House For Sale, Statue Of St Joseph Included

[cappie]

With the US housing market in crisis, vendors are turning for help to St Joseph, patron saint of home sellers.

Agence France-Presse reports that vendors bury a statue of St. Joseph in the garden of a property they want to sell, and then beseech him to intervene on their behalf to find a buyer.

A Washington real estate agent said the trend has increased during the market slowdown of the past two years.

She admitted it was a strategy forced by desperation: "What else can we do in this market?"

Market analysts predict that home sales in the US will fall to less than six million this year compared with nearly 6.5 million in 2006.

Phil Cates, who runs the StJosephStatue.com website, said: "St Joseph represents to most a sense of hope. In the current situation, hope is pretty much all we have."

Special kits includes a small statue of the saint, a brief history of St Joseph, and an instruction book on how to bury him.

[Sojourner]

I did a story on this once a while back. I had more than one realtor tell me they'd had home sellers appeal to St. Joseph.

[ardillacid]

Sounds like the people who don't pray till they're about to fail a test.

[Mercy me]

I have heard about this but the way I heard it its that you bury him upside down.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='Mercy me' post='1389418' date='Sep 20 2007, 06:22 PM']I have heard about this but the way I heard it its that you bury him upside down. [/quote]


And facing either toward or away from the house. I can't remember.

Then when you sell, you dig him up and move him with you and then place him on the mantle, or some similar place of honor.

[Proud2BCatholic139]

St. Joseph is my homeboy. He is a great friend to me.

[Mercy me]

[quote name='Terra Firma' post='1389419' date='Sep 20 2007, 07:24 PM']

And facing either toward or away from the house. I can't remember.

Then when you sell, you dig him up and move him with you and then place him on the mantle, or some similar place of honor.[/quote]

That's right there was more to it!

St. Joe is my go to saint as well.

[alicemary]

when I sold my house a few years back, I had buried a St. Joseph under the sign. When it was selling, I would reposition him from time to time. They do sell 'kits' which has a small statue of St. Joe, with instruction on burying him. I had my boss bury one under his sign when he was having trouble selling, pretty good for a Southern Baptist!

[MissScripture]

[quote name='notardillacid' post='1389413' date='Sep 20 2007, 07:17 PM']Sounds like the people who don't pray till they're about to fail a test.[/quote]
One of my theology profs. would have us pray before every class, except the ones where we took tests. He called praying only when you're going to take a hard test having a view of a "Ripcord Jesus."

[T-Bone _]

[quote name='MissScripture' post='1389708' date='Sep 21 2007, 04:19 AM']One of my theology profs. would have us pray before every class, except the ones where we took tests. He called praying only when you're going to take a hard test having a view of a "Ripcord Jesus."[/quote]

Yeah...I usually pray more out of desperation for stuff. I try to keep a daily prayer, but you know...

When I do that, I kinda feel like I'm making God my errand-boy.

[Archaeology cat]

Our realtor is Catholic and gave us a statue of St. Joseph. Unfortunately, since we're an ocean away, we can't dig him back up. Maybe I can get someone else to do that. . .

[fides quarens intellectum]

yeah - i'd heard about burying the statue, but this is the first i've heard of digging it back up - i just figured there are a bunch of plastic statues scattered around the country, buried upside-down, for future archeologists to wonder about.

[Archaeology cat]

[quote name='fides quarens intellectum' post='1389847' date='Sep 21 2007, 05:27 PM']yeah - i'd heard about burying the statue, but this is the first i've heard of digging it back up - i just figured there are a bunch of plastic statues scattered around the country, buried upside-down, for future archeologists to wonder about.[/quote]

Yep, future archaeologist should have fun with that. Maybe write it up as a votive offering. Or do an iconographic study. Okay, this dissertation is starting to get to me - iconography is creeping up everywhere now!

[Totus Tuus]

YOU'RE [b]NOT[/b] SUPPOSED TO [b]BURY[/b] HIM!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRR

Edited September 21, 2007 by Totus Tuus

[Mateo el Feo]

[quote name='Archaeology cat' post='1389877' date='Sep 21 2007, 02:23 PM']Yep, future archaeologist should have fun with that. Maybe write it up as a votive offering. Or do an iconographic study. Okay, this dissertation is starting to get to me - iconography is creeping up everywhere now![/quote]I can imagine an anthropologist writing a thesis entitled, "Earth God: the role of the diety 'Madeinchina' in 21st century religion."