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Celeres Nexus Pro 2006-04-11
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Newman Club Holy Week Activities
I’m sorry for not posting this sooner.
This year for Holy Week Carnegie-Mellon is hosting what amounts to the full Monastic liturgical schedule of the Divine Office. The Office is the public prayer of the Church, consisting mostly of psalms and biblical readings. The Vespers said on Sundays at the Oratory and Compline said daily at CMU are parts of the Office, but for Holy Week we will be breaking out the full liturgy. We will also be turning CMU’s chapel into something that actually looks like a Church. There will be candles, chanting, and yes Eddie, incense. These offices will be done as “Reader Services” (as we aren’t forcing the priests to put in more work than they already do during Holy Week). This means that we need people who can sing (still come if you can’t). If you have the slightest idea how singing goes (even better if you’re familiar with Gregorian or Byzantine chant) let our Pitt VP, Steven Kesslar, know so that he can send you the texts/music so that we can sound a little better. If you don’t know how to sing a brief tutorial is all you need (most of the parts only have two notes). We need three leaders for each office and some powerful people in the choir (that’s everyone else, liturgically speaking). So volunteer! Steven’s e-mail address is anthrakeus@gmail.com.
Offensive Statue #2
![[maryjesusstatue.jpg]](http://alesrarus.funkydung.com/images/maryjesusstatue.jpg "Maternal Bond")
Hot on the heels of one controversial pro-life statue, we have another.
“A SCULPTURE OF the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, proposed as a ‘memorial for the victims of abortion’ at Villanova University, has upset some students, including some who oppose abortion.”
[…]
“Pro-life freshman Clint Gilliam agrees with the concept of the statue, but thinks its high-profile placement is a bad idea. ‘It’s just a little in your face,’ he said. ‘It sort of makes people who don’t believe in those things uncomfortable.’ Adds freshman Peggy Costello, ‘I’m personally pro-life and I don’t like the statue at all.’ ‘I feel that putting up a statue like that completely counters the diversity we’re trying to advocate or uphold,’ said Costello, 19, who thinks the memorial could alienate non-Catholics.”
Villanova is a Catholic university for heaven’s sake! There should be no need whatsoever to justify a tasteful pro-life statue, especially one with of Mary and Jesus.
Ugly People Are Unattentive Parents?
First we heard that ugly people commit more crime. Now we're being told that they're less attentive to their children than attractive people.
"'Unattractive parents are less likely than attractive parents to supervise their children closely,' said Andrew Harrell. He's the same social scientist who took a fair bit of heat last year when he presented evidence suggesting parents pay more attention to attractive children. Now he's onto new findings bound to stir up further familial feelings. 'The unattractive parents may be ugly because they have had economic difficulties, health problems, diabetes, poor eyesight, psychological and physical hardships that distract them,' Harrell offers as an explanation. 'They have their own personal concerns and they have less time to be attentive to their children. They are in such physical and psychological misery they are not there.' He admits his limited data can't prove the theory, since his team never interviewed the parents or children who were observed."
Can you say "junk science"?
Goodbye, Good Friend
A recent post by a friend of mine brought back a painful memory.
"When I was 14, just a little over two months before [Rob] would have graduated from high school, he was killed. I hadn’t talked to him for some time when I just had this overwhelming need to call. His mom answered the phone and told me that earlier that day he had gone out to buy a motorcycle. As he was driving it home, he somehow lost control and wrapped himself around a telephone pole. I was frozen and utterly speechless."
My best friend in high school was pulled off a platform by a passing train and died. Getting that phonecall from my dad was one of the worst moments of my life. Anyhow, I know other folks have lost loved ones unexpectedly. We’re connected by a terrible bond, but we can use it to help each other. At the lowest points of my life I’ve found writing poetry to be very theraputic. I thought perhaps folks still mourning a loss would appreciate this poem that I wrote when my best friend died.