[JudyKayTee]

I was raised RC and I've never heard this before.

Neighbor is attempting to sell her house; it's been on the market for months and months. She's Baptist, was visiting a friend in a RC nursing home. One of the Nuns told my neighbor to bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down, outside, until her prayer that her house is sold is "granted." Then she is to dig the statue up and place it in a "prominent place" in her new home for a year. I don't know what's supposed to happen after that.

So she went out and bought a statue and I saw her burying it.

I've never heard of anything like this before. I volunteer at the same nursing home on occasion (usually holidays) so I called and asked, and, yes, that's what the Nun told her to do.

Is this familiar to anyone? I just don't understand it.

[tickle]

It sounds like a little sympathetic magic mixed in with catholicism. No never heard anything like that before. Whatever works and makes someone feel better is my mantra.

[progunr]

I just googled it, it appears to be a rather commonly believed practice.

There are loads of hits, and even links to sites named St Joseph Real Estate...

Here is a link to only one of them,

St Joseph Statue - A Smooth Home Sale

Just when I believe I know everything, I have again been brought back to reality by you!

Very interesting post!

[jillianleab]

I've heard of this before. I don't remember where... but I know I've heard it. If I remember correctly it's supposed to keep your new home "safe" or something like that. I don't get it either.

[tyshiloh]

My wife heard of this practice a few years ago when we were in the process of selling our home. It was on the market almost 2 years, I was dead set against this since I was raised RC and felt that by doing this it would be an insult to St Joseph. Well, she did it with out my knowledge, the house sold within a few weeks. Ater we had moved to our new home she returned to our former residence dug up St. Joseph and placed it in our den. We have sold and moved numerous times since then and have used the same St Joseph on every occasion, I would say that I am a believer even though I still don't feel comfortable about the practice. As with any religious item or article we are firm believers in treating the statue with honor and respect.

[De Maria]

I was raised RC and I've never heard this before.

Neighbor is attempting to sell her house; it's been on the market for months and months. She's Baptist, was visiting a friend in a RC nursing home. One of the Nuns told my neighbor to bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down, outside, until her prayer that her house is sold is "granted." Then she is to dig the statue up and place it in a "prominent place" in her new home for a year. I don't know what's supposed to happen after that.

So she went out and bought a statue and I saw her burying it.

I've never heard of anything like this before. I volunteer at the same nursing home on occasion (usually holidays) so I called and asked, and, yes, that's what the Nun told her to do.

Is this familiar to anyone? I just don't understand it.

I've heard of it before. As far as I know, the Church has not spoken on the matter. But I'm fairly certain that the Church will not discourage anything that fosters prayer.

As for Catholic devotions, the Church leaves that up to the individual conscience. This is from Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 5:18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 19 Quench not the Spirit. 20Despise not prophesyings. 21Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

1676 Pastoral discernment is needed to sustain and support popular piety and, if necessary, to purify and correct the religious sense which underlies these devotions so that the faithful may advance in knowledge of the mystery of Christ.182 Their exercise is subject to the care and judgment of the bishops and to the general norms of the Church.

At its core the piety of the people is a storehouse of values that offers answers of Christian wisdom to the great questions of life. The Catholic wisdom of the people is capable of fashioning a vital synthesis. . . . It creatively combines the divine and the human, Christ and Mary, spirit and body, communion and institution, person and community, faith and homeland, intelligence and emotion. This wisdom is a Christian humanism that radically affirms the dignity of every person as a child of God, establishes a basic fraternity, teaches people to encounter nature and understand work, provides reasons for joy and humor even in the midst of a very hard life. For the people this wisdom is also a principle of discernment and an evangelical instinct through which they spontaneously sense when the Gospel is served in the Church and when it is emptied of its content and stifled by other interests.181

Oh, and my personal experience is that you don't need to bury a statue for St. Joseph to answer your prayers for finding a home. My wife and I did a Novena prayer to St. Joseph when we were looking to get out of our little apartment. The last day, as soon as we finished the prayer, I got a call from an almost perfect stranger. A real estate agent who went to Church in our Parish. She said, "Hi, I've noticed your family in our parish and a friend of mine has just asked me to sell her home to a good Catholic family. You came to mind, so I looked up your picture in the Parish phone book."

Here's the novena prayer that we prayed:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/PRAYER/NOVJOE.TXT

Sincerely,

De Maria

[JudyKayTee]

I've heard of it before. As far as I know, the Church has not spoken on the matter. But I'm fairly certain that the Church will not discourage anything that fosters prayer.

I have no problem with prayers, novenas, whatever works.

I DO have a problem believing that burying a statue sells a house. Seems to me just this side of worshipping idols but, again, I never heard of it before.

I grew up explaining the whole "praying to statues" idea to non-Catholic friends. Now I'm getting asked about his - !

[JoeT777]

I was raised RC and I've never heard this before.

And you shouldn't be hearing of it now.

Neighbor is attempting to sell her house; it's been on the market for months and months. She's Baptist, was visiting a friend in a RC nursing home. One of the Nuns told my neighbor to bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down, outside, until her prayer that her house is sold is "granted." Then she is to dig the statue up and place it in a "prominent place" in her new home for a year. I don't know what's supposed to happen after that.

So she went out and bought a statue and I saw her burying it.

I've never heard of anything like this before. I volunteer at the same nursing home on occasion (usually holidays) so I called and asked, and, yes, that's what the Nun told her to do.

Is this familiar to anyone? I just don't understand it.

To believe that an object such as a statue of St. Joseph has some intrinsic power is simple superstition. Depending on how firm the belief is held, it could be a form of animism, shamanism, demonology, or paganism; all of which are viewed as error in the Catholic Church. This belief is similar to the tenets of naturism where nature is believed to have some animated powers to act or react to man's actions on earth. We hear this in the news frequently, e.g. “Forget logic or consideration for our children or for Mother Earth... ” this raises an inanimate object, the earth, to the demigod status likened to gaia. Furthermore, holding such beliefs in the power of a statue can be a form of fetishism; whereby an inanimate object has some magic power to affect the actions of humans. Many primitive people do this. Therefore, burying a statue of St. Joseph in the yard has as much “power” as taking the latest book of Tim LaHays' “Left Behind Series” and burying it in the backyard. Or perhaps you might want to try burying a small statue of your salesmen – at least it might give him pause to think about what might happen if he doesn't sell the house (in my book this would be much more effective).

On the other hand, if the statue is used to center prayer to St. Joseph then it is just that, an object on which to focus for the purpose of clearing the mind and removing, as it were, interruptions to pious prayers. Depending on the circumstances the object might be referred to as a sacramental. The purpose of the sacramental is to increase piety or holiness.

If however, the statue is revered as a god, then this is idolatry; the statue has no powers in and of itself.


JoeT

[Fr_Chuck]

This is a old practice, not part of the church teachings, but you will find an entire mail order market of the statue that is sold to catholic and protestant alike who buys into the fable.

And it is so silly we all know it is really throwing salt out the back door for three days that really makes the difference

[JudyKayTee]

This is a old practice, not part of the church teachings, but you will find an entire mail order market of the statue that is sold to catholic and protestant alike who buys into the fable.

And it is so silly we all know it is really throwing salt out the back door for three days that really makes the difference

Well, that and burying the statute of the real estate agent, another good idea.

Good one -

[Fr_Chuck]

I would have preferred to bury my real estate agent and the banker handling the mortgage.

[arcura]

JudyKayTee,
Yes I've heard of it both with burying the statue and not by just praying daily to St. Joseph. I have also heard from reliable sources that it is the prayer that does the good
Work.
Personally I think the statue part is a goof way to sell St. Joseph statues.
Peace and kindness,
Fred