A parish in Las Piñas warned parishioners about a certain paper claiming to be a novena which has texts indicating a superstitious belief.
The Immaculate Conception Parish in Gatchalian Subdivision raised awareness about papers spotted in the place of worship which had the label, “Novena to Saint Jude.”
The paper contained the text of the novena, along with an instruction telling the individual to “make 81 copies” and “leave nine copies in Church each consecutive day.”
“YOU WILL RECEIVE YOUR INTENTION before the nine days are over no matter how impossible it may appear,” it said.
The parish cautioned massgoers of the certain paper, saying such a kind of novena is not approved by the parish’s Mother Church.
“Ito po ay sa kadahilanang may kahalo itong pamahiin o superstition. Kung papansinin po sa likod ng ‘Novena,’ may nakasaad na, ‘Make (81) Copies.’ Ito po ay indikasyon na may halong pamahiin ang nasabing ‘panalangin.’ Sa katunayan, delikado po ito sa ating kaluluwa,” it said.
The parish said superstitions are a violation of the First Commandment, according to the Christian Catholic faith.
It also cited Paragraph 2110 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), which notes that superstition is forbidden by the first commandment, stating “You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me.”
“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,” the CCC stated.
“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,” it added.
The parish likewise cited exorcists, or priests authorized to perform exorcism, that belief in superstition becomes an opening for demonic influence or attachment.
“Kaya po pag may nakita po kayong ganito sa loob ng ating simbahan, maaari pong pakikuha at pakisunog po,” it said.
“Hindi po masama ang mag novena; hinihikayat pa po ito ng ating Simbahan. Pero kung hahaluan po ito ng mga paniniwala at bagay na labag sa ating pananamapalataya, ito po ay nagiging masama,” the parish added.
Why it could’ve been real
In the comments, someone said the novena is legitimate, “but without the make 81 copies note.”
“Yes, the prayer itself is valid. But this particular item has already been mixed with superstition. So for caution, it is best to not use it. The prayers are available online so one can just look it up,” the parish responded.
“Any chain mail is not acceptable in our church,” another Facebook user commented.
Someone also asked who had distributed the papers, to which the parish said they had no idea, adding that the papers were only left in their pews.
Another user also said they would recite the prayers, but did not follow the “make 81 copies” instruction.
“Did I commit sacrilege, is my prayer still valid?” the user wrote.
The parish answered that the “prayers are valid,” but “putting instructions to make copies and leave it for others and the intention shall be answered, that’s superstitious.”
Meanwhile, the novena is dedicated to St. Jude, or Saint Jude Thaddeus, who is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ and the patron of desperate causes, desperate situations, and lost causes.
