A total solar eclipse through a lens of faith

The moon has people on the move.

The solar eclipse on Monday, 8 April 2024, is expected to draw millions to good viewing spots in the “path of totality,” stretching from Mazatlán to Montreal. Preemptive closures have been announced to deal with the logistical challenges.

The moon rarely blocks the sun entirely, but every year the lunar cycle determines the date of Easter, and much else depends on that. So the Feast of the Annunciation is also on the move this year, transferred from its usual spot on 25 March – which fell during Holy Week – to 8 April, the first day after Holy Week and the Easter Octave, to no longer impede it.

The coincidence of an eclipse with the Annunciation suggests that the meandering of the moon might be a matter for spiritual meditation. Mary is the woman with the moon at her feet and clothed with the sun. (Revelation 12:1).

When the moon passes between the sun and Earth creating a total solar eclipse …, many Catholics in its path will be looking skyward to observe the phenomenon from a spiritual and scientific perspective.

Although some religious observers believe the coming eclipse has spiritual and even prophetic significance, Mark Mallett, a Canadian author and evangelist who views his role as one of watching, praying, and listening to what God is saying to the Church, said he is not aware of any Catholic sources pointing to the eclipse in that way.

However, he added: “This is not to say that this coming eclipse could not bear significance. Before the internet and modern astronomy, generations looked more intently at the universe for symbolism and meaning. The very birth of Jesus was marked by the ‘star’ over Bethlehem. And Our Lord himself said in Luke 21:25: ‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars …’ What are these signs exactly? We cannot say for certain…

“If you believe God created the universe,” Christopher Graney, an astronomer and adjunct scholar said, “then the study of the universe is the study of God’s work, and it will teach you something about God; just as if you study a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, you will learn something about da Vinci.”

Graney said the star of Bethlehem, for instance, was not the spectacular thing often imagined. “[The Gospel] says the star was subtle, something only noticed by ‘nerds’ like the Magi. Herod had to ask them when it appeared. … If the star had been spectacular, everyone would have known when it appeared.

“There’s nothing we have found that specifically ties an eclipse to spirituality,” Osborne told the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner. “However, if you think about it, there are a lot of metaphors between darkness and light.”

Gang Poh, a space weather professor and NASA researcher, told the Register: “Our Earth and the moon move in a predictable motion around our sun, following known laws of orbital motions.

Poh said, said there also is no known correlation between solar eclipses and earthquakes.

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