The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph. Pastor: Rev. Richard Simon. Rev. Know-it-all: reverendknow-it-all.blogspot.com. Deacon: Mr.

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1 St. Lambert Parish Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord December 31, 2017 The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph Rectory: 8148 N Karlov Avenue Skokie, IL Phone: (847) saintlambert@aol.com St. Lambert Parish - Skokie, IL Website: Sunday Masses: (5 pm Sat) 8am, 10am, 12pm Weekday Masses: 7:15 am (Mon-Fri) 8am on Saturday Pastor: Rev. Richard Simon Rev. Know-it-all: reverendknow-it-all.blogspot.com Deacon: Mr. Chick O Leary Music Director: Mr. Steven Folkers Office Staff: Debbie Morales-Garcia debbie.stlambert@aol.com Mr. George Mohrlein Religious Education : Gina Roxas youthchurchred@gmail.com To Register as a Parishioner: Go to stlambert.org under About Us or by phone. Weddings: Arrangements must be made 6 months in advance. Baptisms: Third Sundays of the month at 1:30 pm. Baptismal Prep Class is the first Tuesday of each month at 7pm in room 103. For guidelines and to register Debbie.

2 Page 2 Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph St. Lambert Parish Masses for the Week Saturday, December 30 8:00 Sharon & Herb Bass 5:00 Arsenia Calisa Sunday, December 31 8:00 Patrick Gaynor 10:00 People of St Lambert 12:00 Ernesto & Myrna Lainez in Thanksgiving Monday, January 1, :00 Bridget Fernando Tuesday, January 2 7:15 Shirley Ryerson Wednesday, January 3 7:15 Lina, Mary Lin, Pete, Max and Frank Thursday, January 4 7:15 Mary Jane Ryan Friday, January 5 7:15 Manuel Savedia Saturday, January 6 8:00 Ava Sultan Grandchildren 5:00 Patrick Gaynor Sunday, January 7 8:00 People of St Lambert 10:00 Daniel J. Morales 12:00 Joseph & Michael Holden and Family The Coffee Hour will be hosted next week by the Pro Life Committee and the contact is Mary Ann O Kane. You can reach her at Your participation and donations are most welcome!! READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Nm 6:22-27; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21 Tuesday: 1 Jn 2:22-28; Ps 98:1-4; Jn 1:19-28 Wednesday: 1 Jn 2:29 3:6; Ps 98:1, 3cd-6; Jn 1:29-34 Thursday: 1 Jn 3:7-10; Ps 98:1, 7-9; Jn 1:35-42 Friday: 1 Jn 3:11-21; Ps 100:1b-5; Jn 1:43-51 Saturday: 1 Jn 5:5-13; Ps 147:12-15, 19-20; Mk 1:7-11 or Lk 3:23-28 [23, 31-34, 36, 38] Sunday: Is 60:1-6; Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-13; Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12 Sunday Offertory Collection December 9/10, 2017 Envelopes: $5, Loose: 2, Total: $7, Religious Retirement: $1, YouthChurch: $ December 16/17, 2017 Envelopes: $5, Loose: 1, Total: $7, Immaculate Conception; $ Thank you for your continued support! For Online Giving go to: The Evanston Catholic Woman s Club will have their January meeting on Jan. 10 th at Zhivago s Restaurant, 9925 Gross Point Road at 12 Noon. Our guest speaker will be Rev. Peter Fernandes, pastor of St. Timothy Parish. For reservations Call Rita at All are welcome!

3 December 31, 2017 Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord Page 3 TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION There s no more unusual setting to celebrate today s Feast of the Holy Family than Barcelona, Spain and the towering unfinished sandcastle known officially as the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. In 1882, the plan was hatched to build a vast place of worship in reparation for the revolutionary and liberal leanings of the city. The modern artist Antoni Gaudi dedicated his life to the project, living in the building, attending Mass daily, and giving up his personal wealth. When people pressed him to pick up the pace, he responded, My client is not in a hurry. (Gaudi s cause for beatification is moving along, and he could be the first professional artist and architect to be beatified.) The Spanish Civil War, a disaster for the Catholic Church in which thousands of priests, brothers, and nuns were murdered, halted work in In the 1950s work began anew, speeded up by computers in the 1980s. Still, the final stage of construction is not due to end until If the original methods had stayed in place, it would take several hundred more years to complete the plan. So far there are eight towers, with four to go. The highest steeple is three feet shorter than the nearest hill, since the architect didn t want his work to surpass God s artistry. The three faces of the basilica each have three doors, with the faces named Passion, Nativity, and Grace. The interior is crammed with geometric figures that almost seem to spin, crazyquilt windows, spiral staircases, and jumbles of statues and figures. Although inspired by ancient Gothic cathedrals, the style is called Expressionist, and very little is left unexpressed by the masonry. If you can t afford a visit, Sagrada Familia maintains a web site, and virtual visits are free. Around the Archdiocese Volunteers Needed Little Sisters of the Poor : Seeking volunteers for a variety of needs, seven days a week, at St. Mary s Home, 2325 N. Lakewood Ave., one block west of DePaul University; for information, contact Peter Harley at , ext. 221 or volchicago@littlesistersofthepoor.org. Women s Center : Main office at 5116 N. Cicero Avenue, is looking for volunteers to answer phones and other tasks, call Terry Jones at or tjones@gotwc.org. Providence Soup Kitchen : hours available Monday-Friday, 9:15 a.m.- 1:30 p.m., underneath St. Stanislaus Kostka Church, Noble Street and Evergreen Avenue, contact Sr. Florine Licavoli at Rev. James Field, Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. Date Amount Book # Name Sunday, Dec 24, 2017 $ Baby Krissa Pabalate Monday, Dec 25, 2017 $ FFOS Tuesday, Dec 26, 2017 $ Patenio, Melissa Wednesday, Dec 27, 2017 $ Barredo, Shaun Resty Thursday, Dec 28, 2017 $ Alog, Jovy & Max Friday, Dec 29, 2017 $ Luczak, Fr. Andrew Saturday, Dec 30, 2017 $ Malecki, Ralph Sunday, Dec 31, 2017 $ Luciano, Alex Thank you for participating in our 2017 Calendar Raffle and congratulations to all our winners!!

4 Page 4 Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph St. Lambert Parish The Reverend Know-it-all What I don t know I can always make up! occurred to any of these new lights of the culture that it is odd to celebrate the birthday of a baby who many think is the very image of God in human flesh, or anyone s birthday for that matter, by promoting the foremost abortion provider in the country? The advertising poster for the event is downright creepy. It shows Santa Claus being embraced and perhaps devoured by some horned green creature who is wearing what appears to be a snake. If that doesn t say Christmas, what does? I have a book of humorous illustrations by the cartoonist Gahan Wilson titled Is Nothing Sacred? Apparently the current generation thinks so. Christmas has become the joyous celebration of nothing in particular. The stupidity of the current age has reached a crescendo in this year s holiday season. There was a holiday fundraiser for Planned Parenthood featuring celebrities Rory Scovel, Nick Thune, Chris Sullivan, Mandy Moore, Taylor Goldsmith, April Richardson, Daniel Van Kirk and of course, Colin Hanks. I have no idea who any of these people are, but apparently they are film stars, musicians and comedians currently popular. Has the irony not The run up to Christmas has been filled with news that public figures in the sacred professions of news person and entertainer, are guilty of making disgusting suggestions to those over whom they have power. The people who have taught us that there are no rules are now in trouble for breaking the rules. We re talking crazy here. Perhaps the most amazing silliness of

5 December 31, 2017 Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord Page 5 the season is the St. Peter s square nativity scene by which the eye is drawn not to the child born in the manger but to a rather erotic sculpture that people are calling the Nude Dude. The whole thing is a busy, distracted collection of sculptures in the style of the Christmas scenes of Naples Italy. Don t worry. They are in the process of burning the asylum down. If we preserve the fundamental foundations, it won t be that hard to rebuild. We ve done it before. Yours, the Rev. Know it all The purported purpose of the display is to remind people of the seven corporal works of mercy. It reminds me of nothing so much as the Disney torture chamber ride, It s a Small World After All. The eye is drawn to nothing except the Nude Dude, reminding one to renew his gym membership so he is ready for swimsuit season or other clothes optional events. We say that anything goes in the name of tolerance, and then get upset when people do or say strange things. It is almost humorous that the same pundits who have been telling us all how immoral we Christians are find themselves being devoured by the forces that they themselves set in motion. Again, does it not occur to anyone that if you take away the Judeo-Christian ethic with its Ten Irritating and Intolerant Commandments, there is no real reason not to enjoy the perks that power brings? The people who smear Christians as conservative fundamentalists and Pharisees forget that fundamental is derived from the Latin word for foundation and the Pharisees were heroic defenders of revealed truth. Catholicism is an inherently reasonable religion. The secular worship of nothing in particular other than personal preferences and emotional experiences is inherently crazy. So what do we do? St. Paul answers the question in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 14, verse 15. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also. Keep praying. Keep studying. Keep thinking. Be reasonable. Don t get mad. Get smart. Remember what St James tells us, The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. (James 1:20) It may be true that the lunatics are running the asylum.

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7 December 31, 2017 Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord Page 7 National Migration Week Mass Many Journeys, One Family Presided by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich Feast of the Epiphany 5:15 p.m. January 7, 2018 Holy Name Cathedral 730 North Wabash, Chicago, IL For more information: José Torres, Arturo Gonzalez, or Raymundo Valdez at or jtorres@archchicago.org, agonzalez@archchicago.org, or rvaldez@archchicago.org or visit: Human Dignity & Solidarity Immigration Ministry