{"id":10726,"date":"2026-08-27T19:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T23:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/books-and-articles\/e90-accompaniment-00-intro\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T19:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T23:03:11","slug":"e90-accompaniment-00-intro","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/books-and-articles\/e90-accompaniment-00-intro\/","title":{"rendered":"Accompaniment: Introducing my contribution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written for Exodus 90 in 2023, as part of a series of ten reflections on the art of accompaniment.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the Benedictine, monastic tradition, there is a strong emphasis on accompaniment. Monks learn to be monks from other monks. This only works when monks are willing to be vulnerable and expose their interior lives to their spiritual fathers. The spiritual fathers, in turn, have to learn how to receive those vulnerable places in the heart with reverence and love. This foundational relationship dynamic also extends to the brothers in the monastery, as much as possible, such that St. Benedict exhorts his monks to grow in a fraternal vulnerability and reverent trustworthiness with each other.<\/p>\n

I have been growing in these graces of spiritual sonship, spiritual fraternity and spiritual fatherhood since I joined St. Vincent Archabbey in 1998. At that time, I was a one-year-old Catholic, having just been baptized at Penn State during the Easter Vigil in 1997. (You can read, watch or listen to various formats and lengths of my conversion and vocation story if you are interested; just go to my website https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/faith-journey\/<\/a>). Since then I have had the privilege of growing in monastic life for 25+ years as I live out my vows with 100+ other monks at St. Vincent.<\/p>\n

Since I was ordained a priest in 2004, I have been giving spiritual direction to many men and women–single, married, consecrated, and ordained–and have diligently cultivated the art of accompaniment. In 2017, my spiritual director, Fr. Thomas Acklin, and I published a book called Spiritual Direction: A Guide for Sharing the Father\u2019s Love<\/em> and in 2019 we started a spiritual direction formation program through Saint Vincent Seminary\u2019s Institute for Ministry Formation. Everyone is not called to be a spiritual director, but I believe that everyone can grow in the Art of Accompaniment. For this reason, we have a single course with 25 hours of instruction to teach this material and I have offered that course more than 15 times. I have also found ways to offer the key points of accompaniment in workshops, retreats, conferences and individual talks.<\/p>\n

I am so pleased to have this opportunity to share some insights and guidance on accompaniment with you through Exodus 90. Vulnerable, committed, deep relationships are the necessary, vital matrix in which spiritual growth happens. St. Benedict understood this 1500 years ago as he simply lived out the teaching of Jesus as found in Christ\u2019s words and deeds in the Gospels. In my upcoming series of ten reflections, I will teach the central dynamics of accompaniment by expounding on various passages in the Gospels. By reading and applying these reflections to your life, you can learn from this ancient art how better to support the brothers in your fraternity, and also how to live all your relationships more deeply in a more Christ-like way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written for Exodus 90 in 2023, as part of a series of ten reflections on the art of accompaniment. In the Benedictine, monastic tradition, there is a strong emphasis on accompaniment. Monks learn to be monks from other monks. This only works when monks are willing to be vulnerable and expose their interior lives to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":10722,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-10726","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P7bfMR-2N0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10730,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/books-and-articles\/e90-accompaniment-04\/","url_meta":{"origin":10726,"position":0},"title":"Accompaniment 4: Mark 3 \u2014 The man with the withered hand","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"August 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Written for Exodus 90 in 2023, as part of a series of ten reflections on the art of accompaniment. As we have seen in our reflections so far, we are made to be in a communion of persons. It is necessary to be vulnerable to enter into a communion of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10722,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/books-and-articles\/","url_meta":{"origin":10726,"position":1},"title":"Books and Articles","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"August 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"What I have written, in one place \u2014 the books, the articles, and the academic work. Where the full text is on this site, the title is a link. Books The Hidden Power of Silence in the Mass Sophia Institute Press, 2024 Five movements of silence in the Mass, moving\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10736,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/books-and-articles\/e90-accompaniment-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":10726,"position":2},"title":"Accompaniment 10: Jn 13 \u2014 A new commandment","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"August 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Written for Exodus 90 in 2023, as part of a series of ten reflections on the art of accompaniment. This Gospel passage summarizes the whole of salvation history and its fulfillment in Christ with a single commandment: \u201cLove one another as I love you.\u201d Earlier Jesus indicated that the greatest\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10727,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/books-and-articles\/e90-accompaniment-01\/","url_meta":{"origin":10726,"position":3},"title":"Accompaniment 1: Gen 2 \u2014 It is not good for man to be alone","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"August 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Written for Exodus 90 in 2023, as part of a series of ten reflections on the art of accompaniment. In his monumental work on the Theology of the Body, Pope St. John Paul II introduced some key terms: \u201coriginal solitude,\u201d \u201coriginal unity,\u201d and \u201coriginal nakedness.\u201d Original solitude described the state\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10739,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/books-and-articles\/stl-paul-formation\/","url_meta":{"origin":10726,"position":4},"title":"St. Paul\u2019s Teaching on Spiritual Formation for the New Evangelization","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"August 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Written for The Letters of Paul and the New Evangelization (STL 977) under Dr. Peter Williamson, 19 August 2020, for the Licentiate in Sacred Theology. Introduction The fundamental idea is that Seminaries should form missionary disciples who are \u2018in love\u2019 with the Master, shepherds \u2018with the smell of the sheep\u2019,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10735,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/books-and-articles\/e90-accompaniment-09\/","url_meta":{"origin":10726,"position":5},"title":"Accompaniment 9: Mk 5 \u2014 Fixing is a form of shaming","author":"Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B.","date":"August 27, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Written for Exodus 90 in 2023, as part of a series of ten reflections on the art of accompaniment. In our first reflections we looked at the importance of relationships and our goal to develop a communion of persons. Relationships are essential, but relationships can also be hurtful or unhelpful,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10726\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}