Physicist: 'Star of Bethlehem' may have been planetary alignment - Part 2

 Parish Bulletin | Year of Saint Joseph | Dec 26-27 2020: Holy Family | 75th Anniversary Year

Physicist: 'Star of Bethlehem' may have been planetary alignment (Part Two)

The celestial event that led the Magi to Jesus was an extremely rare and symbol-packed happening.

It also intrigues Mathews that it was Zoroastrian priests who would have been the protagonists in the story.

“Today we would call them astrologers, but they had a somewhat different belief system than that of modern astrology,” he said in the interview. “This was a very ancient religion that had their own belief in a ‘trinity’ and a coming messiah. Zoroaster literally means ‘Shining light.’ They had a belief that the stars, planets, Sun and Moon were tokens of the divine. Frankincense to them was a symbol of ‘eternal light’ used in their ceremonies.”

No wonder, then, that that was one of the three gifts they brought Jesus.

“The most surprising thing to me about this story is that God would have timed His arrival to coincide with the belief system of a group of non-Hebrew astrologers,” Mathews said. “Indeed, astrology was forbidden in the Jewish belief system. This explains why no one in Herod’s court was aware of ‘His star in the East’ of which the Magi spoke. What was God intending to say?”

Mathews believes that the answer might be two-fold. “One is that this is symbolic of the gift of redemption to all peoples brought by the Christ child,” he said.

“The second is something of a personal message to humankind. As one who studies the heavens myself, 

I can somewhat empathize with the Magi in that even in modern science, as was the case of those ancient astronomers, we explore the heavens in search of evidence of creation and the creator. And then, as today, God is a rewarder of those that seek him with all of their heart. I believe that the Magi sought with all of their resources and being for evidence of the creator of all things in the heavens. And that God chose to reward that.”

John Burger,Aleteia, - published on 12/15/20

4 Ways to imitate St. Joseph on a daily basis

The most important part of devotion to St. Joseph is imitating his example.

While prayers and devotions are important to honor St. Joseph, what is more important is to imitate the life and example of the foster-father of Jesus.

In the 19th-century book Devotion to Saint Joseph, the author explains this concept plainly.

The most excellent devotion towards our holy patrons consists in imitating their virtues. Endeavor each day to practice some of those virtues which shone in St Joseph; for example, conformity to the holy will of God.

The book also details a helpful practice that can remind you to imitate St. Joseph.

Father Louis Lalemant, having chosen St Joseph for model of the interior life, practiced each day in his honor the following exercises: two in the morning and two in the evening.

1 Listen to the Holy Spirit

The first was to raise his mind toward the heart of St. Joseph and consider how docile he had been to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. Then examining his own heart, he humbled himself for his times of resistance, and animated himself to follow more faithfully the inspirations of grace.

2 Unity of Prayer and Work

The second was to consider with what perfection St. Joseph united the interior life to the occupations of his state in life. Then reflecting on his own life, he examined if there were some defects to correct. Father Lalemant attained by this holy practice to a great union with God and he knew how to preserve it in the midst of occupations which seemed the most distracting.

3 Devotion to the Virgin Mary

The third was to unite himself spiritually to St. Joseph as spouse of the Mother of God; and considering the admirable lights which the saint had on the virginity and maternity of Mary, he encouraged himself to love this holy patriarch for the love of his holy spouse.

4 Adore the Christ Child

The fourth was to represent to himself the profound adoration and the paternal services which St. Joseph had rendered to the Child Jesus: he asked to be permitted to join with him in adoring, loving, and serving this Divine Infant with the tenderest affection and the profoundest veneration.

Philip Kosloski, Aleteia, - published on 12/14/20

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Physicist: 'Star of Bethlehem' may have been planetary alignment - Part 1

 Year of Saint Joseph | The Nativity of the Lord 2020| December 24-25 | 75th Anniversary Year

Physicist: 'Star of Bethlehem' may have been planetary alignment (Part One)

The celestial event that led the Magi to Jesus was an extremely rare and symbol-packed happening

The conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter on December 21 is being billed as a “Christmas Star.” Because the two massive planets will appear to be just .1 degree apart, they will look to Earthlings like one big bright star, suggestive of the Star of Bethlehem that heralded Jesus’ birth.

But if Grant Mathews’ theory is correct, it pales in comparison to what happened in the sky 2,020-odd years ago, lead-ing “wise men from the East” to seek out the newborn king.

Mathews, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology and Director of the Center for Astrophysics at the University of Notre Dame, normally pursues research in the fields of the origin and evolution of matter in the universe.

But as an avocation, he has been pondering just what it was that was so significant in the skies around 6 B.C. that would be immortalized in the Gospel.

Mathews says that the Magi were Zoroastrian priests from Babylon, and that they understood that the constellation Aries referred to the land of Judea.

“There is evidence from the writings of the famous astronomer Claudius Ptolemy and also from the minting of Roman coins at the time that Aries was the constellation thought to be associated with the region of Judea,” he says. “This was particularly significant as Aries was also the constellation containing the Vernal Equinox at that time and an event that occurred in Aries would there-fore imply the redemption and new life associated with the coming of spring.”

So a major planetary alignment in that particular part of the sky — where Aries was — would catch their attention.

“Interestingly, they had their own belief in a coming messiah, but their beliefs reflected a sense of determinism, which in their view was connected with the motions of the Sun, Moon, and planets in the sky,” Mathews said in a lecture he gave a few years ago at Notre Dame. “In their belief system, each constellation of the Zodiac was assigned to a different geographic region of influence. The location of the Sun, Moon, or planets in a constellation spoke of the character of a person born on that day. Especially if they were born in the geographic location associated with that constellation.”

Jupiter in retrograde

But what was the planetary alignment?

In a 2016 interview, Mathews noted that Michael Molnar put forward the hypothesis in the book The Star of Bethlehem that the Sun, Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn appeared in Aries, “with Venus in the next-door constellation Pisces along with Mercury and Mars on the other side in the next constellation Taurus.”

What’s also significant is that Jupiter was in retrograde, meaning that from Earth’s perspective, the planet was following a course contrary to the other planets, but that it then reversed course, after appearing to stop.

The Gospel of Matthew notes, “The star came to rest in the place where the child was.” Mathews explains that it was “coming to rest” in Aries — the constellation associated with Judea, where the Christ Child was.

“In this case the star coming to rest would have been the planet Jupiter (the symbol of a ruler) that literally stopped its retrograde motion and ‘came to rest’ in the sky during its motion among the stars. The other planets and the Sun and Moon being there would have strengthened this and held great significance to the Magi. That is why they would have arrived in Herod’s court to ask, “where is the newborn ruler of Judea?”

In the belief system of the Magi, this was a very unusual and special event. At that time Aries was the location of the “Vernal Equinox.” The Sun located there was a symbol of spring and redemption. The occurrence of the Moon and Jupiter there at the same time were the symbol of a special destiny of the new ruler. Saturn was the symbol of life. The other “attending” planets were hold-ing this up as something special.

Mathews calculated that such an alignment would not occur again for more than 16,000 years, and even then would not be in the constellation of the Vernal equinox.

“I ran a calculation forward for 500,000 years and did not identify an alignment like this in the Vernal Equinox,” he said. “It was a truly unique event.”

John Burger,Aleteia, - published on 12/15/20

Merry Christmas

 Parish Bulletin | Year of Saint Joseph | Dec 19-20 2020: 4th Sunday of Advent | 75th Anniversary Year

5 Ways to better love each other as a family 

A guide for how you can grow a little bit closer every day.

The family is the most beautiful school of love, but sometimes, in the whirlwind of daily life, it can be difficult to love one another. Here are a few tips to cultivate that love no matter what.

1 Love is patient

St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 13:4 is a great line to meditate on during weekday afternoons, just when the baby starts to cry, the older brother refuses to do his homework, and

the little ones have transformed the bathtub into a swimming pool. In a situation like this, what mother hasn’t felt like she wants to escape to a desert island for a while?

of daily patience that permeates the little things. So before we enter the bathroom or approach the uncooperative student, send a little SOS up to Heaven:

Lord, grant me your patience!

This prayer lasts one second and changes everything.

2 Love is helpful

The family is the primary school of service. If we encourage our children to serve — starting by setting an example — it is not only because it makes family life more enjoyable and easy, but because through the many favors we receive from one another we discover that “serving” is not about doing as many good deeds as possible, but about being helpful.

If love demanded only that we serve, we could feel affection for each other after a certain number of favors. However, it is through all those services, however humble, that we are asked to give of ourselves. And we will never get to the end of that giving.

3 Love doesn't get angry

In family life, there are so many opportunities to get angry at each other! Don’t be surprised, that’s normal. Let’s not pretend that we never feel angry: feeling angry is neither inherently good nor bad. “Like all feelings, we don’t have the option to feel it or not. It’s just there,” says psychiatrist Dominique Megglé, who writes in her book Being Happy in the Family: “I’ve seen extraordinary, silent, murderous hatreds in families where it was forbidden to feel angry.”

It’s all about what we do with our anger: if we let it explode in any way, if we allow it to dictate our behavior, then it becomes toxic. Growing up in love means learning to manage our anger, not to let ourselves be carried away by the energy it mobilizes within us.

4 Love holds no grudges

It is sometimes difficult to discern what we have to forgive, especially when it is a matter of tiny, seemingly insignificant offenses. We tend not to address them, if only out of pride: it is very humiliating to recognize that we have been offended by something so trivial! But accumulated petty matters are more likely to stifle love than serious faults. When it comes to love, nothing is insignificant, and if we do not take care every day to forgive each other as a family, even the smallest things, we will cut ourselves off from each other, imperceptibly but surely.

5 Love finds its joy in truth

It is commonly said that “love is blind.” Amorous passion, perhaps, but not love. On the contrary, love sees the other in their truth, which is not necessarily revealed through appear-ance. To love the other is to remain attentive to what he or she is deep down and to find our joy in it. We know that routine is the worst enemy of wonder. When we see our spouse and children every day, we risk only looking at the surface of their being: those little quirks that annoy us, those personality traits that we well, those words and attitudes that no longer hold any surprise for us.

But this is not how God looks at them: He sees the depth of their being, the beauty that He has put in them. It is He who teaches us to look at our brothers and sisters in truth, with wonder and gratitude. Let us take the time to look at our spouse, our children, in the light of God. Let us take time to give thanks for all the wonders He has placed in them.

Christine PonsardEdifa - published on 12/15/20

Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary.

 Parish Bulletin | Year of Saint Joseph | Dec 12-13 2020: 3rd Sunday of Advent | 75th Anniversary Year

“Every day, for over forty years, following Lauds I have recited a prayer to Saint Joseph taken from a nineteenth-century French prayer book of the Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary.

It expresses devotion and trust, and even poses a certain challenge to Saint Joseph:

“Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph, whose power makes the impossible possible, come to my aid in these times of anguish and difficulty. Take under your protection the serious and troubling situations that I commend to you, that they may have a happy outcome. My beloved father, all my trust is in you. Let it not be said that I invoked you in vain, and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary, show me that your goodness is as great as your power. Amen.”

- Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, 8/12/’20.