Solar Eclipse in Malta

With all the hype that has taken over the United States with a total solar eclipse that stretched from Texas all the way to Maine, and into Northeast Canada, it is good to know that a total solar eclipse will happen in Malta on June 1, 2030, at 6:54 AM. It is also called an Annular Solar Eclipse. It will start over Algeria, and proceed to Malta, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, into Russia. The next total solar eclipse in Malta will be on Wednesday April 21, 2088 at 11:06.  Since I will certainly not be here in 2088, I hope to see the one in 2030, 6 years from now, God willing. The eclipse of 2030 will start at 5:52 AM and end 8:04 AM over Malta. Another almost total eclipse will happen over Malta on August 2, 2027. That one will start from Gibraltar, and go over Tunisia, Malta, Egypt, the Red Sea, Dubai, into the Indian Ocean. This reflection which Pope Francis shared during the Via Crucis at the Colosseo a few weeks ago sums up the beauty behind this phenomena: “In my own dark night, when I keep asking why, I find you, Jesus, the light that shines in the darkness. And in the plea of all those who are alone, rejected, oppressed or abandoned, I find you, my God. May I always recognize your presence and turn to you in love.” In the daily rhythm of sunset and sunrise, we experience something of the cosmic drama of death and resurrection. An eclipse, with its disruption of those familiar rhythms, invites us to look anew at the light and darkness around us. As we look, the Holy Father invites us anew to hear the cry of Jesus from the cross, the cry in the darkness.