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Objection 1: It would seem that Christ's birth should not have
been manifested by means of the angels. For angels are spiritual
substances, according to Ps. 103:4: "Who maketh His angels,
spirits." But Christ's birth was in the flesh, and not in His
spiritual substance. Therefore it should not have been manifested by
means of angels.
Objection 2: Further, the righteous are more akin to the angels
than to any other, according to Ps. 33:8: "The angel of the
Lord shall encamp round about them that fear Him, and shall deliver
them." But Christ's birth was not announced to the righteous,
viz. Simeon and Anna, through the angels. Therefore neither should
it have been announced to the shepherds by means of the angels.
Objection 3: Further, it seems that neither ought it to have been
announced to the Magi by means of the star. For this seems to favor
the error of those who think that man's birth is influenced by the
stars. But occasions of sin should be taken away from man. Therefore
it was not fitting that Christ's birth should be announced by a star.
Objection 4: Further, a sign should be certain, in order that
something be made known thereby. But a star does not seem to be a
certain sign of Christ's birth. Therefore Christ's birth was not
suitably announced by a star.
On the contrary, It is written (Dt. 32:4): "The works of
God are perfect." But this manifestation is the work of God.
Therefore it was accomplished by means of suitable signs.
I answer that, As knowledge is imparted through a syllogism from
something which we know better, so knowledge given by signs must be
conveyed through things which are familiar to those to whom the
knowledge is imparted. Now, it is clear that the righteous have,
through the spirit of prophecy, a certain familiarity with the interior
instinct of the Holy Ghost, and are wont to be taught thereby,
without the guidance of sensible signs. Whereas others, occupied with
material things, are led through the domain of the senses to that of
the intellect. The Jews, however, were accustomed to receive
Divine answers through the angels; through whom they also received the
Law, according to Acts 7:53: "You . . . have received the
Law by the disposition of angels." And the Gentiles, especially
astrologers, were wont to observe the course of the stars. And
therefore Christ's birth was made known to the righteous, viz.
Simeon and Anna, by the interior instinct of the Holy Ghost,
according to Lk. 2:26: "He had received an answer from the
Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ
of the Lord." But to the shepherds and Magi, as being occupied
with material things, Christ's birth was made known by means of
visible apparitions. And since this birth was not only earthly, but
also, in a way, heavenly, to both (shepherds and Magi) it is
revealed through heavenly signs: for, as Augustine says in a sermon
on the Epiphany (cciv): "The angels inhabit, and the stars
adorn, the heavens: by both, therefore, do the 'heavens show forth
the glory of God.'" Moreover, it was not without reason that
Christ's birth was made known, by means of angels, to the
shepherds, who, being Jews, were accustomed to frequent apparitions
of the angels: whereas it was revealed by means of a star to the
Magi, who were wont to consider the heavenly bodies. Because, as
Chrysostom says (Hom. vi in Matth.): "Our Lord deigned to
call them through things to which they were accustomed." There is
also another reason. For, as Gregory says (Hom. x in Evang.):
"To the Jews, as rational beings, it was fitting that a rational
animal [FP, Question 51, Article 1, ad 2]," viz. an
angel, "should preach. Whereas the Gentiles, who were unable to
come to the knowledge of God through the reason, were led to God,
not by words, but by signs. And as our Lord, when He was able to
speak, was announced by heralds who spoke, so before He could speak
He was manifested by speechless elements." Again, there is yet
another reason. For, as Augustine [Pope Leo] says in a sermon on
the Epiphany: "To Abraham was promised an innumerable progeny,
begotten, not of carnal propagation, but of the fruitfulness of
faith. For this reason it is compared to the multitude of stars; that
a heavenly progeny might be hoped for." Wherefore the Gentiles,
"who are thus designated by the stars, are by the rising of a new star
stimulated" to seek Christ, through whom they are made the seed of
Abraham.
Reply to Objection 1: That which of itself is hidden needs to be
manifested, but not that which in itself is manifest. Now, the flesh
of Him who was born was manifest, whereas the Godhead was hidden.
And therefore it was fitting that this birth should be made known by
angels, who are the ministers of God. Wherefore also a certain
"brightness" (Lk. 2:9) accompanied the angelic apparition, to
indicate that He who was just born was the "Brightness of" the
Father's "glory."
Reply to Objection 2: The righteous did not need the visible
apparition of the angel; on account of their perfection the interior
instinct of the Holy Ghost was enough for them.
Reply to Objection 3: The star which manifested Christ's birth
removed all occasion of error. For, as Augustine says (Contra
Faust. ii): "No astrologer has ever so far connected the stars
with man's fate at the time of his birth as to assert that one of the
stars, at the birth of any man, left its orbit and made its way to him
who was just born": as happened in the case of the star which made
known the birth of Christ. Consequently this does not corroborate the
error of those who "think there is a connection between man's birth
and the course of the stars, for they do not hold that the course of
the stars can be changed at a man's birth."
In the same sense Chrysostom says (Hom. vi in Matth.): "It is
not an astronomer's business to know from the stars those who are
born, but to tell the future from the hour of a man's birth: whereas
the Magi did not know the time of the birth, so as to conclude
therefrom some knowledge of the future; rather was it the other way
about."
Reply to Objection 4: Chrysostom relates (Hom. ii in Matth.)
that, according to some apocryphal books, a certain tribe in the far
east near the ocean was in the possession of a document written by
Seth, referring to this star and to the presents to be offered: which
tribe watched attentively for the rising of this star, twelve men being
appointed to take observations, who at stated times repaired to the
summit of a mountain with faithful assiduity: whence they subsequently
perceived the star containing the figure of a small child, and above it
the form of a cross.
Or we may say, as may be read in the book De Qq. Vet. et Nov.
Test., qu. lxiii, that "these Magi followed the tradition of
Balaam," who said, "'A star shall rise out of Jacob.'
Wherefore observing this star to be a stranger to the system of this
world, they gathered that it was the one foretold by Balaam to
indicate the King of the Jews."
Or again, it may be said with Augustine, in a sermon on the
Epiphany (ccclxxiv), that "the Magi had received a revelation
through the angels" that the star was a sign of the birth of Christ:
and he thinks it probable that these were "good angels; since in
adoring Christ they were seeking for salvation."
Or with Pope Leo, in a sermon on the Epiphany (xxxiv), that
"besides the outward form which aroused the attention of their
corporeal eyes, a more brilliant ray enlightened their minds with the
light of faith."
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