“He numbers the stars and gives to all of them their names.”

God created all of the celestial objects in the universe so naturally these objects should play an important role in Sacred Scripture and human history. 

In the Book of Genesis, it is written:

Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.  Then God said: Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the seasons, the days and the years, and serve as lights in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth. And so it happened:  God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.  (Genesis 1:13-18).

Celestial objects are also described in the Book of Psalms.  In Psalm 147:4, the Psalmist declares “He numbers the stars and gives to all of them their names.”    In Psalm 148:3, the Psalmist exhorts “Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all shining stars.” 

In Psalm 8, the Psalmist praises God for His creation and marvels on God’s special focus on humanity above all of His creation.  He writes, 

“When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place—What is man that you are mindful of him, and a son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him little less than a god, crowned him with glory and honor.  (Psalm 8:4-6)

Our Blessed Mother is described in celestial terms in the Book of Revelation:  “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars”  (12:1).  The Red Dragon hurls a third of the stars in the sky to Earth and tries to destroy her and her child but God delivers her and her newborn son from the Red Dragon (12:2-6). 

In the Book of Revelation, God uses celestial objects as instruments of His justice upon humanity:  

When the third angel blew his trumpet, a large star burning like a torch fell from the sky. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The star was called “Wormwood,” and a third of all the water turned to wormwood. Many people died from this water, because it was made bitter. When the fourth angel blew his trumpet, a third of the sun, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars were struck, so that a third of them became dark. The day lost its light for a third of the time, as did the night. 

(Revelation 8:10-12)

The most important celestial event is the Star of the Nativity / Star of Bethlehem.  As recorded in the Gospel of Saint Mathew, Magi from the East are led by a star to the newborn Son of God in Bethlehem:

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.  They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.

They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

(Matthew 2:1-12)

Over the millennia, astronomers and scientists have attempted to explain the Star of Bethlehem / Star of the Nativity as a conjunction of planets such as Jupiter and Saturn or a comet or a supernova.  The December 24, 2023 article “The Star of Bethlehem: Can science explain what it really was?”  in Astronomy by Eric Betz offers a good summary of the differing astronomical explanations for the Star of Bethlehem (https://www.astronomy.com/science/the-star-of-bethlehem-can-science-explain-what-it-was/ 

Scientific explanations for the Star of Bethlehem miss an essential truth about this event.  The Star announces the birth of the Son of God.  In reading St. Matthew’s Gospel, it appears that the Magi saw the Star but King Herod and his attendants did not.  Until the Magi brought this Star to his attention, King Herod had no idea of its existence.  It is possible that Herod saw the Star but neither he nor his attendants grasped the theological significance of the Star prior to the Magi’s arrival.  I believe that the former is true.  King Herod did not see the Star.  We need not look for astronomical evidence of the Star.  

God willed the universe and everything in it into existence, so He certainly can put a special Star in the sky to guide the Magi to Jesus.  

So the next question would be ‘why didn’t the Star guide the Magi directly to Bethlehem and skip the visit to Herod altogether?’  

The answer to that question lies in the next section of Matthew Chapter 2.  Herod had directed the Magi to find the child and report back to him.  After realizing that the Magi were not going to report back to him, Herod orders all of the boys in Bethlehem under age two to be killed.  But God had already warned St. Joseph that Jesus’s life was in danger and the Holy Family (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) were already on their way to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath.  

God created the celestial objects and has used them at various times throughout human history to further His plan for humanity, most especially by announcing the birth of His Son.  God will use celestial objects again as these End Times come to their culmination as prophesied in the Book of Revelation.