Christmas Magic?

We are in the very earliest days of the Advent season, and I am hearing the notion of Christmas magic being espoused almost daily. Christmas and Holiday “magic” is an idea that seems to play on our emotions to elicit the feeling and sentiment of a supernatural spirit and force that lifts up the holiday into a Divine and Glorious celebration. The problem is that magic has nothing to do with the Divine and is in direct opposition to our Christian and Catholic Faith and beliefs, and is a practice that is very real and forbidden and condemned by the Church.

I know, it may seem that I am blowing a simple term and idea out of proportion, but upon further reflection, am I really? Yes, the idea of magic seems innocuous and harmless, but again, is it really? The Devil is very crafty and as I seem to hear this idea of magic creep more and more into the mainstream of what Christmas is about, I find it alarming, that we as Christians so easily and readily buy into it.

Blatantly evil concepts and ideas do not become popular and prevalent overnight. They are slowly introduced into the mainstream in small doses until the populace becomes inoculated against them, and as that happens they become at first tolerated, and then accepted and even encouraged. We see this in so many of the sinful lifestyles that have plagued the last century and continue to spiral out of the realm of the unacceptable and into the commonplace and almost expected. Some examples would be the use of artificial contraception, which at the beginning of the 20^th century was deemed evil and sinful by all Christian denominations. Only the Catholic Church stands firm on the sinful nature of the practice now, while most other Christian denominations encourage and endorse it. We have seen the decline in the definition of morality as defined within the scope of sexual relations as well throughout the 20^th century. Acts and behavior that were once always considered wrong and sinful very slowly have become the acceptable way of living, and even legalized by entire nations. This was not an overnight occurrence, it seeped slowly into the cultures, and then slowly eroded the minds and hearts of the people until cohabitation became the norm, along with pre-marital sex, the hook up culture, and homosexual activity and relationships. So, when we start to see ideas of magic and divinization become featured on popular television shows and classical fictional novels, it is time to take note. Such ideas and practices are not so harmless, not so innocuous.

The very idea of Christmas magic rejects our Christian foundations and dogmas. Magic comes from the evil one and is at odds with the practice of the Catholic Faith and life. Involvement in magic is a grave sin, and leads us away from Christ and the Graces he longs to bestow on us. Grace and Evil do not co-exist, so to entertain the notion of magic by even placating the idea of it, even lightly in fun and allegory is the beginning of the slide down a very slippery slope and must be avoided and deterred.

The great exorcist Father Armoth warns us against the temptation to treat these concepts of magic and divinization lightly, he saw first-hand and fought head on the destruction wrought by these practices and the doors that even the slightest curiosity and interest could open up. He warned us about books such as Harry Potter and films that honor horror and the demonic. Even Father Mike Schmitz warns us against the practices performed by popular television personality Theresa Cupito, the Long Island Medium, during one of his Ascension present YouTube videos.

Satan is using the same tricks he leveled at Eve, he subverts our wills and our trust from God, and slowly manipulates them to his own dirty agenda of hate, malice and death. Be on guard, our weapon is the Divine Mercy message: “Jesus, I trust in you.” To trust in God means everything if we are to have a relationship with him now and into eternity. Don’t let Satan steal that trust and substitute it with the promise and enticement of magic.

We’ve lost our roots and have become lulled into the shiny and attractive notions that these evil practices provide. The idea of Christmas magic is appealing and attractive, it is bright and shiny and hints at wonder and awesomeness, but what kind of wonder will it lead to? We must look for the divinely miraculous and comfort in the Grace and Glory of God our Father, of Christ our Lord. That is where these glories reside. What is more astonishing than creation itself, as a stage to the most phenomenal spectacle of all, the birth and coming of an incarnate God-Man, the Messiah. To disregard this aspect of the divine and entertain ideas of magic is to open a door to evil and darkness, even though it seems to be clouded in light. It denies Truth.  Our Heavenly Father requires us to seek him for our spiritual needs, Christ has told us that our Father is the giver of all good things, and good things can never come from the demonic, which is the source of magic.

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But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, “

So, as we continue to celebrate the hope that transcends this glorious season of Advent, let us remove the word and idea of magic from our vocabulary and minds. We have much more amazing people, events and miracles to celebrate, honor and finally to worship. We have a virgin maiden full of Grace, a faithful carpenter, prophetic dreams, beautiful angels, a miraculous conception, amazing births, gentiles seeking Truth form foreign lands, and a fully divine yet fully human little baby who breaks forth from Heaven to come and live, grow, work, teach, and ultimately die for our salvation. Why in the world would we ever entertain or consider the idea of “ Christmas magic’ when we have the true miracle as a friend, brother and lover! We must not let Satan lead us astray, magic is the furthest thing from what we celebrate during these seasons. Don’t even think of magic, it’s wasted effort and won’t fill us with the glory and Joy of the Lord, only Grace can do that, the Grace found in an event devoid of any kind of magic but filled with the Presence of the Master and Creator of the Entire universe, which is infinitely way better!

“Catholic theology defines magic as the art of performing actions beyond the power of man with the aid of powers other than the Divine, and condemns it and any attempt at it as a grievous sin against the virtue of religion, because all magical performances, if undertaken seriously, are based on the expectation of interference by demons or lost souls. Even if undertaken out of curiosity the performance of a magical ceremony is sinful as it either proves a lack of faith or is a vain superstition. The Catholic Church admits in principle the possibility of interference in the course of nature by spirits other than God, whether good or evil, but never without God's permission. As to the frequency of such interference especially by malignant agencies at the request of man, she observes the utmost reserve.” Taken from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11197b.htm , the New Advent Website.