What a wonderful Easter Octave it has been! So much to celebrate. First Friday Mass is in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus followed by Divine Mercy Sunday. Fr. Jeffrey Kirby had a lovely meditation on how the message of both is the same: God's love for each and every one of us. Divine Mercy and the Sacred Heart Share a Common Message| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com) And then came the solar eclipse on the Feast of the Annunciation! I was so grateful I received the grace to get up early to hear morning Mass at St. Clare of Assisi and renew my consecration to Jesus through Mary. After Mass, the priest invited us to take some of the flowers home as well as venerate the relics of several saints: two of St. Clare of Assisi, one each of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Bernadette of Lourdes, St. Francis Xavier Seelos, and the True Cross. Oh, to have these powerful friends in heaven praying for us, interceding to our Lord! It is true what my kids say--I have more friends in heaven than on earth :) Catholicism is full of strange practices, but they all make sense because they are steeped in truth and point to Truth Himself. The Immaculate Conception, the Annunciation, the Incarnation, the Passion, the Resurrection, the Eucharist, the Redemption--you can't make this stuff up. Fr. Raymond de Souza had another beautiful meditation, how the moon is like Mary, the sun, her Son: The Eclipse and the Annunciation - The Catholic Thing. Yet, Mary never eclipses her Son, so there the analogy fails. My first thought was how Mary hid Christ within herself for nine months. The Holy Family led a hidden life in Nazareth until Jesus begins His public ministry and revelation. All I can say is the beginning of Psalm 19: The heavens declare the glory of God!!! And the firmament showeth His handiwork. Here I am, Lord; I come to do Your Will.
Below some pictures from my family. My sister (in Texas) said it was a cloudy day but every so often the clouds would part and they could see with their naked eyes the moon shadowing the sun. I really loved the colors. My sister-in-law, also in Texas, sent us this picture of her red lily! So pretty! It reminded me of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! And His Sacred Blood! Oh how He lets me know how much He loves me.
Max and Dagny sent these from Washington DC and N. Charleston respectively. It was sunny in Charleston so Michael got the colander out. I love seeing the crescent sun patterns. It was a warm day but I could feel the temperature drop during the eclipse. And there wasn't any discernable change in the behavior of the animals, like the last time: Vijaya Bodach: Solar Eclipse 2017
Please do share your thoughts and pictures if you got to see the 2024 eclipse.
9 comments:
DS still hasn't shared his experience of the (second, for him) total eclipse, and knowing him I don't expect photos. But I enjoyed your shares. The colander trick is one I heard about on NPR just hours before the eclipse started, and it's amazing to see your post's photos
I'm eager to hear of your son's experience. It was during the last eclipse that we noticed the patterns on the porch so Michael thought of the colander. I made a pinhole camera but it was boring...luckily, my neighbor had extra eclipse glasses so we got to enjoy watching it in all its colorful glory! I tried taking pictures through the filter but they didn't turn out very good. The next total eclipse to grace the US won't be for another couple of decades, so I'm very thankful I got to see both.
I just did a blog post about the eclipse. It reminded you of biblical references; it reminded me of a Shakespearean passage. We got 99.9% totality here, but I only got a brief glimpse through the cloud cover. I found a link to some good news photos.
Count me as one of those friends here on Earth! And let's work hard so we're friends in Heaven, too.
Got to 90% here in CT. Never seen a total eclipse, but I'm happy with what I saw.
Barb, so great to read your post. That you thought of Shakespeare is wonderful--and you would, you poet you!
Carol, indeed you are! And by God's grace will be in Heaven too! 90% is quite dramatic.
Mom, this is a wonderful post. I wonder if you've ever read Annie Dillard's classic essay on the total eclipse - you may enjoy it. Here's the link: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/08/annie-dillards-total-eclipse/536148/
Thanks Max. You're the third person to mention AD's essay. Reading it right now.
As always, I marvel at AD's observations and the leaps she makes. Here's a link without having to sign up for anything: https://www.vanderbilt.edu/olli/class-materials/Total_Eclipse.pdf
We only had 30 percent here in NE Washington but I enjoyed friend's and family's picture of the totality.
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