Ask the new priest at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Yorkville what the difference is between magic and miracles and he’ll quickly respond.
The first “can be explained, although you might not understand it,” says the Rev. Jerome Kish. “But miracles can’t be explained.”
He would know.
For 28 years Kish has been a beloved priest with the Joliet Diocese. But he’s been a magician even longer, going back to his childhood in Beecher, where this son of an engineer/small farmer performed his first card trick in fifth grade and later would earn extra money in high school performing magic at birthday parties.
His higher calling hit while attaining his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering and computer science from the University of Illinois and University of Illinois Chicago, says the 61-year-old pastor. And as he gradually made that life-changing decision to enter the priesthood, Kish figured his talents as a magician could help him deliver the word of God in ways unique to a man of the cloth.
He’s been enlightening – and entertaining – ever since.
Kish won’t use magic during sermons. After all, “the Liturgy is the Liturgy,” he insists. Still, Father Jerome, as he prefers to be called, likes to use illusions “as a teaching moment rather than a preaching moment,” which includes using magic to help kids – and adults, of course – better understand the Bible.
To get an idea how he does that, you can check out a YouTube video where Kish highlights critical events in Scripture with a simple deck of playing cards. He also has an impressive trick for couples going through pre-marriage counseling. As he explains it: Their signatures on two random cards somehow “wind up next to each other, then they hold those cards together and when they take their hands away, it’s just one card with their signature together.”
Kish, who used magic “as an appetizer” for a mission he held at his previous Glen Ellyn parish, even tried out for “America’s Got Talent” years ago in Louisville, Kentucky, hoping the exposure would help raise money for St. Mary Nativity School when he served in Joliet. Unfortunately, the conjuring cleric didn’t get chosen to appear on television, Kish recalls, noting his game was a little off after getting “flustered” because the marker he was using for the card trick had dried out.
“But the school is still in operation,” the priest says with a chuckle, “in spite of my efforts.”
While Kish does not take himself too seriously – “I am the greatest magician in my shoes,” he tells me – he certainly appreciates how this art form can bring “joy and wonder to the people” he’s helped shepherd, including parishioners from St. Joseph in Downers Grove, Sts. Peter and Paul in Naperville, St. Matthew in Glendale Heights, St. Mary Nativity and Holy Cross in Joliet and St. Petronille in Glen Ellyn.
With only hours on the job in Yorkville when we met on Holy Wednesday, Kish still has a lot to learn about the parish he took over from the Rev. Matthew Lamoureux, who was reassigned as assistant chaplain for English-speaking visitors to St. James Church in the village of Medjugorje, where millions of faithful are drawn by reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
Kish has not visited this holy site in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which the late Pope Francis approved for pilgrimages last year. But he’s journeyed to Lourdes and Our Lady of Guadalupe, both of which the Vatican has officially recognized as supernatural Marian apparitions.
“Those are miracles. Not magic,” said the pastor, who has another talent up his sleeve that makes him uniquely qualified to comment on weighty questions of faith.
“Before I was a priest I was a scientist,” says Kish, who attends the yearly conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists and understands how faith and reason are companions.
“The two do exist together. Science helps you see how it is done. Faith helps you see who did it. The more you understand the universe, the more you glorify God.”
Which brings us to what Kish described as “the most important event in human history.”
“No magic can come close to explaining the Resurrection,” he insists. “But it will help us imagine … “
With that, the priest pulls out a green handkerchief – representing the Lord – and a small coin purse with a tight clasp, which stands for the upper room where Jesus met for the Last Supper with his apostles.
As he goes through the Passion of Christ, Kish wads the colored piece of cloth tightly into his left fist, a representation of the tomb and how securely it was closed and guarded.
I knew what was coming — from both priest and magician.
Still, when he opened his hand to display nothing but air, my mouth dropped open and I was taken aback again when he pulled the hanky from that coin purse to show how the risen Savior reappeared to his frightened apostles after his death.
“How did you do it?” I blurted, convinced that because I’d been only inches away and watching every movement closely I’d catch the sleight of hand.
“Very well, thank you,” Kish replied, then added with a humble smile, “That’s an old standard magician reply.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
