Posted on 12/26/2017 4:27:32 PM PST by ealgeone
What is your evidence for this?
Glad I don’t know how to post pictures.
Doing this is actually not part of Catholicism any more than Santa Muerte is.
Is that your way of making fun of Christians?
“Is this for real??”
Sadly, yes. The Church does not allow the burying of statues like this by the way. Priests and catechists have condemned the practice.
http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=5497
http://www.catholic365.com/article/5739/the-superstition-of-burying-saint-joseph-in-the-ground.html
http://www.ignitumtoday.com/2014/05/23/dont-bury-st-joseph/
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/burying-st.-joseph
I buried St. Joseph, too, and sold the house in 24 hours. I got the little plastic saint on ebay for a couple of bucks, and the instructions were to bury him face down facing towards the house, and when the house sold to dig him up and put him in the new house...which I did. (There’s still a lot of Irish superstition in my bones.)
(btw...thank you for the links)
Now, what does the Catholic Church specifically teach about such practices as burying a St. Joseph statue to sell a home? Interestingly, because the Church in her wisdom understands her own roots and teachings, and has great confidence in her people, neither agrees nor disagrees with such practices. Essentially the Church says, although these are my words and not hers, "When you abide by the practices of our faith and never cross into superstition induced behavior, it could make perfect sense to bury a statue because it isn't the act of burying the statue that you see as having value and benefit but, instead, the intercession of St. Joseph, whom you rightly call upon for help. These things that move you towards a deeper relationship with God and an understanding of His commands can be good for you. They can help you grow in your faith."
“I wondered if there was a saint in charge of helping you FIND the house you want.”
It would be the same saint - St. Joseph. He found a new home for his family often enough.
You been here almost four months and can’t post pictures? Why?
11) What you ask through my Rosary, you shall obtain.
http://www.ewtn.com/v/experts/showmessage.asp?number=438582
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11. You shall obtain all you ask of me by the recitation of the Rosary.
http://www.themostholyrosary.com/15promises.htm
What that paragraph lacks is the following:
1) If there’s any stated “need” that the statue to be buried upside down, then that is automatically a superstition for the position of the statue could not possibly have anything to do with prayers on St. Joseph’s part.
2) Burying a statue at all, rather than displaying it for the edification of others, in itself, hints at superstition.
So, if you don’t bury it upside down what’s supposed to happen? Francis dances the Macarena?
Don’t compare PRAYING for intercession before God’s eternal throne by His mother with someone buying a plastic statue and burying it face down in the backyard.
That’s like comparing living a life with scripture as a faithful and daily guide compared to bibliomancy.
I believe He's more than up to the task and knows whats best for us.
IMHO there is no difference in praying to an idol of Mary or burying an idol of Joseph in the dirt...either way...a lack of trust in God.
Beats me. I'd never heard of this until tonight.
And another poster noted something about Saint Death (Santa Muerte)
Apparently it's big south of the border.
Though in fairness...it does look like Rome condemned this practice in 2013....though it appears it was going on from the 1940s with a possible time frame dating back to the Inquisition.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/have-you-heard-of-saint-death-dont-pray-to-her-38884
“Doing this is actually not part of Catholicism any more than Santa Muerte is.
Is it a doctrine? No.
Is it widely believed and practiced by Romans? Yes.
Worse still are many official pagan teachings.
I'm all over relics and “sacramentals,” and what I call “Catholic bling.” But I loathe and despise the whole “magical” culture.
The only possible attempt at an excuse that I can mount goes like this:
I note that my “third class relic of the True Cross” (a bit of cloth said to have been touched to a fragment of the Cross) which is part of my refrigerator “art,” effectively reminds me to stop what I'm doing and thank God for his Love.
If someone under the stress of selling a house and moving is reminded of the Holy Family and therefore of Jesus, the Redemption, and so forth, well, that's a good thing.
We Catlicks distinguish between “sacraments,” which have their effects merely by being done, and “sacramentals,” whose benefit is related to the acts and intentions of the person who has recourse to them.
My little bit of cloth is not magic. But it is good for me to pray because it reminded me to do so. No serious Catholic theologian will recommend conjuring with statues. But if this foolishness finally leads to deeper reliance on God's grace, well hooray.
1. Yes it’s for “real” (some Catholics do it if that’s what you meant when you asked “is it for real?”)
2. I personally think people shouldn’t do this with some superstitious expectation it will work, and this includes any Catholic of course. Superstition is always a sin, even if a Saint or his statue is involved. See here for a good synopsis of this and how anyone, Catholic or not, can do this without committing the sin of idolatry or presumption: https://rcspirituality.org/ask-a-priest-did-i-err-by-burying-a-st-joseph-statue-to-sell-my-house/
So to conclude, I think it’s ok to pray to St. Joseph to ask for his intercession (prayer) in the matter of a sale of a house, and as Father said in the article above, to bury a statue is ok too since that’s how they should be disposed of anyway, but one must be careful to not trust in the ritual itself, but rather to trust in God’s Will in the matter. That’s what any faithful Catholic will tell you and/or do anyway.
This may pre-empt any ensuing “Catholics Worship Statues” “debate” that may arise out of all this, but probably not (since no one ever seems to read what’s posted in these threads anyway): https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/so-catholics-worship-statues
“I still don’t see why Roman Catholics just don’t direct ALL of their prayers to God as we see evidenced in the NT.”
All Christians from the historic Churches venerate saints: Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox. The only reason why they can hear those prayers is through the power of God. It’s not as if God is being left out or ignored. It’s only happening because of Him. I still don’t see why some Protestants just don’t use all the gifts God gave us to serve Him.
“I believe He’s more than up to the task and knows whats best for us.”
Yes, and yet He uses men and women to accomplish His will all the time. Has God ever used you? Why would He if He is “more than up to the task and knows whats best for us”? Why would He ever use human beings? The answer is simple: We have a generous God who includes us in much of what He does - here on Earth and in Heaven.
“IMHO there is no difference in praying to an idol of Mary or burying an idol of Joseph in the dirt...either way...a lack of trust in God.”
Praying to a saint - who was made a saint through the power of God - for intercession before that very same God is a heck of a lot different than worshiping an idol or engaging in superstition. And, quite frankly, I think you know that too.
Today is the feast day of St. Stephen the Martyr by the way. Who made him holy? God. If I ask him for his intercession before God am I worshiping Stephen? NO, since I am obviously acknowledging only God is God by the very act of asking Stephen for intercession with Him on my behalf I CANNOT be worshiping Stephen. Stephen is God’s creation. Stephen is holy, but he is just a creature and completely dependent on God.
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