Publication:
Selvam, S.G. (2013), The unnamed companion on the road: Spiritual accompaniment in the context of youth ministry. The Journal of Youth Ministry, 11(4), 41-55.
Abstract
In this article, I would like to explore a model of spiritual accompaniment and to examine its possible use in accompanying young people on their spiritual journey. The model invites the practitioner to be the unnamed companion on the road to Emmaus. The theoretical framework for the model is drawn from various Christian traditions of spiritual accompaniment, particularly the Ignatian tradition. The Ignatian tradition originates from the spirituality of the Spanish Saint, Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556), who founded the largest religious order within the Catholic Church: the Jesuits (Idígoras-Tellechea, 1994). The Saint himself provides some implicit guidelines for the process of spiritual accompaniment in the context of what is called, “The Spiritual Exercises” (Fleming, 1996). Despite its Roman Catholic origins, the Ignatian spirituality and the Spiritual Exercises are becoming increasingly popular in non-Catholic contexts (Huggett, 1990; Wakefield, 2006). Other authors have explored related concepts like “discernment” (White 2005), “contemplation” (Yaconelli, 2006), and “spiritual caring” (Dunn, 2001) in the context of youth ministry. Discernment and contemplation are key components of the Ignatian tradition of spiritual accompaniment.