The heavens declare the glory of God! So says Psalm 19. Even when as a youth I didn’t believe in God, I still had some sense of this fact. In the last years I have tried to spend a bit more time contemplating the heavens and it has been a wonderful gift from God. It was for this reason that I was particularly excited to see the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn as the ‘Christmas Star’ that was to take place last night. I had 6pm Mass at a neighboring parish, but was hopeful that I would still have enough time to get somewhere open enough to see the night skies and this wondrous event that take places every few centuries. I made my way to the river road by LSU and was riding down the road hoping to find a place to pull off so I could climb the levee and see from a good height. I saw a gated driveway that led up the levee and pulled in. Little did I know that the tall grass in the driveway part was hiding a huge mud hole. In I went and there was no getting back out. I tried. Finally admitting defeat, I left my car and ran up the levee in hopes I could see the conjunction for even a few seconds. I looked and looked, but there was nothing there. It had descended below the horizon. I missed it. I began to walk down the levee and prepare to make the phone calls for help when a car pulled up. It was a pleasant young couple who had been out looking at the conjunction themselves and were on their way home. They quickly jumped into action, calling a local tow truck company and the police. The couple, who were clearly trained in this, helped direct traffic and keep the area safe. We talked about the Christmas Star and made small talk while waiting for the police and tow truck. As we waited I beheld on the horizon a blue light - the police officers. They arrived and pulled in behind my vehicle to direct the traffic and ensure everyone’s safety. A few more minutes passed by when, barely visible through the bright blue lights of the police vehicle, another light caught my eye - the tow truck. The tow truck arrived and soon the operator instructed me on what I needed to do: get in the driver’s seat, put it in neutral, and hit the brakes when I was out. I hopped in the car and listened to the clink of the chains being brought out and attached to my car. I looked over my shoulder and couldn’t help but smile. A conjunction was happening. Blue lights and yellow lights right next to each other, flashing brightly in the night. A few seconds later my car was out of the hole and back on the road. I expressed my gratitude to the couple who stopped and helped me, to the tow truck operator who got me out of the mud, and to the police officers, who laughed when I asked if they were going to give me a ticket for being an idiot and driving directly into a huge mud hole (they didn’t, thankfully). A few moments later I was riding down the levee road and my heart was filled with a joy that would not have been there simply by seeing that Star. I had missed the Christmas Star conjunction, but the Lord provided another conjunction for me to see. Indeed, the heavens declare the glory of God. But His children can also show us something of His Love.