(ANS - Quito) - The Salesian Regional Centre for Ongoing Formation in Quito ran a programme called “Salesian School of Spiritual Accompaniment” from 5 to 24 October. It was targeted at Salesians in houses of formation or in youth ministry teams, to help them to “develop basic cognitive, spiritual and practical skills to enable them to carry out the ministry of spiritual accompaniment."

The topics covered included: the spiritual life of Christ; spiritual accompaniment in the tradition of the Church and at the present time (history and documents); personal spiritual accompaniment of Salesians; spiritual accompaniment in the life of Don Bosco; characteristics of spiritual accompaniment as practised by Don Bosco with young people and with Salesians; adolescents; the model of a spiritual person proposed by Don Bosco; the Ignatian and Pauline roots of spiritual discernment; elements of personal psychology that help the spiritual guide; interview techniques applied to spiritual accompaniment; the urgency of the spiritual life today, given the difficulties faced by pastoral ministers; the strengthening of the spiritual person.

The team included some members of the School of Ignatian Spirituality, who helped the participants to discern the essential elements of accompaniment. Edward Moran, from the UPS, a Doctor of Psychology, helped the participants to understand better  the tools needed to get to know people.

Dario Navarro a Salesian deacon from Chile, who works with aspirants, commented:   "We need to know the techniques to be able to accompany the youth of today."

Fr Adam Marrero from the Antilles, who worked for seventeen years in the area of formation, added his comment: "I find it important to develop in my life elements of spiritual accompaniment, starting from my own situation, in order to accompany the group of Confreres that the congregation has placed in my hands."

The meeting was attended by twenty-one people, representatives of the Provinces of Argentina North and South, Brazil (Manaus, Porto Alegre, Campo Grande and Sao Paulo), Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, the Antilles, Central America, Haiti, Colombia Bogota and Medellin, Mexico-Mexico and Mexico-Guadalajara, Peru and Ecuador.

Published 27/10/2014