W H O I S I N V O LV E D I N T H E
A P O S T O L AT E O F A C C O M PA N I M E N T ?
I
n accompaniment, the roles of mentor and the one accompanied make
up the intentional apostolate of relationship. Accompaniment requires
that both mentor and the one accompanied have certain qualities, par-
ticipate in specific formation, and shape their participation in these roles
in certain ways. Discipleship is central to the responsibilities and call of
both mentor and the one accompanied. In order to facilitate and experience
encounter, set an example, and be inspired by another’s witness, the mentor
and the one accompanied must fundamentally live active lives as disciples:
To create a culture of encounter and witness, we must live explicit
lives of discipleship. We are called not only to believe in the Gos-
pel but to allow it to take deep root in us in a way that leaves us
incapable of silence: we cannot help but to announce the Gospel
in word and in deed. This missionary outreach is at the heart of
discipleship. (Living as Missionary Disciples, 14)
By virtue of their goals, both the roles of the mentor and the one accompa-
nied involve a deep commitment to being and growing as a witness to Jesus
Christ:
The witness of a Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form
of mission: Christ, whose mission we continue, is the ‘witness’ par
excellence. (Living as Missionary Disciples, 17)
Mentor
The apostolate of accompaniment is carried out on behalf of the entire
Church through a mentor, who “exercises [the Church’s] maternal func-
tion, giving birth to the freedom of the children of God,” and continues
the “way in which the God of Jesus Christ acts towards his people: through
constant and heartfelt presence, dedicated and loving closeness and tender-
ness without limits” (Final Document of the Synod of Bishops on Young People,
Faith and Vocational Discernment, 91). A mentor is one who makes possible
the conditions for fruitful spiritual accompaniment by responding to the
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