HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD OF REV. GIOVANNI JULIO AND REV. JORGE MAIRENA
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, SYDNEY, 5 DECEMBER 2025
Coffee: humanity’s love affair with it is remarkable. It’s estimated we consume over two and a quarter billion cups every day or 26,000 cups per second![1] 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. Without this mechanism for delivering caffeine so deliciously, individuals, companies, whole countries might collapse before midday! There’s even a religious order named for the cappuccino.
The golden liquid that delights our tastebuds and boosts our productivity came to us via a long and complex pilgrimage. Originating in Ethiopia, it made its way through the Middle East to the Ottoman Empire in the late medieval period.[2] Though banned for a time for being too stimulating, it was favoured by Suleiman and the Turks. It spread to the European coffee houses by the seventeenth century, and then to the Americas, Asia and the world to be farmed, traded and consumed. It arrived in Australia with the First Fleet and we’ve been enjoying it here ever since, even telling ourselves we’re the world’s best coffeemakers. Happily, doctors now say this stimulant is good for us![3]
If the journey of coffee from medieval Ethiopia to modern Sydney is complex, so is its passage from plant to mouth. First, there’s the planting, growth and pruning, as the coffee plant takes years to flower and fruit, its flavour being determined by species and surroundings. Once the fruit is harvested, the hidden treasure of the beans is secured, cleaned and sorted. It’s then shipped around the world, where it’s roasted, ground and brewed. Now, some of the finest Arabica beans, renowned for their smooth, full-bodied flavour, come from Colombia and Costa Rica. In the story of coffee there are many parallels in the lives of our two coffee beans, Jorge and Giovanni, and their journeys to priesthood!
But do we really need such high-caffeine priests? Do we really need spiritual revival? Well, our kerygma is this: God created us as free, intelligent and loving agents, so we might make the most of this awesome universe by living according to His plan. When we messed up, alienating ourselves from God, each other, and ourselves, He sent prophets and sages to call us back to His law. When we still resisted, He sent His only Son, Jesus, described in John’s Gospel as a shepherd who knows and cares so deeply for His sheep, He would readily die for them (Jn 10:11-16). And so He did, as our epistle recalls (2Cor 5:14-20). Yet His sacrifice on the cross was not an ending so much as the beginning of what Paul calls “a new creation”. And that we might all be created anew, He instituted priests to act in persona Christi, as teachers, sanctifiers and governors. Paul calls them also ambassadors and absolvers, “as though God were making his appeal through us to be reconciled to God”.
Our prophecy describes the depth of the spiritual revival that by God’s grace priests can effect: to those poor who only have bad news, they bring good; to the broken-hearted, healing; to those captive to sin, vice and addiction, release; to those in the ash heap of despair, the chrism of salvation (Isa 61:1–3). Isaiah calls those anointed of God who mediate this revival ‘seedlings of the Lord’ and ‘trees of righteousness’.
Today the same Lord who once summoned two fishermen by the Sea of Galilee, formed and graced them alongside others, and then sent them out “to all the world”, calls two more men to share in His sacrifice, sacrament and service here in Sydney Australia.
Giovanni’s journey began in Colombia, where the faith was transmitted to him through his family and the Neocatechumenal community. The sheer joy he saw in a missionary priest challenged his young heart: how could a man, who had given up everything to evangelise in a foreign land, be so happy? At age 12 he first “stood up” at a vocational meeting in Bogotá; at 15 this call was rekindled at World Youth Day in Madrid. And so began his journey to priesthood from Ubaté and Bogotá, via missions in the Kimberley and deepest darkest Adelaide, to the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Sydney and the Leichhardt community. Giovanni gives thanks to his family, formators and fellow Wayfarers for years of guidance and support, preparing him to be a shepherd, especially for the lost sheep.
Jorge has taken a different itinerary to this same altar. Raised by a devoted mother in Costa Rica along with his sister Melissa, he learned early the courage required to navigate life without supports many take for granted. At age 15 the Lord began to call him through the Way, where he learnt of God’s immense love for sinners. The electrician’s trade, a steady income and weekend party-life did not satisfy him. And so, in a radical act of trust, he resigned his job to discern his vocation with the Neocatechumens. That meant shifting from employment to unemployment, from guaranteed income to relying on providence, from Spanish to the much easier language of English (!), and from his homeland to the foreign land of Sydney with its Villawood seminary and Smithfield community. He is excited now about devoting his life to the mission of announcing the Good News of salvation.
My sons, Giovanni and Jorge, Paul says to you tonight “I am the Good Ambassador,” as he offers a blueprint for your priesthood in his epistle. Live no longer for yourselves but for Christ who died for you. Not as the guy you once were but as ‘a new man’ who serves well the ministry of reconciliation and renewal. Let God make His appeal through you.
My brothers, Jorge and Giovanni, Jesus says to you tonight, “I am the Good Shepherd”, as He offers His counsel for your ministry. Be pastors who stick to their charges, getting to know them, earning their trust, ready to live and die for them. Not hired hands, who abandon the sheep at the first sign of trouble, but true shepherds who unite and lead. Let Christ guide through you.
My sons, my brothers, and soon my fathers, 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 Way, by your seminary studies and formation, by your experiences of mission—all of these roasting, grinding and brewing you!
Now you will act in the person of Christ, as voices for His Word and ministers of His sacraments. In precious times of birth and rebirth, contrition and absolution, hunger and communion, romance and marriage, sickness and suffering, life and death, the holy People of God will invite you to be with them on Christ’s behalf. Do so with the humble confidence that you did not choose Him, no He chose you, chose you “to go out and bear fruit”. 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.[4]
¡Dios los bendiga a ambos en su vocación!
Word after Communion
I echo the thanks of our newly ordained to all those who have contributed to their journey of faith, their discernment of their vocation, and their formation for it. If I might add one more thank-you: thank you Giovanni and Jorge for offering yourselves to God and His people for this beautiful vocation and for persevering through a long itinerary of formation, community and mission.
You are charged this day with being good shepherds of the flock, good ambassadors of Christ’s mercy, and good baristas serving the word and sacraments that will revive your people. I pray that many more young men, inspired by your example, will join you along the Way as priests of Jesus Christ. Dios los bendiga siempre Padre Giovanni y Padre Jorge.
[1] “Global coffee statistics: A look at the world in 20 sips,” MugsOnly 13 December 2024 https://www.mugsonly.com.au/ blog/global-coffee-statistics-a-look-at-the-world-in-20-sips.htm
[2] “The history of coffee: from its origins to today,” Lavazza https://www.lavazza.com.au/en/coffee-secrets/history-coffee-origins-until-now#:~:text=While%20coffee%20is%20known%20to,nowadays%20we%20know%20as%20coffee; Stewart Lee Allen, The Devil’s Cup: A History of the World according to Coffee (Soho Press, 2018); Bon Biderman, A People’s History of Coffee and Cafes (Black Apollo, 2014); James Hoffmann, The World Atlas of Coffee (3rd edn, Mitchell Beazley, 2025); Gordon Kerr, The Magic Bean: A Short History of Coffee (Oldcastle Books, 2021); Jonathan Morris, Coffee: A Global History (Reaktion Books, 2019); Mark Pendergrast, Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World (Basic Books, 2019); Fiona Turner, The History of Coffee: Bean to Brew and Beyond (2023); William Ukers, All About Coffee: A History of Coffee from the Classic Tribute to the World’s Most Beloved Beverage (Adams Media, 2012); Antony Wild, Coffee: A Dark History (Norton, 2005).
[3] “9 reasons why (the right amount of) coffee is good for you,” Johns Hopkins Medicine https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ health/wellness-and-prevention/9-reasons-why-the-right-amount-of-coffee-is-good-for-you
[4] Joseph Ratzinger, “On the nature of the priesthood” speech given at the opening of the VIII Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Priestly Formation, 1 October 1990.
INTRODUCTION TO THE MASS OF ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD OF
REV. GIOVANNI JULIO AND REV. JORGE MAIRENA
Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on this joyful occasion: the priestly ordination of Giovanni Alexander Julio Gonzalez and Jorge Luis Mairena Marquez, missionaries of the Neocatechumenal Way, as priests of the Archdiocese of Sydney.
I acknowledge the presence of Bishops Richard Umbers, Danny Meagher, Tony Percy and Terry Brady; Vicar General Fr Sam Lynch; Vicar for Clergy Fr Daniel McCaughan; along with other vicars and deans, and clergy of the Archdiocese and beyond.
I salute the Rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary, Fr Eric Skruzny, Vice Rector Fr Marlon Perez, together with other staff and volunteers of the seminary, and Giovanni and Jorge’s brother seminarians who glimpse today the light at the end of their formation tunnels. I also recognise the National Itinerant Team of Toto and Rita Piccolo and Fr Tony Trafford; along with priests, catechists and members of the communities with which these two men have been walking, both in Latin America and here in Leichhardt and Smithfield, and from other Neocatechumenal communities around Australia.
I also acknowledge Professor Hayden Ramsay along with staff from the Catholic Institute of Sydney and the University of Notre Dame Australia where our candidates undertook their formal studies, and the Rector and staff of the Seminary of the Good Shepherd with whom they undertook many of those studies.
De parte de la familia González, saludo al padre de Giovanni, Germán, y a su madre, Claudia; a su hermano Sebastián y a su hermana Daniela; a su tío Efraín, a su tía Hortencia y a su prima Cristian—todos ellos han hecho el largo viaje desde Colombia para estar con nosotros esta noche. Les damos también una cálida bienvenida a Leonardo y Sandra, de la comunidad de Giovanni en Ubaté. Nos acompañan vía transmisión en vivo desde Colombia la hermana mayor de Giovanni, Adriana, su familia extendida y los hermanos y hermanas del Camino Neocatecumenal en Ubaté, por quienes oramos a través de la distancia.
También doy la bienvenida a la madre de Jorge, Juana María, a su tía Isabel, a su tío Boris y a su prima Débora, quienes han viajado desde Costa Rica para compartir esta significativa celebración. Una bienvenida especial al Padre Santiago, catequista de Jorge en su comunidad natal, y a su amiga Fernanda, del Camino de Costa Rica.
And to all taking part in this happy night, a very warm welcome!