Food for Thought: The Great American Eclipse Occurs on the Eve of Mary's Feast

That's right! But not just any feast day. It's the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the traditional liturgical calendar and the feast of the Queenship of Mary in the modern calendar.

Remember what Mary told the children at Fatima? "In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph." Is her Son, the Light of the World, using this heavenly event to remind us to listen to and honor His Mother as Queen of heaven and earth?

 And consider this. August was the month the little shepherd children were kidnapped by the mayor of Ourem on the day of the scheduled apparition, August 13th. Instead of being at the Cova de Iria with the "beautiful lady" the children were being interrogated by the mayor and threatened with being boiled in oil. They experienced a virtual martyrdom. Mary appeared to them later on August 19th. These two events graphically illustrate the battle between godless secularism and the Catholic faith.

Shamash, sun god of the Babylonians

All of these events should make us look at the eclipse with Christian eyes. Remember, we've been

 told there will be signs in the heavens, and certainly this rare event of a solar eclipse is a big sign! People are paying attention, but are they only considering nature? Or will they recognize that the sun is once more being used by God as a wake up call for His people? Remember, the day of the crucifixion there was a solar eclipse as well, a reminder that God rules nature.

There's certainly symbolism here. We have seen the Son eclipsed in our times, often by people who have replaced the Creator with his creatures. The sun and moon played (and continue to play) significant roles in many pagan religions. The Babylonians had a sun god, Shamash, who was adopted by the Assyrians and other pagan civilizations. In Egypt Ra was the god of the sun often depicted with a solar disc. Among many pagans the moon was even more important because of its changing cycles. It continues to be central to the pagan practices of Wicca, the New Age, and Freemasonry.

Symbols in freemasonry include the sun & moon.

In Christianity, however, the sun serves the Creator. It is used metaphorically as in the image of Christ as the "light of the world." The moon also, sometimes called "Mary's lantern," is an image of her reflecting the light of her Son. We don't worship these heavenly objects any more than we worship photographs of beloved family members. They are simply reminders to turn our hearts and minds to worship the Creator, not the creature.

So, as we prepare for the great cosmic even of August 21st, which is the first solar eclipse since 1776 where the "path of totality" takes place completely within the confines of the U.S., let us read "the signs of the times" with a Christian outlook. This is surely an invitation from Jesus Christ to listen to the requests of His Mother 100 year ago at Fatima to pray the rosary and do penance for the conversion of souls and peace in the world. Will we listen this time? In view of the very serious international threat from North Korea and the devastating moral situations all over the world, we should be mindful of Mary's warning:

You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end: but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the Pontificate of Pope Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.[9]

Miracle of the sun at Fatima

In May, Cardinal Raymond Burke called for the collegial consecration of Russia:

"The teaching of the Faith in its integrity and with courage is the heart of the office of the Church’s pastors: the Roman Pontiff, the Bishops in communion with the See of Peter, and their principal co-workers, the priests. For that reason, the Third Secret is directed, with particular force, to those who exercise the pastoral office in the Church. Their failure to teach the faith, in fidelity to the Church’s constant teaching and practice, whether through a superficial, confused or even worldly approach, and their silence endangers mortally, in the deepest spiritual sense, the very souls for whom they have been consecrated to care spiritually. The poisonous fruits of the failure of the Church’s pastors is seen in a manner of worship, of teaching and of moral discipline which is not in accord with Divine Law."

...For those who may still object to calling for the consecration of Russia, Cardinal Burke recalled the words of Pope St. John Paul II who in 1982 during his consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart noted: “Mary’s appeal is not for just once. Her appeal must be taken up by generation after generation, in accordance with the ever new ‘signs of the times’. It must be unceasingly returned to. It must ever be taken up anew.”

Join me in prayer for praying that Pope Francis with all the bishops of the Church will carry out the consecration explicitly mentioning Russia. In the meantime, let us do our part by praying the daily rosary, making the five First Saturdays, and doing penance for the conversion of sinners and peace in the world.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.  Read more here about the "Great American Eclipse"....