POPE/ Those wise men (Magi) infected by the “restlessness of God”

In these clear winter nights, two stars are shining brightly in the sky: one in the West after the sun sets; and the other higher in the sky, not far from the Zenith. They are Venus and Jupiter, two of the five planets visible to the naked eye. It sometimes, but rarely, happens that the two planets seem aligned to form a light like that of a single, very bright star to our eyes. Even more rarely, about once a millennium, three planets may be joined. This is what happened with Jupiter, Saturn and Mars exactly 2019 years ago, and this is probably the astronomical phenomenon that the gospels refer to in the story of the journey of the Magi from the East to Bethlehem (among other things, the slight discrepancy in the date coincides with an error, of exactly 7 years, introduced in the sixth century by Dionysius "the Younger"). The hypothesis of the comet, made popular by the Nativity of Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, and that of the Supernova are less credible. In both of these cases there is a lack of sufficient historical and astronomical evidence.

The Holy Father referred to these conjectures in his homily for the feast of the Epiphany, even describing them accurately: "There has been much discussion over what kind of star it was that the wise men were following. Some suggest a planetary constellation, or a supernova, that is to say one of those stars that is initially quite weak, in which an inner explosion releases a brilliant light for a certain time, or a comet, etc. This debate we may leave to the experts...".

The "star" that accompanied the birth of Jesus, whatever its physical nature, marks the participation of the entire universe in that event, which seemed small, but was decisive for the history of humanity and of the whole of reality. But the universality (catholicity) of the Christian event is primarily in its being the response to the heart of every man, whatever his history and tradition, "Great and small, kings and slaves, men of all cultures and all peoples are coming". The Pope identifies so much with the figures of the Magi, this small group of scientists (tradition says there were three, but the gospel does not specify the number, just referencing “some wise men"), most likely astronomers, who joined together with another group, that of the simple shepherds who inhabited the land around Bethlehem, in paying homage to the little Jesus.

These wise men that came from afar had something that it is difficult to find in the intellectuals of our time: "They were men with restless hearts" said the Pope. This expression is surprising and wonderful, so well capturing the true nature of the human heart, which "not satisfied with the superficial and the ordinary”, is looking and waiting for a good that is greater than any partial answer: "the heart that is ultimately satisfied with nothing less than God, and in this way becomes a loving heart". This is a restlessness that, therefore, must be defended because it is the most precious expression of the human person: "Our heart is restless for God and remains so, even if every effort is made today, by means of most effective anaesthetizing methods, to deliver people from this unrest".