and my burden is light

and my burden is light St. Lambert Parish Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord July 9, 2017 Rectory: 8148 N Karlov Ave, Skokie 60076 Phone: (847) 673-5090 E-mail: saintlambert@aol.com Pastor: Rev. Richard Simon Rev. Know-it-all: reverendknow-it-all.blogspot.com Deacon: Mr. Chick O Leary Music Director: Mr. Steven Folkers St. Lambert Parish - Skokie, IL Sunday Masses: (5 pm Sat) 8am, 10am, 12pm Weekday Masses: 7:15 am (Mon-Fri) 8am on Sat. Confessions: Saturday at 8:30am Office Staff: Debbie Morales-Garcia debbie.stlambert@aol.com Mr. George Mohrlein Religious Ed: Jonathan Rivera saintlambertsyouthchurch@ gmail.com 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 the rectory. For requirements and to register, email Debbie. To Register as a Parishioner: Go to stlambert.org under About Us or by phone. Website: www.stlambert.org

Page 2 St. Lambert Parish 14th Sunday Ordinary Time Masses for the Week Saturday, July 8 5:00 Gerry & Anastacia Fernando 45th Wedding Anniversary Sunday, July 9 8:00 People of St Lambert 10:00 Santiago Narvaez 12:00 Virginia David Monday, July 10 7:15 Emmanuel R. Trevias Tuesday, July 11 7:15 Hector Fabiana, Severino Sabadica & Ramon Dosoc Wednesday, July 12 7:15 Dr. Hector David Thursday, July 13 7:15 Armando De la Paz Friday, July 14 7:15 Virgilio Gualberto Saturday, July 15 8:00 Charles & Ellen Kelly 5:00 Anne Anderson Sunday, July 16 8:00 People of St Lambert 10:00 Edward Swiatkowski 12:00 James Killean READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Gn 28:10-22a; Ps 91:1-4, 14-15ab; Mt 9:18-26 Tuesday: Gn 32:23-33; Ps 17:1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b, 15; Mt 9:32-38 Wednesday: Gn 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a; Ps 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19; Mt 10:1-7 Thursday: Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5; Ps 105:16-21; Mt 10:7-15 Friday: Gn 46:1-7, 28-30; Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40; Mt 10:16-23 Saturday: Gn 49:29-32; 50:15-26a; Ps 105:1-4, 6-7; Mt 10:24-33 Sunday: Is 55:10-11; Ps 65:10-14; Rom 8:18-23; Mt 13:1-23 [1-9] Sunday Offertory Collection: June 24/25, 2017 Envelopes: $5,807.50 Loose: 2,520.75 Total: $8,338.25 Peter s Pence: $ 1,192.18 For Online Giving: www.givecentral.org Thank you for your continued support Bulletin Guidelines: Submissions must be received 10 days preceding the date of bulletin publication and can be sent to debbie.stlambert@aol.com If you care to post a flyer in the church vestibule it must first be approved by Fr Simon. If possible, please email flyer to the parish. Fliers posted without permission will be taken down. Thank you. St. Lambert The Coffee Hour will be hosted by Betty Kovathana and her contact number is 847-675-8353. Your contributions and assistance is greatly appreciated! Parishioners who wish to volunteer to host a Coffee Hour, please speak to Marcella Young at 773-698-2163. Monetary donations help to defray the cost of supplies etc. Thank you!!

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Page 4 St. Lambert Parish 14th Sunday Ordinary Time The Reverend Know-it-all What I don t know I can always make up! Allow me to repeat. We are running out of children. We are not running out of people, just young people. The world population is continuing to grow. The ranks of the old, among whom I am counted, gets bigger and bigger. I just got back from a trip overseas. Germany, the land of my ancestors, is a retirement home. The countryside of Spain is depopulated. One can drive for miles without seeing a soul. Whole towns are for sale in Spain and Italy simply because they are uninhabited. Again let me refresh your memory of some basic demographic concepts. First there is something called replacement fertility rate. In order to keep a stable population every single woman in a given population must have a minimum of two children. One to replace her and one to replace her knight in shining armor who is at the present unable to give birth. There are many people who do not have any children, slackers like myself who am celibate. The generous woman who must already have 2 children must now have 2.1 children in a developed country or 2.5 in an undeveloped country where the mortality rate is higher. If this fertility rate slips below a certain level under 2.0 some researchers theorize that the fertility rate cannot rebound. People get used to being spoiled only children. I know a number of people who, when asked if they have children say, Yes! and show you a picture of their dogs or cats while cooing, Aren t my babies precious?? Have you noticed that the pet food aisle in some stores is much larger and more fully stocked than the baby aisle? Lots of young moderns don t want to be bothered with babies when you can get just as much love from a pet. Let s look at some 2016 Total Fertility rates. (Source: CIA World Factbook) Poland, 1.34 children per woman, France 2.7, Italy 1.4 Japan 1.4, Hungary 1.4, Germany 1.4. Europe is dying. Let s look at the Americas. Cuba 1.7, Puerto Rico 1.6, Mexico 2.25, Costa Rica 1.9, Brazil 1.76. That s 1.76!! And our own beloved USA? 1.87. All these nations will soon face a shrinking labor force and increasing rate of dependent old people. Fewer workers have to care for more old folks (like me), by paying into the pension funds and social security accounts. That means if you have 1.7 children you are expecting someone else s kid to pay for you retirement benefits. The countries are increasing where old people face a poor and lonely life, where medical services are rationed and resources are increasingly scarce. This is not just happening in the developed West. Iran had a total fertility rate in 1960 of 7 or 8 children per woman. In 2016, they had a total fertility rate (tfr) of 1.83. Do the Math. Those 7 or 8 children born in 1960 are now almost 60 years old. They are past the time of childbearing and will soon have to depend on the 1.8 children born last year to take care of them in their old age. I don t think the 1.8 children are going to like the situation. Things are similar throughout the east. Bangladesh has a tfr of 2.2. They are definitely an undeveloped country and need 2.5 just to keep up with things. India 2.45, Saudi Arabia 2.1, Morocco 2.1, Indonesia 2.1! The only people who are still having children are sub-saharan Africans, Afghanis Iraqis and, God bless them, Filipinos. You cannot have an economy without children. Old people own enough stuff. Young people need and buy stuff. I don t think that 1.5 self-absorbed children are going to want to maintain 5 or 6 old folks. I m just not that optimistic about human nature. Much of the unrest of times may in fact be a result of depopulation and not overpopulation. Syria is a shrinking country between death and emigration. Things are bad all over the world, and the European world, the Americas, Australia, are quickly committing demographic suicide. Why am I whining about this? I have heard that a study group is looking at a new interpretation

July 9, 2017 Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord Page 5 of the infallible encyclical Humanae Vitae which forbad the use of artificial contraception by Catholics. Don t these fools understand that the coming dystopia (a fancy word that means rotten future) is not the result of overpopulation, but under population? These addled experts are like people who think it s a good idea to light a cozy campfire in a burned out building. The canoe is already over the waterfall and they are still planning the canoe trip. Should they make it easier for Europe and its former colonies to commit narcissistic demographic suicide? What would I suggest? Move to the country and learn to grow chickens. By the way, thank you to those parents who are brave enough and responsible enough to have large families. I believe that nations and churches will survive and flourish only to the degree that they accept the wisdom of Humanae Vitae. Yours ever, the Reverend know it all. TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION T he premier poet of the English language, Geoffrey Chaucer, introduced one of his most beloved characters, the Wife of Bath, by this telling remark: Husbands at church door she had five. Four times widowed, she was setting off on a pilgrimage, notably without number five. The church door is a curious detail, pointing to the fourteenth-century wedding custom of marrying on the porch of the parish church. The goal was to give maximum publicity to the consent of the groom and bride, and so consent was moved from the bride s home to a public venue. The priest would stand in the doorway and begin by sprinkling the couple with holy water. He needed to make sure they weren t too closely related and give them some instruction. He would direct the groom to pay the bride s family a dowry, and then announce the monetary amounts to the interested passersby. Only then would the guests enter the church for the wedding Mass, during which the bride and groom would hold lighted candles. The gradual move from home to church and the shift from the bride s father to the priest s authority helped to protect the freedom of brides who weren t quite as confident as the Wife of Bath. Rev. James Field, Copyright J. S. Paluch Co. Experience The Most Vivid Catechism Ever Created Creator and host Fr. Robert Barron illuminates what Catholics believe and why in this substance faith formation program that displays the art, architecture, literature, music and all the riches of the Catholic tradition. * * Brad Miner, The Catholic Thing blog

Page 6 St. Lambert Parish 14th Sunday Ordinary Time Date Amount Book # Name Sunday, Jul 02, 2017 $500.00 2000 Bayani, Eloisa C. Monday, Jul 03, 2017 $50.00 2242 Gibson, John Tuesday, Jul 04, 2017 $50.00 2204 Mercado, Keith Wednesday, Jul 05, 2017 $50.00 1624 Gaynor, Patrick & Maureen Thursday, Jul 06, 2017 $50.00 1286 Wuerffel, Jason Friday, Jul 07, 2017 $50.00 2331 de la Paz, Isseo Perez Saturday, Jul 08, 2017 $50.00 2184 Bolusan, Nellie Winning raffle booklet numbers are put back in the hopper. Giving you more opportunities to win throughout the year! PRIZES: $50 Monday-Saturday $100 Weekly Sunday (except 1st Sunday) $500 Every 1 st Sunday of the Month AROUND THE ARCHDIOCESE UPCOMING BENEFITS ~ Pu and a Prayer : July 21, 14th annual golf ou ng to benefit St. Thomas of Villanova Parish ministries; noon shotgun start at White Deer Run Golf Club, Vernon Hills; $150 for each golfer in a foursome; includes 18 holes with cart, buffet lunch and dinner; call St. Thomas of Villanova Parish office at 847-358- 6999. Old Irving park Beer & BBQ Challenge: Aug. 5, 1-5 p.m. in the St. Viator parking lot at 3644 N. Kedvale Ave.; ckets start at $60 to sample 20 barbecued pork and beer pairings which will be rated by local celebrity chef judges; benefits St. Viator parish and school; for informa on or ckets, visit www.beerbbqchallenge.com

July 9, 2017 Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord Page 7 The School of Heroes Part IV: The Adventure continues Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Who here will dare to save the world? That s right, the time has come to dare to be extraordinary, to answer the call to heroism, and live as the superheroes of the faith did. And who are these superheroes, you ask? They are the saints of course! They are a fantastic league of heroes spanning across history, proclaiming the faith in the most courageous and wonderful ways ways so amazing that even our most celebrated, comic book icons would be left awestruck in their presence. Their lives are a canon by which we can guide our own. Their very existence is proof that the glory Christ promises can be attained, that people like us can be heroic. Whether you are a child, a king, a soldier, a wife, a husband, or the absolute worst of sinners, it is possible. Think you ve got the chops? Come find out at St. Lambert s summer camp The School of Heroes. Embark upon a weeklong adventure with your Youth Church friends and thoroughly explore the lives of famous Catholic superheroes. Train to be saint with storytelling, reenactments, movies, songs, and indoor and outdoor challenges. Answer the call to heroism. Dare to be extraordinary. Be all that you can be. Grades K-6: July 31-August 4 ~ Mon-Fri ~ 8:30a-3:00pm ~ $25.00 per student $50.00 for family of three or more Grades 7-12: August 2-4 ~ Wed-Fri ~ 7:00p-9:00pm ~ $20.00 per student Registra on opens soon! The School of Heroes is currently looking for volunteer assistance and food donations. If you are interested in helping out, or would like more information, please contact Jon at saintlambertsyouthchurch@gmail.com