How to Use a St. Joseph Statue to Sell Your Home
Many people, realtors and non-realtors alike, swear that the best way to sell property is to bury a St. Joseph statue on the grounds. But how does it work?
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
-
-
1
St. Joseph was the husband of the Virgin Mary and the stepfather of Jesus. Because he provided them with a home he is considered the patron saint of the family and of home life, among other things.
-
2
Over time some people began to associate St. Joseph with the sale of real estate and they buried statues of him in hopes to secure his patronage and sell their property. The origins of this practice are murky. Some say it began in the Middle Ages with monks who wanted to buy land and so buried their St. Joseph medals, while others say a nineteenth century American priest came up with the procedure. Whatever its origins, it has transcended mere religious boundaries and been adopted by non-Catholics.
-
3
There is no one way to properly use a St. Joseph statue. Most people believe that if you want to sell your property, bury the statute upside down. If you want to buy a property, bury the statue right side up, though that does involve the slight complication of digging a hole on property you don't own.
-
4
Some say bury the statue in the front yard to sell the property and in the back yard to buy it, which again involves trespassing.
-
5
Some people leave the statue in the ground after the sale, while others dig it up, wash it off and put it in a place of honor in the house.
-
6
Some suggest burying the statue in a horizontal position, pointed towards the house, while others advocate burying it a certain depth in the ground or distance from the house.
-
7
At its best, this practice is a harmless religious devotion, but at worst it is an ignorant superstition, whereby buyers and sellers try to con and manipulate a saint to assisting them. If this custom works at all it is because of the sincerity of the prayers that accompany the practice, not the adherence to silly and borderline blasphemous rituals.
-
1
Related Searches
Comments
-
St Joseph please help Jeff sell his house!
-
jamesbankston
Nov 10, 2008
Well, I used to work in a Catholic gift, book, and religious articles store and the St. Joseph's statue was by far our best-selling item. We'd often have non-Catholics and realtors rush in and grab and arm-load and it was clear from what they told us that they were motivated by greed and superstition, rather than any religious faith. Any religious practice can be misused if the motivation is incorrect.
