Superstition or Folk religion within the CC?

[CreekCrawler]

My question is about what seems to me to be ‘superstitions’, or ‘folk religion’ that is prevalent in Catholicism ( in my mind ).
For example, this pamphlet I picked up at a Catholic gift store on the Jubilee medal of St. Benedict. To quote just a fraction :
“…Buried within a foundation calls down God’s blessing and the power of St. Benedict.”
“It wards off from both the soul and body all dangers arising from the devil”
“The medal is powerful in attaining for sinners the grace needed for conversion.”
“…a means of protection against contagious diseases.”
“…a protection against storms and tempest on land or sea.”
Etc. etc…

I have been protestant all my life and have recently begun RCIA classes, so I am new to the Catholic church. But I have to assume that this CANNOT be the teaching of the CC. Please tell me that I am right in this assumption that this is what happens when superstition is allowed to creep into the church… and if that is the case, what is the Vatican doing to remedy this type of foolishness ?
This, in my opinion is dangerous. What if a non Catholic happens to pick this up… what will he think ? If he is sane he will laugh it off as pointless superstition, and probably go on living his life assuming that this represents what the CC is about, and never convert !

I find it a little disturbing that these types of pamphlets are readily available at Catholic stores and even in the Church greeting areas… but I have yet to see a pamphlet with a simple explanation of salvation. Why is this ?
( EDIT- I have not seen this exact pamphlet in my church, but there are MANY other pamphlets there to greet ppl as they walk in… none of which offer an explanation of salvation etc. )

Thanks…

 

[Julia_Mae]

It’s advertising. The store is not the Church. These things are driven by profit motive and are private industries, not Church-sponsored. Medals don’t have “powers.” I like mine. They comfort me, remind me to pray and trust.

Didn’t they give you a Catechism in RCIA? That’s where Church teaching is. And the questions are very good things to bring up at the next meeting.

 

[fbl9]

My question is about what seems to me to be ‘superstitions’, or ‘folk religion’ that is prevalent in Catholicism ( in my mind ).
For example, this pamphlet I picked up at a Catholic gift store on the Jubilee medal of St. Benedict. To quote just a fraction :
“…Buried within a foundation calls down God’s blessing and the power of St. Benedict.”
“It wards off from both the soul and body all dangers arising from the devil”
“The medal is powerful in attaining for sinners the grace needed for conversion.”
“…a means of protection against contagious diseases.”
“…a protection against storms and tempest on land or sea.”
Etc. etc…

I have been protestant all my life and have recently begun RCIA classes, so I am new to the Catholic church. But I have to assume that this CANNOT be the teaching of the CC. Please tell me that I am right in this assumption that this is what happens when superstition is allowed to creep into the church… and if that is the case, what is the Vatican doing to remedy this type of foolishness ?
This, in my opinion is dangerous. What if a non Catholic happens to pick this up… what will he think ? If he is sane he will laugh it off as pointless superstition, and probably go on living his life assuming that this represents what the CC is about, and never convert !

I find it a little disturbing that these types of pamphlets are readily available at Catholic stores and even in the Church greeting areas… but I have yet to see a pamphlet with a simple explanation of salvation. Why is this ?
( EDIT- I have not seen this exact pamphlet in my church, but there are MANY other pamphlets there to greet ppl as they walk in… none of which offer an explanation of salvation etc. )

Thanks…

I can understand your point but one would decieve themselves if they do not beleive God’s power can flow through such an item.

Gospel according to St.Mark 5:27-30
Jesus’s tunic was a conduit for God’s power. v30 “and feeling power go from within Him…”

 

[CreekCrawler]

Thanks for the reply… that is comforting to know. Yes, I did get the CCC, but haven’t scratched the surface of it yet. I will bring it up in the next meeting, which will be Tuesday, but I was pretty disturbed by it and just wanted to make sure this isnt CC teaching.
Thanks again

 

[CreekCrawler]

I can understand your point but one would decieve themselves if they do not beleive God’s power can flow through such an item.

Gospel according to St.Mark 5:27-30
Jesus’s tunic was a conduit for God’s power. v30 “and feeling power go from within Him…”

Of course God can do whatever he wants.
But to just make up attributes to a medal without warrant… without God declaring it as a fact, through His word or His Church is not only dishonest, but dangerous… on several levels.
imho

EDIT : of course my opinion is that of someone without much education in the CC… I’m learning so I hope this post was not offensive…

 

[bzkoss236]

Here is what the CCC says about superstition:
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.

 

[hannajomar]

I agree, and it is wise of you to notice these things, CreekCrawler. Here’s a few more that stick in my craw:

• Statues of St. Joseph that are packaged with directions for burying it in order to sell your house.
• I’ve seen pamphlets in churches with a novena prayer to St. Jude that is “never known to fail.” If you pray the novena prayer for nine days and leave nine copies of this prayer in a church on each day, you will get whatever you are praying for. These really offend me because I feel that it mocks St. Jude and prayer itself.

These things often begin at a grassroots level, so I imagine it is quite difficult for the Vatican to root them out entirely. Often they might begin as more of an ethnic tradition, but somehow warp into a superstition. Also, in my experience, Catholic stores are owned privately, so the Church doesn’t really have authority to regulate what the sell. The best defense against superstitions that appear religious are for Catholics to be properly educated in our faith so we have the ability to discern.

Best wishes for your RCIA experience!

 

[CreekCrawler]

Perfect bzkoss… thank you

 

[CreekCrawler]

Thank you hannajomar ! It’s a breath of fresh air knowing that this IS simple superstition and not of the Church… and therefore not of God.
Why people would believe these things is beyond me…
Thanks again

 

[hannajomar]

Thank you hannajomar ! It’s a breath of fresh air knowing that this IS simple superstition and not of the Church… and therefore not of God.
Why people would believe these things is beyond me…
Thanks again

I imagine many of these things start out legitimately (a faithful novena to St. Jude), but somehow warp into something else. I suppose that many people accept them because it’s a lot easier than doing the work of praying, etc. For example, I’ve met many people who wear a Rosary as a good luck charm. They never pray the Rosary, but they believe the beads will ward off evil. Wearing it as jewelry takes much less effort than praying a Rosary for 20minutes.

You strike me as a someone who critically thinks about what you do and why. You will see that many people in the Catholic Church don’t like thinking about their faith all that much. You will see how so many miss the richness and much of the beauty in this faith. Don’t stop asking questions!

 

[Battleaxe]

Theres a lousy one our priest mentioned in a sermon a few months ago. Members of an ethnic group which he didnt name wait for a person to die before calling a priest.
The reasoning is that if the priest gives the Last Rights while the person is alive, the priest`s anointing action is a “death sentence”, making it an absolute certainty that the person will die.

There`s a letter supposedly dictated by Our Lord, Himself, and supposedly found in the Holy Sepulchre, promising outrageous graces and physical protection (eg protection from being struck by lightning!!!) for those who believe it and carry a copy of it, and fire and brimstone (hell) for those who reject it!

 

[roveau]

You may be surprised that most Catholics have holy medals of some description. Some wear them on a chain and many have them attached to their rosary beads. The church approves of them as part of a wide range of sacramentals, such as the crucifix, holy water, scapulars, rosary beads, holy medals commemorating saints and so on.

 

[FaustinaJulia]

My understanding of holy medals and such things and prayers such as special chaplets, novenas as well as the rosary of course and the crucifix and cross, holy water, etc etc, are all intended to be a focus and a reminder, sometimes in specific ways or to a specific purpose of God’s power and love for us. To me, they are a matter of ‘the right tool for the job’ in managing to help that focus. God is the one that gives the graces we need (even if they are not always what we think we should receive or intended).

God Bless You.

 

[Rich_C]

Thanks for the reply… that is comforting to know. Yes, I did get the CCC, but haven’t scratched the surface of it yet. I will bring it up in the next meeting, which will be Tuesday, but I was pretty disturbed by it and just wanted to make sure this isnt CC teaching.
Thanks again

I recommend getting a Baltimore Catechism or a U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults. The CCC isn’t the best resource for laity. The language is for theologians. It was made by the Holy See for use by bishops conferences to draw on, in making their own local catechisms. The two I recommended are examples of such local catechisms and will prove a better guide in RCIA.

 

[Stylites]

I recommend getting a Baltimore Catechism or a U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults. The CCC isn’t the best resource for laity. The language is for theologians. It was made by the Holy See for use by bishops conferences to draw on, in making their own local catechisms. The two I recommended are examples of such local catechisms and will prove a better guide in RCIA.

Here’s another great resource: “This is the Faith” by Rev. Canon Francis Ripley, available at tanbooks.com . . .

https://media.benedictpress.com/images/1578/1578_175.jpg

Item No. 1578
ISBN: 9780895556244

Originally published in 1951 (with minor updates in 2002), the book covers the nature of God, the nature of man, the meaning of life, the nature of religion, the sources of Faith, the necessity of prayer, the duty of belief, the consequences of sin, the Commandments of God, the Holy Trinity, belief in Christ, the Redemption, the supremacy of the Pope, the Mystical Body of Christ, the Sacraments, the Mass, the priesthood, devotion to Mary and the Saints, what happens after death, the devotional life of a Catholic. Very interesting and very popular! Impr. 474 pgs, PB.

About The Author

Canon Francis Ripley, also known as Francis Joseph Ripley, was an English priest born in 1912 at Lancashire. He became a Jesuit novitiate in London after graduating from a local Catholic grammar school with honors. After being convinced that his vocation was not with this order, he was ordained in 1939 following his studies at the archdiocesan seminary of Upholland. Father Ripley is the author of Terrible as an Army, The Diary of a Small Town Priest, Souls at Stake (with Frank Duff), Letters to Muriel, and This Is the Faith. He served with the Catholic Missionary Society and Royal Air Force before his death on January 7, 1998.

 

[Stylites]

“Forward this thread to 10 friends in the next hour, and you will witness a miracle. Wilma F. of 301 Cobblestone Way forwarded this thread to 10 friends, and she witnessed the sun rising in the East. Grandpa Munster of 1313 Mockingbird Lane didn’t forward this thread and he slept through the miracle.” These sorts of emails I just delete, even when they are well crafted with uplifting messges and images. Even though the senders aren’t extensively educated in theology, it is touching that they care enough to send them, and that they have a simple faith in miracles.

 

[Bballer32]

You strike me as a someone who critically thinks about what you do and why. You will see that many people in the Catholic Church don’t like thinking about their faith all that much. You will see how so many miss the richness and much of the beauty in this faith. Don’t stop asking questions!

This may be true. There are a lot of Catholics (over half of the 1.6 billion of us) who consider themselves non practicing or even just Catholic for being Catholic. BUT there are a lot of US who take our faith very seriously.

I’ve come to understand the beauty of the Faith (well most of it ). What brought me back was asking questions and studying theology and the Faith.

So, CONTINUE TO ASK QUESTIONS and when you get them answered, study it more and get a deeper understanding of it.

God Bless and Welcome Home!

 

[Cristiano]

My question is about what seems to me to be ‘superstitions’, or ‘folk religion’ that is prevalent in Catholicism ( in my mind ).
For example, this pamphlet I picked up at a Catholic gift store on the Jubilee medal of St. Benedict. To quote just a fraction :
“…Buried within a foundation calls down God’s blessing and the power of St. Benedict.”
“It wards off from both the soul and body all dangers arising from the devil”
“The medal is powerful in attaining for sinners the grace needed for conversion.”
“…a means of protection against contagious diseases.”
“…a protection against storms and tempest on land or sea.”
Etc. etc…

I have been protestant all my life and have recently begun RCIA classes, so I am new to the Catholic church. But I have to assume that this CANNOT be the teaching of the CC. Please tell me that I am right in this assumption that this is what happens when superstition is allowed to creep into the church… and if that is the case, what is the Vatican doing to remedy this type of foolishness ?
This, in my opinion is dangerous. What if a non Catholic happens to pick this up… what will he think ? If he is sane he will laugh it off as pointless superstition, and probably go on living his life assuming that this represents what the CC is about, and never convert !

I find it a little disturbing that these types of pamphlets are readily available at Catholic stores and even in the Church greeting areas… but I have yet to see a pamphlet with a simple explanation of salvation. Why is this ?
( EDIT- I have not seen this exact pamphlet in my church, but there are MANY other pamphlets there to greet ppl as they walk in… none of which offer an explanation of salvation etc. )

Thanks…

I would strongly encourage you to read the following booklet about sacramentals. It is an old publication (1936) but is a good summary for people that want an introduction to understanding them.

Sacramentals

 

[Link0126]

are we in the business of pandering to non-Catholics in our own establishments? I personally would not be concerned with what they think of our traditions and practices.

 

[Cristiano]

are we in the business of pandering to non-Catholics in our own establishments? I personally would not be concerned with what they think of our traditions and practices.

I do not think that it is pandering. I think that we have a moral obligation to go out and share the truth with everybody, being is a Catholic is not like belonging to a members only club.