Gospel Magic

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Gospel Magic is a specialized form of stage magic.

Gospel Magic is the use of otherwise standard magic tricks and illusions to proclaim the message of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ Who used stories or parables to illustrate divine truths. Gospel Magic presents the Good News of Jesus Christ through "visual parables". Like the story in the parable, the trick or illusion in Gospel Magic is used to present some important Biblical truth in an entertaining way that people will remember and understand.

Gospel Magic does not invoke spirits or paranormal powers.

Contents

[edit] Biblical References

Biblical references to "magic" are, without exception, the manipulation of supposed preternatural powers usually associated with conjuring spirits in order to foretell the future (1 Samuel 28:7,) or dealing with astrology (Isaiah 47:13) Suffice it to say that, inevitably, the kind of "magic" that is referenced in the Bible is not stage magic.

[edit] The Ethics of Deception

Though scripture specifically admonishes against sorcery Exodus 22:18, Deuteronomy 18:10-14, Acts of the Apostles, 8:11, 16:16, 19:19, Leviticus 19:26, 19:31, 20:6, 20:27, 2 Kings 21:6, 1 Chronicles 10:13, 2 Chronicles 33:6, Isaiah 2:6, 3:2-3, 3:20, 8:19, 19:3, 47:9-14, 65:4, Jeremiah 27:9, Ezekiel 13:18, Micah 5:12, Malachi 3:5, Hosea 3:4, Galatians 5:19, Revelation 9:21, 18:23, 21:8, 22:15) and ventriloquism (Isaiah 8:19,) the idea that stage magic is in some way related to what some deluded individuals think is "real magic" (ie, consorting with spirits,) is manifestly illogical. It's obvious to most reasonable and educated people that performance stage magic is a totally different type of "magic" than was envisioned by the authors of the Bible.

Despite these admonitions, the Bible is replete with examples of people who relied upon sorcery including Simon, a sorcerer that wanted to buy the Apostles' "power" from them. Coincidently, the sin of simony is traced back to this Biblical character. (Acts 8:9-24) Saul, despite the very clear warnings, insisted on consulting a witch to conjure up spirits of the dead. (1 Samuel 28:5)

The magicians' art, just like any other, deals in a medium. Some artists work exclusively in oil paints, some in clay, some in words and some in musical notes. The medium of choice for magicians is deception. A major question remains: how does one remain honest and preserve one's Christian integrity in the midst of lies, illusions, half-truths and other verisimilitudes?

It is imperative that the Gospel Magician be selective in the language he or she uses during catechetical sessions/performances. What they perform in the pursuit of teaching catechism are tricks. We produce illusions that give the impression of something supposedly inexplicable. But, clearly, their "magic" is of human origin and in the service of the Divine. Where Christ speaks Truth and produces miracles, the Gospel Magician performs only verisimilitudinous false impressions. It is very important that Gospel Magicians make it clear that "real magic" doesn't exist and that those people who claim to be able to manipulate the natural and supernatural worlds are either seriously confused, lying, mentally ill or very undereducated. In addition, to help avoid any confusion on the part of one's catechism class, we should refer to all of a Gospel Magician's tricks as being a skill and a performing art.

It is the nature of performance magic that Gospel Magicians must deceive their audiences. This is done to assure a sense of mystery required for the tricks presented. This is not meant to take unfair advantage of an audience. In essence, it is a matter of intention. To say the expression, "I want you to freely select any card" when you are actually forcing a volunteer to take a certain card, is not an instance of deception in the sense of wishing to cause harm or emotionally or financially manipulate the person. It is, instead, an intricate part of the art and required for the Gospel Magician to perform the trick at hand. Gospel Magicians "deceive" in order to entertain. Anyone that has witnessed a magic performance understands that stage magicians rely upon guile and illusion to accomplish what they do.

Magic, like all other activities dedicated to Christ, stands the risk of being "misdirected." That is, magicians, just like singers, ushers and acolytes, for example, could forget that the reason they are in service to their community is to build up Christ's Body for His glory and not their own. (Ephesians 4:12) Everything Gospel Magicians do or say should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as we give thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17)

[edit] St. John Don Melchoir Bosco

The first known instance of Gospel Magic is attributed to St. Don Bosco, an Italian priest born in Becchi, Castelnuovo d'Asti, Piedmont, who used magic tricks to cathechize the children to whom he ministered. He is particulalry known for a trick where he turned three short ropes into a single long rope to demonstrate the concept of the Trinity.

St. Don Bosco invented what latter came to be called "Gospel Magic." During the latter half of the 19th century, as Europe's poor were suffering from the effects of industrialization, Don Bosco saw how most of the children in his village remained uneducated and without faith in God.

John become fascinated with the magic performed by stage magicians in many circuses, fairs and carnivals that visited his part of Italy. With the knowledge of magic tricks that he pieced together, he was able to put on little magic shows free of charge for his friends. Being devout, he would take the opportunity to repeat the homily he heard at church on the previous Sunday to his impromptu congregation.[1]

When Don Bosco ("Don" is an Italian honorific equivalent to "Sir" or "Mr.") became a priest in 1841, he dedicated his priesthood to helping poor children in Turino. Taking care of their physical needs of food, clothing and shelter were difficult enough but Don Bosco wanted more. He wanted to make sure that these children grew up to be dedicated and enlightened Christians.[2]

He remembered the magic he would perform for his little friends when he was a child and decided that that was the best way to bring children back to the Church. This was the beginning of Gospel Magic, that is, the altering or tailoring of a magic performance so that it can be used to instruct children or adults on some aspect of Christian theology. Among the magic tricks that Don Bosco used to teach Christian theological principles, he was said to be able to tie three ropes together to form one seamless rope in order to explain the mystery of the Christian Trinity.

As magic is a richly sensory experience, one can see the "spiritual applications" that magic can offer as a pedagogic tool. Typical magic effects used by Gospel Magicians look very much like any other magic trick one has come across but the patter, or story weaved by the magician, is directed to demonstrate such theological principles as God's love and forgiveness, Christ's parables, the Immaculate Conception, the Sacraments, or even free will can be the subject of a Gospel Magic performance.

[edit] St. Nicholas Owen

In addition to St. John Don Bosco, Catholic Christian Gospel Magicians also honor St. Nicholas Owen, a 16th century Jesuit martyr.

Though St. Nicholas Owen did not use stage magic to promulgate Christ's word, he did use his carpentry and cabinetry skills to help those who did. For this reason, St. Nicholas Owen has become an unofficial patron saint of professional stage illusionists.

On March 22, Catholic magicians around the world honor the Jesuit saint known as "Little John;" a man who was small in stature but big of heart and in terms of accomplishments. He was the son of a carpenter, whose family was dedicated to the persecuted Church. Two of his brothers became priests while another brother printed underground Catholic books.[3]

During a time of anti-Catholic persecution in England and Wales (1559–1829), Nicholas, an artisan from Oxford, saved the lives of many priests and Catholic laypersons in the United Kingdom. Fr Henry Garnet, Superior of the English Jesuits, directed St. Nicholas and his companion, St. Edmund Campion, to use his cabinetry and masonry skills to save people's lives.[4] He used the pseudonym John Owen as he worked undercover. Because he was on the short side, he was given the nickname, "Little John."

Without his help, hundreds of English Catholics would have been deprived of the sacraments. His gift for spotting unlikely places to hide priests was impressive. Over the course of approximately twenty-years he used his carpentry and artistic skills to design secret hiding places for priests and keeping them from being detected by raiding parties throughout the country.[5] In 1577, after many years at his life-saving work, he joined the Jesuits as a lay brother but his association was always kept secret considering the times in which he lived. He never had a formal novitiate but did receive instruction nonetheless.

Everyday he worked on regular wood and stone repair jobs that one would normally expect so as not to draw undue attention to his presence. At night he would work dedicate himself to the task at hand. He would create small hiding places, trap doors, sliding doors, hidden crawl spaces and subterranean passages in order to hide priests and other Catholic fugitives from the priest-hunters.[6] He would use trompe l'oeil, perspective and many of the modern principles of stage illusion-design that magicians often take for granted these days. Whenever St. Nicholas would design and build such hiding places, he would always begin with prayer and receive the Holy Eucharist. Because of his incredible building skills, he was even able to help two Jesuit Catholic priests escape from the Tower of London.

After a number of narrow escapes, he was finally caught by the authorities in 1594 and again in 1606. Both times he was tortured to give up information about the identity and whereabouts of priests and prominent Catholics and his incredible construction secrets. Despite being subjected to horrible pain and suffering an agonizing death, he remained silent about both. On October 25, 1970, Pope Paul VI canonized Nicholas Owen as one of a group known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

[edit] Organizations

The principle organizations for Gospel Magicians are the International Fellowship of Christian Magicians and the Catholic Magicians' Guild. The IFCM magazine is The Conjuror. The CMG's electronic magazine is entitled Totus Tuus.

[edit] The Gospel Magician's Oath

As a Gospel Magician, I promise never to reveal the secret of any trick to a non-magician, unless he, in turn, promises to uphold the Gospel Magician's Oath.

I promise never to perform tricks for non-magicians without practicing in order to maintain the illusion of the trick.

I promise to increase both my magic repertoire and my knowledge of Christian theology so that I might be of better service to the Church and to my art.

I promise to be prayerful, to portray an accurate sense of our faith in my magic and to be ever joyful and faith-filled.

I am a catechist and educator and not an entertainer. The goal of my performance is to point to God and to inspire my audience to love and honor Christ. It is only Christ's message that I portray; I must diminish as He grows ever larger.

[citation needed]

[edit] Gospel Magicians

Dennis Regling is a well-known Gospel Magician, preacher and author. He presents Gospel programs and preaches at Vacation Bible Schools, youth events and churches throughout the U.S.

Fr. Silvio Mantelli, sdb, a Salesian Catholic priest who goes by the stage name "Mago Sales," is the world's best known Gospel Magician. He is the Director of Fondazione Mago Sales, an institute that funds magic performances throughout the world especially the Third World. Fr. Mantelli was born and is based in Torino, Italy.

Fr. Daniel Rolland, op, a Dominican Catholic priest of the Western Province, has offered Gospel Magic performances for nearly three decades. He was born in Scottsdale, Arizona and is a student of the famous magus Jeff McBride. URL: http://www.spiritualmagic.org

Sr. Carol Ann Nawracaj, osf, a Bernardine Franciscan Sister. Sr. Carol Ann has been a Bernardine Franciscan nun since 1964 and an educator since 1967. She was a teacher at Villa Maria Education Center, a school for children with learning disabilities, from 1973 through 1982, and its principal since 1982. She often uses magic to illustrate a point or teach a lesson to her LD and ADHD students. Sr. Carol Ann has been a member of the Society of American Magicians for twenty-years and is also a member of Assembly 33 which meets at Villa Maria Education Center monthly. Villa Maria also hosts Society of Young Magicians (SYM) 42’s monthly meetings. Sr. Carol Ann has lectured and performed magic at both assemblies. Entertainment Tonight did a segment about clergy and magic and Sr. Carol Ann was the only nun represented along with several Catholic magician priests.


[edit] Other Gospel Magicians include

Fr. Jerry Jecewiz, "Priesto," Brooklyn Diocesan priest, b. Brooklyn, NY

Fr. Boudewijn Spittaels, sdb, "Bodo," Salesian priest, b. Merksplas, Belgium

Glenn Hister, b. New York

Chris Knabenshue, Co-Chairman of the Catholic Magicians' Guild, b. South Bend, IN. URL: http://www.CatholicMagic.com

Fr. James Blantz, csc, Holy Cross priest, b. Massillon, OH

Fr. Steve Gibson, csc, "The Sermonator," Holy Cross priest, b. Fort Wayne, IN

Fr. James Mueller, sm, Marianist Priest, Campus Minister, Chaminade High School, b. San Antonio, TX

Fr. Jim Miller, Diocesan Priest, Forth Worth Diocese, b. Lincoln Park, Michigan

David Calavitta, Catholic Youth Minister, St. Thomas More Church, Irvine, California, b. Victorville, California

Fr. Michael Court, sdb, Salesian priest, b. Sydney, Australia

Fr. Larry Lorenzoni, sdb, Salesian priest, b. Vincenza, Italy

Angelo Stagnaro, b. Genoa, Italy

Br. Martin de Porres Schmidt, ofm cap, Capuchin friar

Fr. Mark Davis, Diocese of Toledo, Ohio, Diocesan priest, b. Toledo, Ohio

Br. Jim Zettel, sdb, Salesian Brother, b. Hanover, Ontario, Canada

Fr. John R Blaker, Diocese of Oakland, California, Diocesan priest, b. San Francisco

Msgr. Dermot Brennan, Archdiocese of New York, Diocesan priest, b. New York City

Joel Howlett, b. Charlestown, Australia Article

Fr. Vincent Pazhukkakulam, o.carm, "Magicachan," Carmelite priest, b. Alakode, Kerala, India

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02689d.htm
  2. ^ Memoirs of the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales 1815 - 1855: The Autobiography of St. John Bosco, Translated by Daniel Lyons, SDB, with notes and commentary by Eugene Ceria SDB, Lawrence Castelvecchi SDB, and Michael Mendl SDB
  3. ^ Parker, A. (1911). Nicholas Owen. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved June 10, 2008 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11364a.htm
  4. ^ Foley, Records of English Jesuits (London, 1875-82), IV, 245; VII, 561;
  5. ^ More, Hist. Prov. Anglicanae (St. Omers, 1660), 322
  6. ^ Nash, Mansions of England (London, 1906);

[edit] External links