In the encyclical Ut Unum Sint, St. Pope John Paul II wrote that “the Church must breathe with her two lungs! In the first millennium of the history of Christianity, this expression refers primarily to the relationship between Byzantium and Rome.” He points out that the Church must always keep alive and live out the unique gifts of the Christian East and West. Odds are, your young adult group exists within a Roman Catholic, that is, Western, setting. Our Roman tradition has so much to offer, but it can be a great opportunity to help young adults experience the joys and beauties of the Eastern Christian tradition.
One simple way to do this is to plan an outing to attend a Divine Liturgy on Sunday at an Eastern Rite parish near you (this can be Orthodox or Catholic). Simply bring a group of young adults to attend, and afterwards, preferably over lunch, talk about what they saw, heard, and experienced. Another option is to connect with a priest of an Eastern Rite parish and invite him to speak to your young adults. A great option would be to have the young adults attend a Vespers prayer service one evening and then join with the young adults of that parish in a discussion over what they have shared together. In this, you can model greater ecumenical awareness and interactions within your young adults and parish community as a whole.
