life of a priest.
“After water, it’s the most consumed beverage on earth by a long shot. Coffee is, in fact, humanity’s principal addiction. Many of us need the coffee defibrillator applied to our heart each morning and periodically through the day to keep us going,” he said.
“There’s even a religious order named for the cappuccino.”
He continued: “Giovanni and Jorge, products of the world coffee belt, you now respond, “I am the Good Bean”.
“You have been through your own seasons of planting, growth and pruning, years of waiting for flowering and fruit.
“You have been flavoured by your own character and the soils in which you have been planted.
“You have been further refined by the itinerary and communities of the [Neocatechumenal] Way, by your seminary studies and formation, by your experiences of mission – all of these roasting, grinding and brewing you.”
Extending the coffee theme, the archbishop exhorted the two new priests to be faithful apostles.
“Coffee cultivated and refined, you are now ready to be good shepherds, good ambassadors, but also ‘good baristas’. You will offer the golden liquid our minds and hearts need, the caffeine our souls most crave: God and the things of God; prayer and preaching; word and sacrament; mercy and mission.”
The two new priests had received much of their formation at Redemptoris Mater Seminary, in Chester Hill.
Seminary rector Fr Eric Skruzny said after the ceremony that the two new priests are the 19th and 20th to be ordained after formation at Redemptoris Mater.
Ten more are in training. “We ask you to pray especially for vocations,” said Fr Skruzny.
FULL STORY
God’s good baristas (By Michael Cook, The Catholic Weekly)
