Superstition

Superstition is a sin against the First Commandment. It is a deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It attributes a magical importance to certain practices, objects, or even legitimate prayers, rather than relying on the interior disposition of faith and trust in God (CCC 2111).

Emptying Faith

To attribute the efficacy of prayers or sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions they demand, is to fall into superstition. True religion relies entirely on God's grace and will; superstition attempts to manipulate the divine (CCC 2111).