At 6:00 p.m. Saturday night my husband and I got in the car and headed to the High Bridge connecting St. Paul with West St. Paul. It is a route I travel several times a day but this trip was different…we were in pursuit of the Moon. The Total Eclipse of the Moon to be exact. Many times as I make this trip, I am often privy to the incredible sight of the Moon as it shines over the Mississippi River, appearing so close you could reach up and touch the pearl, white globe that has guided our night since the beginning of Creation.

I am not sure what we expected. But we soon realized we were part of a pilgrimage. We saw cars pulling over along the frontage street that marks the bluffs, occupants with their faces reaching forward toward the windshield, looking skyward. We saw others walking along the sidewalk, stopping every now and then to crane their necks around the condos and houses that line the street, waiting for the first glimpse of the Moon and our shadow upon it. Still others walked to the middle of the bridge, where we joined them. Standing. Watching. Waiting.

The Moon at first seemed to be merely the sight of a quarter moon. But as we stood there, the cold wind whipping around our bodies, we began to see the full roundness and the shadow of the Earth that fell upon it. People stood quietly watching as more and more of its glow began to appear. Over the evening our Earth shadow came to be less and less until the full Moon appeared, bright, bold and beautiful as it reflected off the mounds of new snow.

As I stood there I had the overwhelming sense, no, more than a sense, a deep knowing, of the magnitude of this Universe of which we are all a part. I felt my insignificance, how small I am in the really big picture. But I also had the full  knowledge of how important we humans are….for it is we-the human ones-who have the intelligence, the sense of presence,the language, to stop and pay homage to such a magnificent display of Creation and Creator. It is an awesome responsibility. May I never take it for granted.

Early Sunday morning as I drove to church, I was blessed by the fullness of the Moon as it made its way out of view in the West. I offered a prayer of gratitude for its beauty, its loyalty, its brilliance.