Are good luck charms sinful

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2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.
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The reason being that trusting in the charm instead of in God’s providence is in essence a violation of the first and greatest commandment.
 
I think it would fall under supersitition, which is forbidden by the Church.
 
If you seriously believed that the charm really was “lucky” than yes.
But I have a dream catcher hanging in my room because I think they look cool and it’s something different, I’m 99% sure that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I guess it depends on the reason why you have it
 
SeanF1989 said:
I don’t have any charms of any sort but is it against Catholic (or Christianity in general) teaching?

Something like this en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billiken
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Interestingly enough, the Wikipedia article you referenced mentions that “the Billiken is the official mascot of Saint Louis University and St. Louis University High, both *Jesuit *institutions”.

Not trying to inject controversy here - just thought it ironic …
 
TeenageConvert said:
…] I have a dream catcher hanging in my room because I think they look cool and it’s something different, I’m 99% sure that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that…]
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I also own a dream catcher I know that dream catchers hold no power, but I love the cultures of the world and the dream catcher (though it is only one part of their rich tradition) is a beautiful representation of one of the oldest cultures of the country, and a symbol of their desire for peace of mind; something we all deeply desire!

Only God gives us blessings according to His Divine Will.

Good luck charms can be dangerous though…if you’re surrounded by people that indeed do put “power” into the “luck” of that charm, then as the Pentateuch (the Torah) very clearly shows us (God’s people were influenced by the worship of the false gods surrounding them in the area, not because they were particularly weak, or because they hadn’t seen any good reason to believe in GOD, but because human nature is such that it is easily influenced by their peers – remember Adam accepting the fruit from Eve) you must flee from these mini false gods; don’t be too prideful thinking that *you’re “above” superstition.

Even saints’ statues can become superstitious good luck charms, such as the burying of a St. Joseph statue in the front (or is it the back?) of your house to help sell it. (It’s better to pray a novena to St. Joseph.)

*N.B.: I refer to the “general you”, not the users posting here necessarily 🙂

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
 
Enjoy life, what I mean is sometimes we take ourselves to seriously. When I think of a charm I think of innocent fun expression or superstitions. My Catholic high school as an example had several lucky charms for athletic events.

🙂
 
KenChute said:
Enjoy life, what I mean is sometimes we take ourselves to seriously. When I think of a charm I think of innocent fun expression or superstitions. My Catholic high school as an example had several lucky charms for athletic events.

🙂
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There is no innocent fun when it comes to superstitions.

CCC 2110 The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion. Superstition in some sense represents a perverse excess of religion; irreligion is the vice contrary by defect to the virtue of religion.

CCC 2111 Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition.

CCC 2138 Superstition is a departure from the worship that we give to the true God. It is manifested in idolatry, as well as in various forms of divination and magic.
 
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