Posted on 10/10/2006 10:04:26 AM PDT by MrNationalist
Sellers put faith in St. Joseph statues.
Randy Moore jumped on the shovel with both feet, and the blade pierced the earth.
``It's supposed to be buried 8 inches deep and upside down,'' said Carla Herbert, owner of Harvest Home Realty, who has Randy and Beth Moore's $149,900 Cape Cod on the market.
Again, Randy leaped on the garden tool.
``OK, that's deep enough,'' said Herbert, sporting a taupe suit, high heels and a grin.
The statue was placed in the ground.
Using their bare hands, the Moores pushed the dirt back into the hole, Beth's diamond ring catching the light from the afternoon sun.
``Now, we pray,'' Herbert said, telling Beth to ask for divine intervention in selling the three-bedroom home in Stow.
Legend has it that for help selling property, homeowners should bury a statue of St. Joseph, the patron saint of family and household, in their yards.
Many homeowners these days are grumbling about a difficult real estate market. But Bill Askin, president of the Akron Area Board of Realtors, said that lots of area homes are selling. In fact, he said, more real estate could be sold locally this year than ever before.
However, statistics also show that a record number of properties are on the market. By the end of August, there were far more new listings to date than in all of last year. The result is oversupply -- forcing sellers to keep their homes in top shape and allowing buyers to be picky.
The imbalance between supply and demand can mean some homes will sit unsold for months.
That's one of the reasons some real estate agents and homeowners who are having a devil of a time selling their properties are enlisting the help of St. Joseph to deliver them a buyer.
At Grismer's Religious Gifts, co-owner June Grismer has noticed a marked increase in the sale of St. Josephs in the past year or so. Each of the family's three stores sells six to 12 statues a day.
At the downtown Akron store, there are at least 15 types of the statues on display. Among them is the patron saint enclosed in a ``Home Sales Kit,'' which sells for $7.99, complete with a prayer card. But Grismer doesn't like how the product is packaged.
``If it were up to us, we would never have a `sales kit,' but that is beyond our control,'' she said. ``The true custom is that you put the statue in a place of honor in your home.
``You never have to bury it.''
But others, like Herbert, say St. Joseph must be placed in the ground if you want his help. It's a ritual that Herbert says has brought her success -- and glares.
She laughed when spinning a tale about a contractor's home she had on the market. Frustrated that the house wasn't selling, she persuaded her staff to tag along with her to Kent, where the home had been built.
``We buried the statue in the front yard, stood in a circle, held hands and said a little prayer.''
Curious construction workers at a nearby house were watching the bizarre ceremony. Herbert wondered whether they might think that the women were involved in some type of devil worship.
``Shortly after, the house sold,'' Herbert said.
Asking a client for permission to bury a St. Joseph statue in the yard isn't something that comes up immediately in conversation. Herbert waits until the home has been on the market for at least 90 days and, if the owners are Catholic, then she might broach the subject.
``It depends on their faith and beliefs,'' she said, adding that she personally trusts in a higher power.
The step most people skip, Herbert said, is saying a prayer for nine days following the burial rite. Some believe that it's the prayer, and not a piece of plastic, that leads to a sale.
Exactly how the statue is to be placed in the ground and which way it should be positioned depends on whom you ask. But popular opinion suggests that it be placed upside down, its feet pointing to heaven.
And despite disagreements on things like whether the statue should be placed in the front or back yard, believers agree on one thing: After the house sells and closing is complete, the statute is to be unearthed and placed in a prominent spot in the new home.
Ray Leber, owner of Rebel Enterprises in Tallmadge, provides selling tools to real estate agents. His own home is on the market.
``Since I have the product (St. Joseph statues),'' he said, struggling to suppress a chuckle, ``I may plant them all around the house.
``I need all the help I can get.''
bttt
When a certain number of St. Josephs are buried, the ones that do not result in prompt sales are never mentioned. (Who wants to admit to such a foolish thing.) But, if a sale soon results, the people will mention it to everyone in sight.
This was the first time I've ever done this .......
So my stats are pretty decent.
Arrrrgh. This makes me cringe. As a Catholic, I'm all in favor of having a devotion to St. Jospeh, praying for his assistance, and, yes, even burying a statue as a SIGN of devotion, but this is the kind of thing is what makes Protestants think we pray to statues and worship saints.
The selling of a house in short order, after the burying of a St. Joseph statue, has nothing to do with the some magic formula. If God wishes to make His benevolence known through the saints - He can do so. But it's at His good will, not a superstition, that He does so.
There's nothing wrong with doing it as a sign of devotion. But some people treat it like some cheap trick that they can use to summon the help of God to sell real estate. These are usually people who close on the house and then forget about God until they have to sell the next home.
It comes down to motive and reverence. God certainly doesn't need a buried statue to help you sell your house, but the fact that you made an act of faith by doing something as odd as burying a statue of St. Joseph is what matters.
I thot St. Joseph was the patron of aspirin...?
It comes down to motive and reverence. God certainly doesn't need a buried statue to help you sell your house, but the fact that you made an act of faith by doing something as odd as burying a statue of St. Joseph is what matters.
Respectfully, I am interested to read your more about your perspective that burying a statue of Joseph and act of faith?
In Christ...
*** I thot St. Joseph was the patron of aspirin...? ***
Dang! I thot it was plywood - the National Wood of Florida...............FRegards
Any kind of prayer is an act of faith. This is not sublime theology, but even the simplest trust that a saint can assist us with their intercession is a trust that God values the prayers of the saints, as demonstrated in Revelation. It just depends on what the motive for doing it is.
e.g., a Christian can wear a gold cross on a chain as either a) a sign of Christian devotion, or b) a fashion statement. One is pleasing to God, one is not. In the same way, one can bury a statue of St. Joseph as a) a kind of demonstrative prayer of belief in God's power to intervene in human affairs, or b) a belief that by burying a statue, God will make you fabulously (or modestly) wealthy/successful on demand.
In Christ...
Florida FReepers are the GREATEST!!
Hey, Dave!!! Long time!............FRegards
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