72 The Art of Accompaniment
can be the greatest source of support, encouragement, and transformation.
The faith that is learned initially must mature in order to accommodate
many personal life transitions such as moving away from family of origin,
forming a new family, having children, and sending children out into the
world. Accompaniment can assist the human person in seeing and believing
in God’s steadfast love in a transitional world.
In addition to relying on spiritual friendship during transitions, there
are many life transitions during which the Church herself desires to ac-
company us in the form of the sacraments. The sacraments not only signify
God’s accompanying grace, but also are also opportunities to foster new
relationships.
Accompaniment for Discernment
By nature, the apostolate of accompaniment is a rich, fertile ground
for the discernment of decisions. Through the accompanying relationship,
mentors provide a space of hospitality and charity for those accompanied to
be their authentic selves, grow in love and imitation of Christ, identify their
individual gifts and talents, recognize the desires of their heart, and deter-
mine concrete steps for following the voice of Christ. In their relationship
with the mentor, the one accompanied contemplates both small and large
decisions that affect their life and vocation. Like Eli helps interpret the
experience of Samuel being called by the voice of the Lord in the temple
(1 Samuel 3:1-10), so too does the mentor assist the one they accompany in
recognizing the voice of the Lord and actively responding to it. Embold-
ened by the wisdom of their mentor in the path of discernment, the one
accompanied is able to respond to the call of Christ:
Speak, for your servant is listening. (1 Samuel 3:10)
Accompaniment during a process of discernment not only seeks growth
in faith, but also serves the objective of discerning a particular choice. The
choices that accompaniment can fruitfully address include decisions as large
as discerning entering the seminary or religious life, deciding whether to
get married, or discerning a vocation to the single life. The large, major
choices that can be discerned through accompaniment need not be explicit-
ly religious, but can also involve major decisions such as choosing a college
or career path, taking a new job, or considering a move to a new city. In all