Is it appropriate to have mass offered for the intention of selling a house?

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Bernie49

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When there are souls in danger of losing salvation, the thought of having a mass offered for this purpose, which is infinitely less important, stings me as perhaps inappropriate.

That said, a family member had to move and has had their house on the market for a few years. The financial drain is awful and I believe it’s impacting a marriage. I thought about having a mass offered for the intention of them selling the house, but I don’t know whether that would be appropriate or not. Would having a mass said for this purpose be acceptable?

Thanks
 
It’s more usual to just commend the names of living people in the intention, without citing a specific reason.

I would do that.

God will know what they need.
 
Have a Mass offered for the good of the people involved, not that they sell their house. Also, make sure the people know the couple is alive, as then they do not mention the name(s) of those for whom the Mass is offered.
 
To my understanding St Joseph is the patron saint for house hunters. I have heard it told that asking his intercession and buring a st joseph medal in the yard is a great help 🙂
 
shelly5254 said:
To my understanding St Joseph is the patron saint for house hunters. I have heard it told that asking his intercession and buring a st joseph medal in the yard is a great help 🙂
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Burying a statue of St Joseph or a medal of him is believing in magic.

A house that is priced to the market value of the house will sell; one that is not won’t - statue or no statue.
 
shelly5254 said:
To my understanding St Joseph is the patron saint for house hunters. I have heard it told that asking his intercession and buring a st joseph medal in the yard is a great help 🙂
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That is superstition and to do such a thing is a sin of grave matter.
 
thistle said:
That is superstition and to do such a thing is a sin of grave matter.
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St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta certainly had no problem doing it…as well as putting a statue of St. Joseph in a cabinet until she received what she needed. 🙂
 
MonkMoses said:
St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta certainly had no problem doing it…as well as putting a statue of St. Joseph in a cabinet until she received what she needed. 🙂
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Even people later named saints can sin. Engaging in superstitous acts are sins if she did this to sell a property. She may done this to store the statue.

St Theresa of Avila buried a statue of St Joseph because she lost a convent and needed to store it while looking for another.
 
Evan said:
Even people later named saints can sin. Engaging in superstitous acts are sins if she did this to sell a property. She may done this to store the statue.

St Theresa of Avila buried a statue of St Joseph because she lost a convent and needed to store it while looking for another.
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There is nothing superstitious about burying a statue of St Joseph as long as you pray the prayers that go along with the tradition. Over the centuries all kinds of traditions have come into the church that can look superstitious or “pagan”…but with the right intention they can be perfectly Christian.
 
MonkMoses said:
There is nothing superstitious about burying a statue of St Joseph as long as you pray the prayers that go along with the tradition. Over the centuries all kinds of traditions have come into the church that can look superstitious or “pagan”…but with the right intention they can be perfectly Christian.
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Good point, Father. 🙂

By the way, I love the recipes you posted on your blog. 🙂
 
MonkMoses said:
There is nothing superstitious about burying a statue of St Joseph as long as you pray the prayers that go along with the tradition. Over the centuries all kinds of traditions have come into the church that can look superstitious or “pagan”…but with the right intention they can be perfectly Christian.
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Burying a statue of St Joseph in your garden and praying to sell the house is SUPERSTITION and a sin of grave matter.

Below is Father Serpa’s response to the question about burying a statue of St Joseph in order to sell a house:

**You do well to be uneasy with this. Ask St. Joseph and / or other saints to pray with you for the quick sale of your house. But forget about burying statues. Such is superstition.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.**
 
thistle said:
Burying a statue of St Joseph in your garden and praying to sell the house is SUPERSTITION and a sin of grave matter.

Below is Father Serpa’s response to the question about burying a statue of St Joseph in order to sell a house:

**You do well to be uneasy with this. Ask St. Joseph and / or other saints to pray with you for the quick sale of your house. But forget about burying statues. Such is superstition.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.**
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I guess Fr. Serpa and I disagree…🙂

I suppose lighting a candle is superstitious as well. 🤷
 
MonkMoses said:
I guess Fr. Serpa and I disagree…🙂

I suppose lighting a candle is superstitious as well. 🤷
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Well I think a priest’s position trumps yours.
Father Serpa is not just a priest but is an apologist on Catholic Answers so he is well versed in what the Church’s views are - much more than you!
 
thistle said:
Well I think a priest’s position trumps yours.
Father Serpa is not just a priest but is an apologist on Catholic Answers so he is well versed in what the Church’s views are - much more than you!
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MonkMoses is also a priest, if you still don’t know. Please regard him with all due respect.
 
MonkMoses said:
I guess Fr. Serpa and I disagree…🙂

I suppose lighting a candle is superstitious as well. 🤷
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My apologies for my other post. I did not know you were a priest. However, I have also spoken to other priests, some of whom are friends of mine, and they all have the same position as Father Serpa that burying a statue of St Joseph as part of some prayer ritual to sell a house is superstitious and a sin of grave matter.

I have to ask your forgiveness in advance but comparing that to lighting a candle lacks seriousness and is like comparing apples to oranges.
 
thistle said:
My apologies for my other post. I did not know you were a priest. However, I have also spoken to other priests, some of whom are friends of mine, and they all have the same position as Father Serpa that burying a statue of St Joseph as part of some prayer ritual to sell a house is superstitious and a sin of grave matter.

I have to ask your forgiveness in advance but comparing that to lighting a candle lacks seriousness and is like comparing apples to oranges.
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My guess is you can find priests on both sides of the coin.

A lot of Catholic/Orthodox traditions can “look” superstitious if you don’t look at what is behind them. Burying a statue of St. Joseph with out the prayer that goes along with it can and probably is superstitious. Setting up a St. Joseph’s Altar on his feast day can also look very superstitious or even pagan with all that food “offered” to him. Wearing medals and scapulars or even lighting a candle, also can “look” superstitious if we don’t look at what is behind them…PRAYER.

There is nothing superstitious about things if they lead us to prayer which ultimately brings us closer to God.
 
MonkMoses said:
There is nothing superstitious about burying a statue of St Joseph as long as you pray the prayers that go along with the tradition.
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Why not just say the prayers by themselves and avoid wasting a perfectly good statue?
 
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