There’s Just Something Wrong With That

Our house has been on the market for the past 23 days. We’ve only had one looker and the house down the street (same size similar condition) was listed today for $20,000 less than ours. It’s hard not to begin worrying just a bit.

Three different people have offered us their St Joseph statues to bury in our yards. They all tell me that if I bury him upside down facing the house and then pray

“Oh, St. Joseph, guardian of household needs, we know you don’t like to be upside down in the ground, but the sooner escrow closes, the sooner we will dig you up and put you in a place of honor in our new home. Please bring us an acceptable offer (or any offer!) and help sustain our faith in the real estate market.”

our house will sell.

I have a problem with this.

First of all this isn’t religion, it’s voodoo. It just has the feel of casting some sort of spell instead of trusting in God. Asking the real St Joseph for prayers – I have no problem with. I’ve been asking for his help for a while now. Threatening a piece of plastic and putting our faith in it? There’s just something about that that seems a bit off.

They tell me, “It’s not what you think. You’re making a bigger thing of it that it really is. It’s just a dumb thing that people do.” (This really is what they’ve all told me.)

They’re either threatening a piece of plastic which is stupid, or they’re threatening a saint. (They’re threatening and blackmailing the step-father of Christ!) That’s about as dumb as it gets as far as I’m concerned. Added to this is the fact that they aren’t asking for his prayers to strengthen their faith in God, but in the real estate market.

Y’all, this is just all kinds of wrong.

You can tell me all you like about how burying this dumb statue sold your house, but threatening a saint to get more money so that you can have more faith in the things of this world? How does that sound like a good idea?

The only people who can profit from this nonsense are the people selling the stupid kits.

Want some real help? How about asking God for guidance? How about asking St Joseph for prayers for the sale of your house? Because the thing is….. St Joseph doesn’t have the power to sell our house. He just knows who to talk to about that.

**Just so you know, the Church isn’t in favor of this kind of superstitious nonsense.

When asked about this practice, Archbishop Daniel E. Sheehan said that while the Church encourages devotion to saints, it does mind “superstitions and sales gimmicks. ‘If it’s a pious practice, of just a way of some devotion to Joseph, then it’s fine,’ said Omaha Archbishop Daniel E. Sheehan.

‘(But) if it’s the kind of thing that is superstitious, that is, there’s some kind of infallible result, then I think the church would frown on it. Because we don’t look upon any kind of intercession with the saints or any kind of prayers as having those kind of infallible results.’ ”

Bottom line: saints can help you with prayers for stuff. They can’t get you the actual stuff.