Accompaniment
Every vocation in the Church springs from a personal encounter with Jesus. In the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Christus Vivit, vocation is defined “as a calling from God, including the call to life, the call to friendship with him, the call to holiness”.(CV 248)
In responding to one’s vocation, the person foster and develop one’s self and find the true self in the light of God thus bring out the best in her/himself for the glory of God and the good of others.(CV 257)
In search for this vocation it is important that the person, especially the young, is accompanied by a matured adult.
Accompaniment is vital in the journey of the maturation of the person and it is a process that aims at the growth of the person and achievement of a vocational maturation in relation to one’s life choices.
Mo. Yvonne Reungoat,FMA, Mother General of the FMA, in her circular letter 985, echoes the same sentiment saying that “accompaniment becomes a presence of closeness, of listening, of tenderness, and willingness to walk together a stretch of road to direct them towards authentic choices”.
Therefore, every FMA reflects Mother Mazzarello’s style of accompaniment which expresses a motherhood that generates freedom thus discover the dream of God for the person.
The young are the center of the mission of every Salesian Educating Community. As an educational institution which has its mission for the education and growth of the young, we also give attention to the family which remains to be the primary point of reference for them.
“By dedicating ourselves to the education of young people, we do not substitute ourselves for families, but we recognize their irreplaceable mission as the original place of welcome, space for authentic relationships, and the first resource that establishes the harmonious development of the growing person.” (Circular Letter # 981)
In the same circular letter, Mother Yvonne Reungoat, FMA has stipulated that by saving the family, God shows herself to the world in the human fabric of family relationships, realizes His dream for humanity, reveals the genuine beauty of being brothers and sisters in Christ.
As Salesian educational institution, we respond to the call of the Church and accept the responsibility of accompanying the young people to open themselves to the value of the family, to cultivate the desire to form family according to God’s plan.
As we accompany the young people, we accompany also the family to live their vocation because we believe that there is no Youth Ministry without Family Ministry.
The document Guidelines for the Educational Mission of the FMA (GEM) states that in accompanying the young in their vocational discernment, as educators “we place ourselves before the mystery of life and freedom”. (GEM 122)
Thus, vocational discernment and accompaniment are placed at the service of the person and one’s growth whose aim is to support the journey of discovering God’s call and making decisions for a specific choice of life.
Friendship with Jesus is the foundation of every vocational discernment, just like the friendship that He offered to the rich young man (Mark 10:21) and Peter (John 21:16).
Though the response of the two are different, nevertheless Jesus’ reaction to both of them is the same, that is he looked at them with a loving gaze. (Christus Vivit 250-251)
In discovering one’s vocation in life: married life, consecrated life and single blessedness, the person doesn’t only find a treasure but more importantly he establishes a loving friendship with Christ who is calling her/him to fullness of life through loving service to others.
As Salesian educators we take the challenge of accompanying every young person, entrusted to our care, in their vocation discernment thus form them to be an empowered citizen of the society and evangelizer of the Gospel.