Morning Star
“Morning Star” refers to the last star near the eastern horizon that is visible to the naked eye before the sun rises and the star becomes invisible. (Usually the morning “star” is Venus, which, of course, is not a star, but a planet.)
The title “Morning Star” is given to Mary. She is the last star visible in the sky before Jesus, the Light of the World, enter the human race.
It is an ancient practice in many different cultures to pray each morning. In pagan cultures, the prayer was often directed to the new light coming over the horizon.
One of the morning prayers familiar to Catholics of the past several generations (and often pasted on bathroom mirrors) is the following:
“O Jesus, through the immaculate heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of you Sacred Heart, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the intentions of all our associates, and in particular for the intentions recommended this month by the Holy Father.”
In an attempt to determine what the “star” that guided the Magi might have been, astronomers have studied celestial phenomena that could have taken place at about the time of Jesus’ birth. The main candidates are:
(1. ) A supernova or “new star”:
When a star explodes into birth it gives out a great deal of light lasting weeks or months, sometimes even visible in the daytime. About a dozen are discovered each year, but they are rarely visible to the naked eye.
(2. ) A comet:
Comets appear a few times each century. Halley’s Comet has appeared about every 76 years since 240 B. C. Its appearance closest to the date of Christ’s birth would have been in 12 or 11 B. C.
(3. ) A planetary conjunction:
There is a new conjunction of three planets, which, according to the 17th century astronomer, Johannes Kepler, occurs every 850 years when the orbits of Mars, Saturn and Jupiter bring them close to one another. Kepler saw this happen in October of 1604, and calculated that it would also have happened in 7 or 6 B. C.
There may have been no celestial phenomenon marking my birth. Instead of looking back, I would do better to look ahead. As I look ahead to the rest of this New Year, what is my guiding star?
Why the Lord, of course.
I couldn’t have a better one. The big thing is to be in touch with him…every day.