OSSINING -- On Monday, April 28 at 2:30 p.m. The Dominican Sisters of Hope and The Center at Mariandale are hosting a free, interfaith eclipse watch party. Representatives of local houses of worship will offer interfaith prayers and short reflections. Eclipse glasses, opportunities to walk the labyrinth, and snacks (moon pies and sun chips, naturally) will be provided.
Eclipses are sometimes associated with new beginnings, personal renewal, and societal transformation. They’re a time to pause and wonder, and contemplate our place in the universe. Dominican Sisters will join the celebration both in Ossining and virtually from their homes around the country (virtual participants received "eclipse party packs" with glasses, a prayer, and snacks in the mail).
According to Dominican Sister of Hope Janet Marchesani, OP, who will be at the eclipse watch party at Mariandale on Monday, the eclipse is an experience of mystery.
"There’s something about the whole universe that is just beyond us," she said. "The moon does not have light of its own. It reflects the light of the sun. That’s our role: to reflect the light of the sun. Seeing the eclipse as the sun is darkened and as it brightens again reminds us of the whole mystery of the cosmos, of creation. It’s definitely a spiritual experience."
For Dominican Sister of Hope Debbie Blow, OP, this eclipse marks her second totality eclipse experience. In 2017, she and Sister Stephanie Frenette, OP were in South Carolina on vacation and happened to be in the totality zone without planning it. This year, they'll once again watch the eclipse in totality in Plattsburgh, NY.
"We both are very excited," Sister Debbie said. "I have to tell you it is truly a moment of awe and spiritual oneness with Creation."
As Dominican Sister of Hope Jo-Ann Iannotti, OP says, "if it’s about creation, it’s spiritual."
"I have been very fascinated with starlight," she said. "When we look at stars, we’re looking at yesterday, the past. The past is finally reaching us: it's a whole juxtaposition of past-present time. I’ve been amazed by it. It makes me realize how much I don’t know. There’s a larger universe out there that’s going on and it affects us, too. And we’re just learning the effect that it has."
Carl Procario-Foley, executive director of The Center at Mariandale, observed, "Our many and diverse faith traditions are calling for an ecological consciousness as we address the environmental crisis. Such consciousness begins with wonder and awe, two gifts this solar eclipse offers so magnificently to us all."
The Dominican Sisters of Hope are Catholic Dominican Sisters who committed their lives to living and preaching the Gospel message of Hope. Founded in 1995 from three communities in Newburgh, New York, Fall River, Massachusetts, and Ossining, New York, the sisters now live in nine states and Puerto Rico. Their congregational offices are at The Center at Mariandale in Ossining. They minister in a variety of unique ways, including community organizing, social work, education, and environmental advocacy, preaching the transformative power of Hope through it all. Read more about their work at www.ophope.org