April 2021 Newsletter
A Life Dedicated to Forming Young People
Dr. John Heybach
When John Heybach’s son Conor was 15 he was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes obesity, intellectual difficulty, and shortness in height. John, a supernumerary member of Opus Dei, faced a dilemma: continue his career in international business and find someone outside the home to care for Conor or transition to working locally in Chicago to care for Conor himself. John chose the latter. With support from John and his wife Sue, Conor graduated from college, an extraordinary feat for someone with Prader-Willi syndrome.
Today John, who holds a PhD in Physiological Psychology and a graduate degree in Management from Northwestern, supports other students and families as founder and president of Altus Academy. Altus provides education in grades 1-8 for would-be first-generation college graduates. Every student at Altus is Hispanic or African American, and every student qualifies for federal free or reduced lunch.
While each student indeed has his or her own talents, John says that Altus is not particularly concerned with seeking out the “best and the brightest.” Instead Altus seeks motivated students and families. All students and families are interviewed to ensure they align with the mission of the school. Altus is privately funded, primarily by individuals who believe in the school’s mission. Altus does accept small contributions from families, but there is no tuition.
Altus Academy’s first graduating class (2016)
Altus has graduated seven Daniel Murphy scholars, which provides a full-ride to private high schools, and eight HFS Chicago Scholarships. Its graduates have accrued over $700,000 in high school scholarships. Altus graduates have gone onto Northwestern University, Marquette University, and the University of Arizona.
Yet more impressive is the school’s emphasis on developing the entire student. Its work forms young people:
academically through a broad, well-rounded liberal arts education
morally through a “culture of character”
physically through understanding the purpose of one’s own body and others’ bodies
intellectually through the development of lifelong interest in learning and critical analysis
and spiritually through the study and practice of orthodox Christianity.
These pillars help these students grow as whole persons. John is convinced this whole-person philosophy will serve his students for life.
Book Review - Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant
In our complex, ever-shifting world of activity we might be justified in our belief that navigating safely through the chaos of uncertainty requires smart people with high IQs who can quickly perceive patterns and correctly assess them. In his new book, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, Adam Grant pushes us to rethink this. Early in his work, Grant confirms our initial hunch: people with high IQs do indeed recognize patterns more quickly. But then he adds an important caveat: they more accurately interpret results — as long as these support beliefs they already held. When it comes to empirical patterns that clash with their personal ideology, high IQ no longer seems to be an asset and may actually be a liability since high IQ people seem to be slower than average when it comes to changing their minds. Grant spends most of Think Again helping us (and those we converse with) escape from an “Overconfidence Cycle” (plagued by pride and confirmation and desirability biases) and shift into a “Rethinking Cycle” (driven by humility, curiosity, and discovery). The result not only gets us to rethink our often stubbornly held prejudices, but also opens up a healthy path to substantial conversations on challenging topics that would have otherwise been fraught with tension and turbulence.
Pope Francis Inaugurates a Year for the Family
On 19 March 2021, the 5th anniversary of the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”) on the beauty and joy of family love, Pope Francis inaugurated the “Amoris Laetitia Year of the Family,” which will conclude on the 26th of June 2022 at the 10th World Meeting of Families in Rome.
With this special year, the Holy Father encourages us to give witness to love in the family, trying to imitate the Holy Family made up by Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
During this year in particular, it could be beneficial to read and/or re-read the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laeititia (a helpful summary can be found here, on the Opus Dei website). In this document, the Pope lays out the meaning of Christian marriage and family to a society that has seemed to have forgotten it or in some cases specifically rejected it. In chapter 4, for example, Pope Francis gives a wonderful commentary on St. Paul’s hymn to love in his First Letter to the Corinthians, showing concretely how love ought to be patient, kind, and not jealous or boastful (see 1 Cor 4: 4-5) in marriage and family life.
Let us pray for the fruits of this Year of the Family, which beautifully overlaps several months with the year of St. Joseph.
Evenings of Recollection for Men
For the foreseeable future, there will only be one monthly Evening of Recollection in English at Midtown. It will be held on the second Monday from 7:00-9:00pm. The next Evenings of Recollection are on May 10, June 14, and July 12 at St. Mary of the Angels Parish (1850 North Hermitage Avenue). We meet in the main Church, which allows ample room for social distancing. Please bring and wear a face mask.
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. There are also opportunities for the Sacrament of Confession.
Support Midtown Cultural Center
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“Your work must become a conversation with Our Father in heaven.”
— St. Josemaría Escrivá