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The Eclipse and the Annunciation

Michie

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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)

The moon is an apt Christian symbol for the Blessed Mother, as the moon has no light of its own, but only reflects the light of the sun; Mary reflects the light of her Son upon the face of the earth. But the moon is not purely ancillary much less merely decorative; its gravitational pull keeps the earth in balance, as it were.

Continued below.