Who is involved in the apostolate of accompaniment? 49
so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one
another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,
let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in
ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation;
if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one
does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (Romans 12:4-8). Through commu-
nity, the faithful are formed in the law of Christ: “Bear one another’s bur-
dens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 2:5). Essentially,
community is the practical living of one of the most fundamental mysteries
of the Christian faith, the Trinity:
Fellowship and solidarity with one another in the com-
munity of faith is also a reflection of the Trinity.
(Living as Missionary Disciples, 16)
There are many forms of community that support accompaniment.
Like other facets of life in the Church, accompaniment is carried out and
supported by interworking groups and structures on different levels of the
Church. The local Church (usually in the form of a parish or Catholic in-
stitution) provides communal formation by providing training for men-
tors, small “focus groups” or “accompaniment cohorts” that offer support
for mentors in the community, a group of the faithful who worship and
pray in community, and spiritual guidance for those called to the apostolate
of accompaniment. The regional, archdiocesan, or diocesan Church pro-
vides training and support for those who accompany by helping interpret
the wisdom of the Church for local and regional communities. The univer-
sal Church provides communal formation through the experience of the
worldwide Church, papal documents relevant to the apostolate of accompa-
niment, and the magisterial interpretation of the Christian tradition. The
saints in heaven support the apostolate of accompaniment by accompanying
the faithful with their prayers and enduring witness during their lifetime,
as Pope Francis writes in Gaudete et Exsultate:
The saints now in God’s presence preserve their bonds of love
and communion with us… Each of us can say: “Surrounded,
led and guided by the friends of God… I do not have to car-
ry alone what, in truth, I could never carry alone. All the saints
of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me.”
(Gaudete et Exsultate, 4)