June 2022 Newsletter
“To learn and do things together”
A Midtown Profile of Joe Wheadon - husband, father, Marine, and friend
Joe Wheadon has a lot on his plate! He and his wife Marilyn are raising six kids in Crystal Lake, IL. They’re also raising 30 chickens and 12 ducks; then there are the turkeys and cats. And we can’t forget the carrots and cucumbers, lettuce and parsley along with a host of other vegetables… enough for a one-man farmer’s market.
Joe and Marilyn and their four boys moved to Illinois. “We were looking for a place where the boys could be boys, be outside and get their fingernails dirty.” The chickens, ducks, and farming were new to him, but he looked forward to learning with his kids. The outdoor life “allowed me to get down to their level and learn things together, do things together.”
This aim led him to help start a father and son group, the Pioneers Club, along with other dads who frequent Midtown Cultural Center. The Club instills virtues in boys while helping fathers to strengthen bonds with their sons. "Fathers are in a unique position to influence their sons to become strong men of character,” Joe commented. “If they can be the example of a good man striving to live the virtues, their sons will latch onto that and grow up to be men of virtue themselves."
The Pioneers continue activities in the summer. Joe recently had 20 dads and 30 boys for a camping overnight at his home. Kickball, water balloons, a campfire, smores, and late-night capture-the-flag had everyone talking about the next gathering.
Joe is a Marine. He and Marilyn got married just after he returned from a tour in Iraq. “I’m very proud of my service as a Marine. It was a fantastic experience. But it didn’t make sense for the long term. I wanted to focus on being a husband and dad.”
He took a job with an insurance firm and ended up buying it. Today Joe employs a team of people who provide commercial and personal insurance lines.
Joe, who is a supernumerary member of Opus Dei, enjoys providing a service to his neighbors and nearby businesses. “I see these relationships as a part of my apostolate. But my most important apostolate is at home. I want to raise kids who want to be saints. I want to set them in the right direction. We have 18 years to do this.” His wife, a cooperator of Opus Dei, shares his vision.
Together they are bringing that vision to life. The mini-farm, father and son club, and host of relationships all form a part of that vision.
Book Review: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Things started to fall apart at home when…” is how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s debut novel Purple Hibiscus (2003) begins in a clear allusion to Chinua Achebe’s award winning work Things Fall Apart (1958). While Achebe’s earlier work describes the falling apart of traditional Nigerian village life and religion in the late 19th century under European colonialism and Christianity, Adichie’s novel depicts a new falling apart, this time in a now Christianized 1980s Nigeria.
In the first section of his 1958 novel, Achebe vividly describes the life of Okonkwo and of his family, and the customs and society of the Igbo in pre-colonial times. As the novel progresses, we follow Okonkwo as he witnesses how the traditional world that he lives in begins to fall apart under the growing influence of European colonialism and Christian missionaries, and how this affects and transforms his family and the wider Igbo community.
Now, in Adichie’s more modern work, we are introduced to Kambili and her older brother Jaja as they grapple with new changes and contrasts: contrasts between their father’s rigorously moral Catholicism and their growing need for to find their own path, changes in the life of Nigeria as its suffers the violent throes of political upheavals and of class tensions, contrasts between established ways of living and new attitudes of concerns of a younger generation.
Like Achebe, Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus is beautifully written with luscious cultural details that bring the world of 1980s Nigeria into colorful life: a world in which things once again fall apart, but also a world seeking new paths forward.
Old age is the golden age! – Pope Francis’ ongoing catechesis on old age
Since February, 2022, Pope Francis has been devoting many of his Wednesday Audiences to a Catechesis on Old Age. Several of these catecheses were focused on passages and figures from the Old Testament (Naomi, Eleazar, Judith and Job). Throughout his pontificate, the Holy Father has encouraged us to have a great love, respect, and reverence for those who are older than us and especially for our parents and grandparents who have taken care of us and formed us. We must also be willing to take care of them because to discard the elderly is “a grave sin.” (General Audience, April 20, 2022) It is worth noting that Pope Francis’ grandmother had a huge impact on him, particularly regarding his spiritual life.
Recently, on June 8, 2022, the Holy Father reflected on Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus from the third chapter of the Gospel of St. John. In Jn 3:4, Nicodemus does not understand Jesus when he says that one must be born again. Nicodemus claims: “How can person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and born again, can he?” The Pope says that Nicodemus is placing old age as an obstacle to beginning again. On the contrary, says Pope Francis, those who have reached old age have a wonderful opportunity to be more aware of the journey towards the Eternal; the journey towards our homeland, Heaven! Thus, the Pope is encouraging us not to be attached to false ideas of an “everlasting youth” or a life on earth that never ends. We are all journeying towards Heaven and the elderly are far advanced in that journey. It’s an invitation for the elderly and for all of us to be more focused on Christ.
Let us all see how we are accompanying the elderly in our lives. This accompaniment ought to take many forms: spending time with them, praying with them, taking care of them physically, and helping them receive the sacraments on a regular basis.
Updated: Evenings of Recollection for Men
The updated schedule and location for Evenings of Recollection in English are as follows:
For young professional men: Second Monday of the month, 7:00-9:00pm. Pizza served beginning at 6:15pm
For men: Third Monday of the month, 6:30-8:30pm
The Evenings of Recollection will take place at Midtown Cultural Center (1825 North Wood Street). Parking is available in the St. Mary of the Angels Parish lot, accessible from the Hermitage side of the block. You can enter the residence from the white porch just off the parking lot, next to the playground.
The evening consists of times of prayer led by priests and talks given by laymen, focusing on how to grow in the spiritual life and integrate faith into daily life. An emphasis is placed on sanctifying marriage and family life, as well as one’s professional work. Recollections include Eucharistic Adoration and opportunities for the Sacrament of Confession.
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“Your work must become a conversation with Our Father in heaven.”
— St. Josemaría Escrivá