The art of accompaniment
A young priest, Fr Karol Wojtyla, was appointed to the position of assistant parish priest in the city of Krakow, Poland in 1949. He served as a chaplain to university students in the city and formed strong bonds with some of them. They became members of his informal community, which he named “Srodowisko” a Polish word which means “accompaniment.” They joined him for Mass each week, and he took them hiking and kayaking. He organised conferences for them to learn more about living their faith in the modern world. They shared their lives with him and they became lifelong friends. One of his last acts before he died was to write to his friends.
Almost four decades before Fr Wojtyla began to practise the art of accompaniment in Krakow, another young priest, a Belgian named Joseph Cardijn was accompanying young men and women as they learned how to live their faith in a world that was turning its back on God and on the Christian faith. He encouraged them to see themselves as apostles of the workplace. He reminded his friends to see themselves as leaders of an apostolic movement. In one of his lectures, given in Godinne in 1951, he told them: “An apostolic movement must have as its first concern the eternal destiny of the working class, its divine origin, the divine value of the life of each worker, and of each worker’s family”.
The commitment to the other shown by both men is staggering when you stop and think about it. Their faith in God is inspiring. Their love for those to whom they committed themselves to journey through life models the love of God they experienced.
The Gospel reading for Mass today (Mark 3:7-12) shows how focused Jesus was as he accompanied the people he had been sent to save. Their hunger for knowledge of God’s love in their lives was unrelenting. He committed himself to providing food for their souls and, when necessary, also food for their bodies also. His art of accompaniment is evident in the prayer he taught his apostles to pray not just in words, but especially in action.
About the art of accompaniment, Pope Francis says it “teaches us to remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (Exodus 3:5). An accompaniment that is steady and reassuring, “reflecting our closeness and our compassionate gaze which also heals, liberates and encourages growth in the Christian life” (Evangelii Gaudium, 169). Pope Francis sees the practice of this art as something all Christians do as part of living their faith in the world.
Both Cardinal Joseph Cardijn and Pope St John Paul II would have prayed to God each day “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is the change they sought in the lives of the people they accompanied through life. I have no doubt that they would have also prayed each day for direction from the Holy Spirit and the gifts they needed to serve those whom they loved as God loves them.
May reading this reflection be the realisation that Jesus is accompanying you. And may it lead you to reflect on how you are being called to carry out God’s will today in love.
Author
Pat Branson