If you are like me, you probably tried to catch a glimpse of the eclipse last Monday, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation. If you were unable to view it, there are beautiful shots you can find online. One can’t help but point toward another big celebration that happened just the day before the eclipse, the Sunday of Divine Mercy. Before I get ahead of myself, let’s explore this from three diffrent angles.

The Eclipse: A Warning

The eclipse on the 8th of April was unique because it was a total solar eclipse. The moon passed between thes sun and Earth, completely blocking the sun. Although the moon is significantly smaller than the sun, the distance between the sun and moon made it seem like they were same size. Places that were in the center of the moon’s shadow when it hits the Earth experienced total eclipse. It truly was something to behold.

While the secular world regarded the event as merely natural, the eclipse has a deeper supernatural meaning. Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork." God is constantly trying to get our attention, and if we have the eyes to see it, we can perceive God's presence and action in His creation. 

On a Biblical level, an eclipse has a specific message. We read in Amos, “In that day,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight," (8:9). This is a declaration that God, through nature, is the ultimate cause of an ecclipse. Jesus himself warns of that “Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken." (Matthew 24:29). Thus as marvelous as the phenomenon of an eclipse is, it can also serve as a warning. 

What is that warning? Keep reading.

The Annunciation: Our Hope

The solemnity of The Annunciation is no small feast. It is when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she is to bear a Son, Jesus, our Lord and Savior. This is considered to be a more important feast than Christmas and Easter, for it is when God marries Himself with our human flesh forever. This feast brings us hope, anticipation, and promise of salvation, for we cannot save ourselves. 

We live in a time of turmoil and distress. Every channel we tune into & on many social media pages, we learn about war, death, abuse, and many other devastating pieces of news. Peace seems impossible and grace seem distant. But we must not fear, for hope is here. God is with us and nothing is impossible with Him. 

Why? Precisely because of the message of the annunciation. Mary’s fiat to God changed the world, and with this Mary's proclaimed that "nothing is impossible with God" (Luke 1: 37). If we would simply ask for the grace of the Faith of Mary, God would work miracles in our lives as well, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Divine Mercy: Our Salvation

St. Faustina received messages from our Lord Jesus from 1931 to 1938, where she was commanded to paint an image according to a pattern from a vision given to her. The image was to be venerated, first in the Sisters’ chapel, and then throughout the world. This image reveals the rays of mercy that flow from the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with the encouragement to Trust in Him, no matter our circumstance. 

In her diary, Faustina recorded some very powerful messages that have ramifications for our lives. Three entrees I would like to highlight: 

“I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet.

Say unceasingly this chaplet that I have taught you.  Anyone who says it will receive great MERCY at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as the last hope. Even the most hardened sinner, if he recites this chaplet even once, will receive grace from My infinite Mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in My Mercy.

The Feast of Mercy emerged from my very depths of tenderness. It is my desire that it solemnly be celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the fount of My Mercy.

These are just snippets of the reality that God desires not the death of a sinner, but to return back to His love and enter into eternal communion with the Trinity.

Repentance

We live in significant times. It is not a stretch to imagine that we may be living explictly in the times explicitely spoken by Jesus.

Mark 13: 7-8 : When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

As the Old Testament, time and time again records, natural disasters, famine, and wars often occur because man chooses to separate Himself from the love of God and instead follows his own will. Just as every natural action has a counter action, so it is true in the spiritual life. Our choices have consequences, and when they are not in accord with God's Divine Will, it inevitably brings suffering.

It is not hard to see that genuine supernatural faith is lacking in countless people, who are living as if God does not exist. Just the example of pornography being mainstreamed in countless homes is a sign that we as the human race are in need of a major course correction. These sins cry out to heaven for vengence. We have become a people as a whole whose hearts are distant from God, believing we can do whatever we want, use as many people as possible, and God won't judge our actions. So many people are asleep, oblivious that their behavior, if left unchanged, will lead to eternal separation from Love.

Is God even paying attention? Does he even care that evil seems to be taking over everywhere? 

While God is ever patient and merciful, this must not be confused with Him being a pushover. God is just. He loves His sons and daughters, and like any good Father, He disciplines HIs children, not to destroy them, but to call them back into right relationship with him. While it seems that evil has won and that there is no hope, rest assured: As made clear in His Word (especially as seen in the Book of Revelation), God will respond in favor of His remnant children who are striving to be faithful to Him.

Is it a coincidence that Christ started appearing to St. Faustina to spread His message of mercy just before the start of World War II? I think not. Just before the dawn of unimaginable evil that was about to happen, God reached out His hand in mercy, an outpouring of mercy for everyone. Just as Jonah the prophet was sent to the people of Nineveh - a city of harlotry, sorcery, lies and violence - to warn them of their sinful ways and called them to repentance, this recent eclipse passed through 1 town called "Jonah" and 7 towns called "Nineveh". I believe God is trying to get our attention that if humanity does not amend it's ways, especially in the United States, there will be dire consequences for refusing His mercy. Nineveh had 40 days to repent; how many days do we have left?

As the drumbeat of war is getting louder in many places around the globe, we must repent of our sins, cry out to God for mercy and grace, and seek to live His ways, as laid out in the Scriptures and the authentic magisterium of the Church. Whether these wars increase or peace grows is dependent upon whether or not we respond to God's call to ammend our lives.

Repentance and Mercy

The eclipse is a sign that points towards God calling us to repentance. How so? By analogy, God is the sun, radiating his light unto us. Sin is the moon, and as small as it may seem, it is enough to cast a shadow, blocking out the rays of the sun trying to get to us on Earth.

Our sinfulness casts shadows, blocking the rays of grace sent from the Son. Without the sun - and the Son - we will die. Yet just as the moon tries to completely shield the sun, our own sinfulness cannot completely shut out the rays of grace and love that burst forth from the side of the Son on the cross. That, my brothers and sisters, is a sign of God’s mercy for us. 

As infinite as the shadow of our sins might seem to be, God’s mercy is far greater. His providential care is most profoundly realized in the hope of salvation offered by Jesus Christ. 

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6

Pray & fast for the victims of pornography and human trafficking. Pray & fast for end of the growing shadows of war. Pray & fast for poor sinners to embrace his mercy. May we live as we ought, as people of the resurrection, who God has claimed for Himself. Let us say YES to Him, with the fiat of Mary, for mercy has not been eclipsed. 

Steve Pokorny is the Founder of Freedom Coaching, a one-to-one mentoring system designed to break the power of pornified images in both men and women. His book, Redeemed Vision: Setting the Blind Free from the Pornified Culture, is available from Amazon.