What is the Catholic way to spend the year? […] “filled with the Word and the love of God,” he said, adding: “a year full of Masses, good Communions, good Confessions… everything that nourishes our communion with God.”
Newsroom (12/29/2025 4:54 PM, Gaudium Press) Many people begin the new year with a variety of rituals and superstitions. Among them, jumping seven waves at the beach, wearing white clothes, eating grapes or lentils to attract good luck, or even consulting astrologers, palm readers, or casting cowrie shells. These practices, although common in many parts of the world, are not merely harmless traditions. In an interview with ACI Digital in 2021, Fr. Duarte Lara, exorcist of the diocese of Lamego (Portugal), warned that superstitious practices of this kind constitute a “sin against the virtue of religion.”
He described the sin of superstition as a form of “spiritual adultery,” since it consists in seeking salvation or protection in forces that do not come from God. “The evil lies in expecting salvation from a force that does not come from God,” he explained, adding that “the devil takes advantage of this opening.”
The priest emphasized that there are authentically Catholic ways to celebrate the turn of the year. The Church grants a plenary indulgence to the faithful who, on the last day of the year, pray the hymn Te Deum in thanksgiving. “This is something very good that we can do at the turn of the year: to end the year thanking God,” he suggested.
In Fr. Lara’s view, contemporary culture tends to dismiss the seriousness of superstition, treating it as something light or even amusing, a simple attempt to “bring good luck.” However, from a theological point of view, it is a vice that directly opposes the moral virtue of religion, which consists in “a disposition of our will to give God the worship that is due to Him.”
Fr. Lara identified two principal vices opposed to this virtue: irreligion and superstition. Irreligion manifests itself in contempt for or lack of reverence toward the sacred, that is, “not treating sacred things, sacred places, sacred objects, holy days, or the Bible with due veneration.” Superstition, on the other hand, “is to divinize creatures or something created—sources of knowledge, etc.—that are not God. It has to do with rendering to something that is not God the worship that is due to God. That is sin.”
According to the exorcist, superstition is divided into three main categories: idolatry, divination, and magic.
Idolatry takes place “when I divinize something that is not God. Nowadays, there is a growing tendency toward idolatry of human things—work, health, success, money. Sometimes people make these things their god.”
Divination consists in “divinizing a source of knowledge that does not come from God.” Instead of asking God, turning to prayer, or reading the Bible, the person seeks enlightenment from alternative sources, such as horoscopes, palm reading, spirit invocation, or astrology. That is, the person seeks to “be enlightened by a light that does not come from God.”
The priest explained that, when people resorts to divination, they expect that “that person—no matter who—by some inspiration, can foresee the future. This implies placing my trust in that source of enlightenment, which is something impossible, even for the devil. He does not know the future. The devil can foresee some things, yes, just as we can foresee whether it will rain tomorrow. The devil can do this a little better, that is, he can combine present causes and see their natural dynamics and thus bring probable scenarios. The devil can also foresee things that he himself is able to cause. That is, he looks at the palm of the hand and says, ‘You will have a health problem next Thursday,’ and sometimes he himself manages to cause that health problem. In that case, he is not a great diviner either; it is a kind of trick,” he said.
As for magic, it consists in appealing to created forces to obtain certain results, whether for good or for evil. “I am resorting to a force that is not God and asking for help, basically, for good or for evil—and in the latter case it is clearly more sinful. Black magic, in addition to being a sin against the virtue of religion, is also contrary to charity and justice.”
When asked what leads people to adhere to such superstitious practices, Fr. Duarte Lara pointed to different motivations: some believe in the effectiveness of the rituals due to past experiences they associate with “luck”—these are the “convinced”; others treat it as a joke, thinking “it doesn’t hurt to try,” it might bring luck; there are also those who look at the rite, the act, and see it as quite harmless… “it doesn’t hurt anything. What do I lose? I lose nothing; better to risk it.”
According to Fr. Lara, “this is already sinful; it is imprudence. It means that one does not have clearly in one’s heart ‘to give to God what is God’s.’” In addition, “there is the issue of scandal, because by my behavior I am encouraging others.” The priest emphasized that some people “are even against it,” but perform a certain year-end superstition “because they are with friends and do not want to be the only ones not doing it.” “Here the virtue of fortitude comes into play; it is also an act of cowardice,” he stated.
He compared superstition to a “virus”: whoever adheres to a custom such as jumping waves or eating grapes tends to gradually open themselves to other practices, such as reading horoscopes throughout the year. This reveals, according to him, a weakened faith, poorly nourished by the Word of God, creating openings that the evil one can exploit.
The priest warned that “when I stop placing my hope of salvation in God and place it in another supernatural force, this is dangerous, and the devil takes advantage of this opening.”
As an example, he cited the case of a young woman who claimed to be Catholic but not very practicing, who, after her father’s death, resorted to fortune-tellers to know whether he was well. “This type of curiosity opens the door. It was a phase in her life in which she became increasingly involved with the occult, first with something that seemed good. She became involved, and later exorcism was necessary,” he recounted.
At the turn of the year, people usually wish for health, peace, love, and prosperity, the presence of family and friends. “This manifests what we carry in our hearts; the idea we have of happiness.” “These are legitimate goods,” the priest acknowledged, “but not the most important.” Jesus taught that what is essential is communion with God, living in His grace, and being God’s friend.
“So what is the Catholic way to spend the year? Dear brother, a year filled with the Word and the love of God,” he said, adding, “a year full of Masses, good Communions, good Confessions… everything that nourishes our communion with God.”
Compiled by Gustavo Kralj with files from Natalia Zimbrão and Acidigital
Related Images:
