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Can I Keep Open the Bible for Protection?

Question:

Is it superstitious to keep your Bible open to Psalm 91 for protection?

Answer:

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 2111).

Habitually reading a section of Scripture can be very helpful for spiritual growth and reflection. However, it does not automatically (or magically) protect us from anything if we are not spiritually right. It is our relationship to God through Scripture, the sacraments, our fellowship, etc., that provides spiritual growth and insight. When we are spiritually growing and deepening our relationship with God, that means that Jesus is walking beside us through whatever comes our way. But simply keeping the Bible open to a certain page is of no real value.

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