The identity of the magi has been a source of discussion among scholars since the early Church, but we may assume that they were men considered wise, who paid attention to what we would today call astronomy. They followed a natural interest in celestial phenomena and, in the providence of God, were led to be among the first to adore Jesus Christ.

An important truth for us to hold firmly in our minds as we ponder the adoration of the magi is that science does not replace our faith or contradict it. On the contrary, science, the study of the natural universe, leads us to God, and ultimately to the incarnate wisdom through whom all things were created, Our Lord Jesus Christ. The more that we find out about the universe, the more we are led to pay homage to the awe-inspiring wisdom which it reveals to us in its makeup.

God’s wisdom in creation is one and the same wisdom which He reveals to us through the prophets, and finally in Jesus Christ. That same wisdom is found in the teaching of Christ and the Church which we believe by faith.