Deacon’s Corner
“Hey mom and dad, we are going to Terre Haute to see the eclipse. Do you want to join us?”
This was the invitation we received from our daughter last month. Now I’m thinking to myself, they want us to drive 200 miles in crazy traffic and spend nearly $400 for a hotel room that normally goes for $69 for an event that lasts for 2 minutes and 40 seconds? Are they nuts??? After all, I can watch it in my backyard for free. All right, all right, at home we won’t witness the eclipse in totality, but it will be about 95%. Isn’t that close enough?
Well, we hit the road about 5:00 p.m. Sunday, arrived in Terre Haute a little after 10:00 p.m., and checked into our hotel. The drive down wasn’t too bad but the overhead signs along the interstate flashed ominous warnings to expect major delays on Monday due to the eclipse.
On Monday, after breakfast, we joined Carolyn, Garrin, and the kids, as well as our son Jonah and his girlfriend Marisa (they decided to join us too) at the Shrine of Mother Theresa Guerin, which is part of the St. Mary of the Woods complex about 5 miles from Terre Haute. Our son-in-law, Garrin, researched the place and suggested it would be a great place to view the eclipse as well as give us a place to explore while waiting for the event. The shrine itself is attached to a museum dedicated to telling the story of St. Guerin. The complex is vast, featuring an outdoor Stations of the Cross, a Lourdes grotto, and a small chapel made of seashells. There is also a small private school, a convent for the Sisters of Providence (the religious order the St. Guerin founded), and a conference center. There are also many walking trails to explore.
We found a field that would give us a comfortable place to view the eclipse with a large shade tree nearby to keep us cool while we were waiting. As the time of totality approached and we donned our cardboard eclipse glasses, the day seemed to turn to dusk as the moon slowly progressed in front of the sun, blocking more and more of the sun's light. The air temperature started to cool, and then the wind died down. We could hear the crowing of a confused rooster in the distance, and then suddenly, as if someone flipped a switch, the body of the sun was completely blocked by the surface of the moon. We could now safely view the eclipse with the naked eye. It was surreal and beautiful at the same time. The brilliant rays of the sun dancing around the perimeter of the black moon. Our surroundings were illuminated in a light that is hard to describe… not quite like nightfall, but darker than twilight. You can find many beautiful pictures of an eclipse on the internet, but seeing one in person is something worth experiencing. I read that those who witness a total eclipse of the sun sometimes describe the event as being spiritual. This was true for me. Just like the feeling one gets when gazing out over the vastness of the ocean, or when surrounded by the majestic beauty of a mountain range, the eclipse was another example of the majesty of our creator. If God can create something this beautiful on the Earth, just imagine what Heaven must look like!
Thank you, God, for the beauty of Your creation.
Deacon Mike Maynard