St. Joesph hears the call of prospective home sellers

[snopes]

Bury a saint in your yard to sell a house?

It may sound a little off the wall, but many people swear burying a small plastic statuette of St. Joseph will help you sell your house in even the most stagnant of markets.

http://www.themonroetimes.com/l0720stj.htm

It's upside down, in the back yard, facing the house. Don't they know nothin'?

Note that my parent's realtor even provided a statue for my parents when they sold their house.

[Admiraldinty]

I found one buried in my front yard. I guess it worked. Personally, I find it very superstitious.

[Silas Sparkhammer]

Worse than superstitious: it's idolatry. It reinforces the (formally untrue) belief that "Catholics worship saints." It's a practice of magic, not of prayer. In a way, it's blaspheming the holy spirit, the one unforgivable sin.

Also, it's really stupid.

Silas

[TrishDaDish]

One (former) realtor I knew said that they'd use medalians of St. Joseph to bury in the yard at the request of customers who wanted good luck selling the house, but not a ruined lawn (due to burying a statue). They'd still bury the medalian upside down, just like the statue, though.

[Zorro]

When I asked our realtor if people actually do this, she rolled her eyes abd said, "You'd be amazed at what people will do."

[ElectricBarbarella]

Originally Posted by Silas Sparkhammer

Worse than superstitious: it's idolatry. It reinforces the (formally untrue) belief that "Catholics worship saints." It's a practice of magic, not of prayer. In a way, it's blaspheming the holy spirit, the one unforgivable sin.

Also, it's really stupid.

Silas

Yep--and it's one of the most cited reasons for the "Catholics aren't Christians" arguements I hear...

The last line in that article states that the Real Estate Agent said that she had one customer for whom St. Joseph "wasn't working for" and she says it is because they don't "believe in the power of St. Joseph"..


Uhh, sure...

toni