Who is involved in the apostolate of accompaniment? 51
Spiritual accompaniment is intended to help people integrate
step by step the various dimensions of their lives so as to follow
the Lord Jesus. In this process three elements can be identified:
listening of life, encounter with Jesus and mysterious dialogue be-
tween God’s freedom and that of the individual...In personal spir-
itual accompaniment one learns to recognize, interpret and choose
from the perspective of faith, listening to the Spirit’s promptings
within the life of every day. (Final Document of the Synod of Bishops
on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment, 97)
From these statements, the principle functions of a mentor within the apos-
tolate of accompaniment take shape. The mentor's overall task is assisting
the one they accompany in the integration of their life into one vision which
sets their eyes on Jesus Christ. This integration is cultivated through five
components of a mentor's apostolate: fostering a space of listening, provid-
ing spiritual guidance that leads towards an encounter with Christ, inter-
preting experience, Spirit-filled evangelizing, and fearless healing.
Fostering a Space of Patient Listening
The foremost task of the mentor is to provide the one they accompany
with a presence of patient listening. The practice of listening is “an encoun-
ter in freedom, which requires humility, patience, readiness to understand,
and a commitment to formulate the answers in a new way” (Final Document
of the Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment,
6). To foster a space of patient listening within the relationship of accompa-
niment, the mentor relates to the one they accompany with patience, love,
respect, non-judgment, and fidelity. Listening is transformative and reflects
the way in which God interacts with and ministers to his own people:
Listening transforms the hearts of those who do it, especially when
it takes place with an interior disposition of harmony and docility
to the Spirit. So it is not just a gathering of information, nor is it
a strategy for achieving a goal, but it is the manner in which God
himself relates to his people. God sees the wretchedness of his
people and he hears their cry, he is deeply moved and he comes
down to deliver them... The Church, through listening, enters into
the movement of God who, in his Son, comes close to every hu-
man being. (Final Document of the Synod of Bishops on Young People,
the Faith, and Vocational Discernment, 6)