The One Accompanied 81
2. Incorporating training in Lectio Divina to form the sponsor in
accompaniment according to the Word of God
3. Creating a personal spiritual plan for the godparent/sponsor
that includes commitment to the sacramental life to sustain
them in their ministry
Ministry with Young People
In Christus Vivit, Pope Francis writes, “[W]e cannot just say that young
people are the future of our world. They are its present; even now, they
are helping to enrich it” (Christus Vivit, 64). Young people who love Jesus
Christ and his Church are leaders in our parishes today; it is the entire
parish community’s job to support them in their mission fields as they evan-
gelize, deepen their relationship with the Lord, and grow in fellowship.
Equipped with properly formed mentors and encouraging parish leader-
ship, young people themselves are the key to building up an apostolate of
accompaniment in their local youth ministry programs.
Parish youth ministries are the formation centers for our young people.
It is imperative for these ministries to go beyond sacrament formation and
form young people in the intellectual and spiritual truths of faith as well as
in the practice of accompaniment. To help young people practice spiritual
accompaniment, youth ministries should empower young people and en-
courage peer-to-peer outreach and growth (Christus Vivit, 209-215).
Outreach: Parish youth ministries should equip and encourage their
young people to evangelize, recruit new members, and share the benefits of
youth ministry with their friends. When young people authentically enjoy
an experience, they are happy to share it with peers in their own language
and their own method. Additionally, they are potentially more willing to
accept a message of God’s love from their peers than they are from an adult
leader. Young people also have the added advantage of being able to practice
outreach in places an adult leader cannot, potentially reaching young people
who would never come to Mass or other parish events. Adult leaders, can,
however, encourage their teams to reach out through the “grammar of love”
which is the “language of closeness, the language of generous, relational
and existential love that touches the heart, impacts life, and awakens hope
and desire” (Christus Vivit, 211). Through accompaniment, the young can