What Catholics Should Know About Superstitions

Thu Nov 21 2024

Did you know that superstitions are a sin? In this video, Fr. Mike dives into the topic of Friday the 13th and other common superstitions, shedding light on how they can reveal something about our hearts. Often rooted in fear, superstitions are a sin against the First Commandment, showing our desire to control or predict the future. Fr. Mike also discusses how Catholics can sometimes fall into superstition through their approach to saints, prayers, and sacramentals—such as treating the scapular like a good luck charm. He emphasizes that our trust should be placed in God and his goodness above all else.

Summary

Podcast Summary: What Catholics Should Know About Superstitions

Podcast Information:

Title: The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
Host/Author: Ascension
Description: Faith, pop culture, and headline reflections from Fr. Mike Schmitz.
Episode: What Catholics Should Know About Superstitions
Release Date: November 21, 2024

Introduction In the episode titled "What Catholics Should Know About Superstitions," Father Mike Schmitz delves into the intricate relationship between Catholic teachings and common superstitious beliefs. He addresses how superstitions can infiltrate the lives of believers and emphasizes the importance of maintaining a genuine relationship with God, free from attempts to manipulate divine will through rituals or charms.

Understanding Superstition Father Mike begins the discussion by differentiating between being merely suspicious and being superstitious. He humorously references the song "Don't Be Suspicious" from Parks and Recreation before clarifying his focus on superstition.

“Don’t be suspicious, Don’t be suspicious from Parks and Rec. That song is stuck in my head permanently. Don’t be suspicious. Don’t be suspicious. But I’m not even saying suspicious. I’m saying superstitious. That’s the word of the day.” (00:00)

He defines superstition as the reliance on omens or rituals to influence outcomes, contrasting it with rational actions that have demonstrable effects, such as setting an alarm to wake up early.

"Have you ever noticed that superstitions are rarely demonstrable? Right. There’s no connection between the socks I’m wearing and the success of the game we’re playing." (04:30)

Superstition as a Sin Father Mike emphasizes that superstition is not just a harmless habit but a sin according to Catholic teachings. He connects this to the First Commandment, which focuses on worshiping God alone.

“Superstition is a sin. Why? Because it’s a sin against the first commandment. The first commandment is all about God alone.” (03:20)

He explains that turning to superstitious practices is a way of seeking solutions outside of God's provision, reflecting a lack of trust and a desire for control fueled by fear and anxiety.

Impact on Catholics The discussion transitions to how Catholics themselves can inadvertently fall into superstitious behaviors, even within their devotional practices. Father Mike cautions against using religious rituals as means of manipulation rather than expressions of faith.

“Catholics can also be just as guilty of superstition, even in the practice of their faith.” (05:45)

He cites examples such as praying novenas for specific outcomes (e.g., finding a spouse) and wearing scapulars as good luck charms instead of as symbols of devotion and trust in God.

“Am I turning to St. Jude because I trust the Lord and I’m asking for St. Jude’s intercession or is it like, oh, this is kind of my good luck charm.” (07:10)

Misuse of Catholic Devotions Father Mike differentiates between proper devotional practices and their misuse as superstitions. He highlights the importance of intention behind actions like wearing a scapular or performing a novena.

“If I’m praying a novena is because, okay, I trust that our Lord or our lady has revealed that this kind of prayer is a prayer that is an expression of deep and profound trust in God’s action.” (08:25)

He warns against reducing sacred practices to mere rituals aimed at manipulating outcomes, asserting that such actions distort the true purpose of these devotions.

Friday the 13th: A Catholic Perspective Father Mike explores the cultural stigma surrounding Friday the 13th, examining its origins and challenging its negative connotations from a Catholic viewpoint.

“Friday being considered unlucky, like a bad day because it’s the day that Jesus died. But let’s pause on that for a second. We call it, as Catholics, Good Friday, not Unlucky Friday.” (10:15)

He reframes Friday the 13th by focusing on the significance of Good Friday, the day of Jesus' crucifixion, highlighting it as both a day of immense suffering and profound love.

“The good news is the worst thing that ever happened in the world that happened on a Friday was the greatest single act of love that any of us could ever hope for, dream of or imagine.” (11:05)

Father Mike encourages listeners to view Fridays, including the 13th, as blessed days marked by the mercy and love of God, rather than days of superstition and fear.

Conclusion: Relationship Over Manipulation Wrapping up the episode, Father Mike reiterates the core message: fostering a genuine relationship with God should take precedence over superstitious practices aimed at controlling outcomes.

“Relationship, not manipulationship. Realize I’m not in control. God is in control. And these little piddly things, superstitions, they don’t help anybody. In fact, they’re sins, so don’t do them.” (12:00)

He urges Catholics to trust in God's plan and move away from superstitions that stem from fear and the desire for certainty, reinforcing the importance of faith and trust in divine providence.

Key Takeaways:

Superstition Defined: Reliance on omens or rituals without rational basis.
Superstition as a Sin: Contravenes the First Commandment by seeking solutions outside of God.
Catholic Practices vs. Superstition: Importance of intention in devotional acts; misuse can lead to superstition.
Friday the 13th Reimagined: Understanding it in the context of Good Friday as a day of mercy and love.
Faith Over Control: Encouraging a trusting relationship with God instead of attempting to manipulate outcomes through superstitious means.

Notable Quotes:

“Superstition is looking to something or someone other than God for some kind of solution, for some kind of help.” (03:50)
“Praying this novena is an expression of my trust. Not a desire to control, not a desire to have certainty when there is no certainty.” (08:45)
“God wants us to have a relationship, not a manipulationship.” (11:30)

Final Thoughts Father Mike Schmitz provides a thoughtful exploration of how superstitions can subtly influence the lives of Catholics, urging listeners to maintain their faith and trust in God rather than succumbing to unfounded fears and attempts to control outcomes through rituals. By distinguishing between genuine devotional practices and superstitious behaviors, he offers valuable insights into fostering a sincere and unmanipulated relationship with the divine.

Transcript

A (0:00)

Don't be Suspicious, Don't Be Suspicious from Parks and Rec. That song is stuck in my head permanently. Don't be suspicious. Don't be suspicious. But I'm not even saying suspicious. I'm saying superstitious. That's the word of the day. I'm not superstitious. I am. I am a littlestitious. Michael Scott. Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and this is Ascension Presents. So I don't know if you know this, but I looked, looking at my calendar relatively recently, and I discovered that there are at least three times in 2024 and 2025. There might be more. I'm not sure when we have a Friday the 13th. We had it in September. It's coming up in December. And in 2025 it's. I think it's in June. I didn't look at any further than that. I got bored and I got distracted. And people a little afraid of that because they're superstitious. And I'm not superstitious. I'm a littlestitious. Sorry. I have to say it as much as I can. All of us can be influenced to one degree or another by superstition. I mean, whether that's something as simple as I always put my left sock on before my right sock, or I always. That's the only one I can think of. Or you hear about, you know, sports people who, like, they have to wear their same jersey or they have to wear the same going back to socks, the same smelly socks. I don't wash them all season or whatever. The thing is, actually, the church forbids superstition. It's actually a sin. Before we go any further, if you're aware of this and you don't want to be superstitious and you realize it doesn't matter if I put my right sock on before my left. You're fine. Don't get too preoccupied. But it is. Superstition is a sin. Why? Because it's a sin against the first commandment. The first commandment is all about God alone. You know the Great Shema prayer, right? The prayer of hear, O Israel. The Lord our God is Lord alone. He's the only one. Superstition is looking to something or someone other than God for some kind of solution, for some kind of help. Now, at the same time, we help each other, obviously, and doing certain things actually have a consequence. For example, if I want to wake up at five in the morning, I'll set my alarm clock. So it's not like, okay, guardian angel, wake me up at 5:00. You don't have to do that. You can also look to something else, like your alarm clock to wake you up, because there is a clear and demonstrable connection. Have you ever noticed that superstitions are rarely demonstrable? Right. There's no connection between the socks I'm wearing and the success of the game we're playing. Right. But in the heart of the person who has, who's given into superstition is typically fear. It's almost always connected to some kind of anxiety. It's almost always connected to some kind of control. In fact, that's one of the reasons why the catechism says things like tarot cards or fortune telling, things like necromancy or desire to speak to the dead, things like Ouija boards or things like horoscopes. Crystals is a big deal these days. And so people turn to crystals and say they have some kind of power or astrology and think like, what sign a person is born under. Again, those are sins against the first commandment. And they reveal something about our heart. They reveal that I have a desire to control because I'm afraid. I have a desire to know because the future is uncertain, this situation or this relationship is uncertain, and I desire certainty. We want the guarantee. And we think that if I turn to some of these superstitions, then I'll have the guarantee. I'll have a degree of control. And again, once again, that is prohibited. Right? That is, it's a sin now. At the same time, it's a sin that can sneak into our lives as Catholics just as easily as it can sneak into the lives of people who read the horoscope for direction. Now, pause, caveat on that one. Sometimes people read their horoscopes because they're like, this is hilarious. This is so funny. That's different than someone who's reading their horoscope for direction. Let's go back to our show. Catholics can also be just as guilty of. Of superstition, even in the practice of their faith. What do I mean? I mean that there are things that we do as Catholics that are devotions. Things like, I don't know, pray a novena in order to know your vocation, or pray a novena to find your spouse or something along those lines. Things like, sometimes people turn to saints in a way that seems a little bit more superstitious than trusting in their intercession or even a great gift. A great devotion is a scapular. Now, some people could wear a scapular, not out of A sense of love and trust in our ladies intercession. But they can wear a scapular because they feel like it is their good luck charm. Right. It's the thing that they're trusting in rather than the who they're trusting in. Again, novena's amazing. Praise God for the gift of any kind of novena. The saints. So good. A scapular so good. But let's look at what we're looking to. If I'm praying a novena is because, okay, I trust that our Lord or our lady has revealed that this kind of prayer is a prayer that is an expression of deep and profound trust in God's action. I don't think I'm manipulating God in this. I don't think I'm coercing God in this. I'm not tricking God or forcing him to do anything. And this is an expression of my trust. Praying this novena for 9 days or 54 days or whatever it is. Same thing when it comes to the Saints. Now here's St. Jude, patron saint of hopeless causes. Amazing, incredible saint. So good. Now am I turning to St. Jude because I trust the Lord and I'm asking for St. Jude's intercession or is it like, oh, this is kind of my good luck charm. So maybe you've heard this one before. Sometimes people want to sell their home so they have a statue of St. Joseph that bury upside down on their land. Basically saying, joseph, if you want to get right side back up, sell this house. That seems really obviously a violation of the first commandment. That seems really obviously an attempt to manipulate God. It also seems wrong. If it seems wrong to you, you're right, it is absolutely wrong. Same thing when it comes to scapular. When wearing the scapular, here's Our Lady's gift of saying, no, I actually extend the rights and the spiritual benefits of the Order of Mount Carmel. But it's not a good luck charm. I'm trusting not in this piece of fabric around my neck. I'm not trusting in the novena. I'm not trusting in the number. I'm not trusting in the idea of St. Jude or St. Joseph. I'm trusting in the one who's trustworthy. I'm trusting in God. That's all those devotions are meant to be. They're meant to be expressions of trust in him. Not a desire to control, not a desire to have certainty when there is no certainty. Not a desire to manipulate. It comes back to this notion of what is our vision of God almost All of our prayers come back to that question. What is the vision of God? That we have someone who loves us and lets us walk in uncertainty, Someone who we can trust even when we don't know what's going on. Someone who deeply and profoundly has claimed us even when we don't know the future and we're out of control. God wants us to have a relationship, not a manipulationship. Do you like that? I think sometimes we can treat our relationship with God like a manipulationship where if I do certain things, then God will do certain things. And that is not the case. So whether it's. I think that if I have this lucky rabbit's foot or have this horseshoe or don't walk under a stair or avoid the 13th floor, then I will somehow get out of bad luck, or if I pray this novena, then the novena is going to save me. Or wear this scapular. The wearing of this fabric is going to save me. That's completely false. And we actually need to get rid of all traces of that. And once again, you're going to be tempted to say, I'm going to keep this pattern going. That's completely fine. It's whatever it is, it's what it is. But at the same time, remind yourself, like, this doesn't actually mean anything. Left sock before the right sock doesn't mean anything, doesn't do anything. It's just kind of the way you put your socks on. Now, last little thing, Friday the 13th. Why is the Friday the 13th like even a day associated with bad luck or evil things? There's a lot of theories about this. One is that Judas was the 13th guest at the Last Supper. Another is that the number 12 is the number of completeness, you know, kind of wholeness. And so one more added on to 12 is not only a baker's dozen, but, you know, is maybe unlucky or wrong. I don't know. Friday is. Because Friday's the day our Lord gave himself up for us. And that's the key here. I don't know. The actual. I mean, I looked for the actual origins. People have theories about it, but no one seems to say that this is the definitive origin of Friday the 13th. Why we consider that unlucky. But here's the interesting thing. Friday being considered unlucky, like a bad day because it's the day that Jesus died. But let's pause on that for a second. We call it, as Catholics, Good Friday, not Unlucky Friday. Yes. The worst thing in the world that ever happened happened on Friday. That's the bad news. But the good news is the worst thing that ever happened in the world that happened on a Friday was the greatest single act of love that any of us could ever hope for, dream of or imagine. That's good news. So my thought is Fridays are blessed. Friday at 3pm is what we call the hour of mercy. At that hour, Jesus gave himself up to the Father fully and restored our relationship to the Father, made it possible for us to have a relationship with the Father, made it possible for our sins to be forgiven, for us to be reborn and renewed and claimed by the Father. That hour of mercy on a Friday, even on Friday the 13th, is something not to be feared, but something to praise God for anyways. Relationship, not manipulationship. Realize I'm not in control. God is in control. And these little piddly things, superstitions, they don't help anybody. In fact, they're sins, so don't do them. We're always here to set your presents. My name is Father Mike. God bless. Don't be superstitious. Don't be superstitious. Don't be superstitious. Don't be superstitious.