Monsignor Pope Ping!
Thank-you and God Bless.
It can be both.................
Yes. Yes it was.
Luke 2:13 A multitude of heavenly hosts could easily mimic a star. Also appear and disappear and guide.
There is no such thing as “Supernatural”.
Humans claim that only what they understand is “natural” and then when it defies their understanding call it “supernatural”. But G-d’s NATURE and the nature of G-d’s creation - the universe - does not require human understanding in order for anything within it to be quite natural, quite natural to G-d and His universe.
June 12, 2 BC, Conjunction of Jupiter (king) and Venus (Peace) at sunrise. God can set stuff up. Doesn’t take anything away from Jesus to have him born in the spring, but shepherd would not be standing in the snows of Judea in December, which was Christianity converting the Roman pagan midwinter festival to unify. Shepherd do stand over flocks in the late spring
Exo 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
However, I thought this was very interesting.
St. Thomas goes on to cite a few other teachings from the Fathers and then includes his own opinion:
These are not teachings...these are all opinions.
It was astrological.
Supernatural...the star stayed fixed during the night for about 2 years and never moved despite the normal progression of the stars during the night and with the seasons. That is what got the wisemen interested who knew the progressions of the heavens per their knowledge of astronomy and astrology. At some point it must have peaked their interest the same way perhaps Moses(who saw many burning bushes in that hot desert clime) took a second look at a burning bush and realized it was not being consumed.
The wisemen at some point realized that they were observing a most stupendous sky event...a fixed unmoving point of light that stayed in place throughout the night and never moved with the seasons or moved as the known “wanderer” planets moved. It was in place for at least 2 years because that was the age Herod used when issuing the edict to kill the infants 2 years or under. (The Magi had told Herod and the chief priests “at what time the star first appeared” and the chief priests told the magi and Herod about the prophecies of the birth place of Messiah0.
Now I think the star itself may not have been a superbright star like all the artists depict or else there would have been other mentions of it in history. But smart folk like these magi who knew the stars and where they would be at various times of the year would have noted it.
An interesting line occurs in the story that when the Magi went out of Jerusalem to find the “king”, that they “rejoiced” to see the star as it “went before them” and appeared in place directly over “the house where Mary and Jesus lived”. This wasn’t an ordinary star!
Submitted as “My personal opinion only”.
I would note that Genesis 1.14 tells us one of the reasons God created the “light in the expanse of the heavens” was for “signs”.
Who cares? They got there. Another pointless discussion by theologians in an echo chamber.
A 10 second clip that shows the path the star took... starts at 30 seconds into this piece... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL4D1PcgZd4
Angels; head of a pin...