Now that our girls are grown, I have a fairly predictable weekend routine. On Saturday mornings, I go to the La Canada farmer’s market, and on Sunday mornings, I attend Mass at St. Bede in La Canada. Some weekends I have open houses or show homes to would-be home buyers. But mass and farmer’s market are seldom missed.
Most churches or synagogues have a weekly bulletin. The back page of the St. Bede bulletin contains a question and answer, each week a different question. Several weeks ago the question read:
Why is it superstitious to bury a St. Joseph statue in the yard to sell a house, but not superstitious to pray for rain or for a successful meeting?
Years ago, prior to my jumping on the St. Joseph band wagon, I did a little reconnaissance on the internet and came to the conclusion that providing the statue to clients wasn’t against my Catholic upbringing. So seeing the question in the bulletin made me a bit apprehensive.
The answer reminded me that it’s very important to pray when you bury St. Joseph. Here’s an excerpt of the answer:
The Saints have been an influential part of our Catholic history and tradition, and that includes requesting their intercession………In the case of burying a St. Joseph statue, it’s important to remember that prayers should accompany this action. For example, when selling a home, people will often offer a novena of prayers to St. Joseph requesting his intercession. That is as it should be and where any actual substance or power in this action lies. Burying a statue of St. Joseph, in and of itself, has no actual power or spiritual effect. In fact, anything that reduces our faith to bordering on the magical would be seen as superstitious and therefore suspect.
