Is this a sacrilege?

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Marie:
Pretty old. The tradition has been traced to Saint Teresa of Avila who prayed that Saint Joseph would intercede to obtain land for Christian converts, and encouraged her Discalced Carmelite nuns to bury Saint Joseph medals as a symbol of devotion, consecrating the ground in Joseph’s name. I do that and ask for only God’s will.
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Let me offer a theory about this. I’ve read St. Theresa of Avila, she was a very intelligent woman with deep insight into the spiritual life.

One thing is, in those days a statue was a very precious item. Remember, they didn’t have mass production and everything was made by hand. Therefore, offering up a statue was a much greater sacrifice, so it’s not at all comparable to burying a cheap statue in a superstitious manner in the backyard.

St. Theresa was a strong advocate of love, humility and detachment. I think offering up a precious item in faith and prayer could very well meet these requirements.
 
Certainly imploring the intercession of St. Joseph, who found shelter for the Infant Jesus to be born in Bethlehem, and fled with Him and His Holy Mother to live in safety in Egypt, is commendable for anyone seeking a home for his family.

However, burying an image of St. Joseph doesn’t strike me as a pious devotion, but rather, a superstition. Engaging in this activity may seem “neat,” and increase discussion, but probably so would using a ouija board. Just because youngsters find it neat, it doesn’t make it “right.” There is just something irreverent about it. it reminds me of the Eucharistic miracle, where a woman removed the Sacred Host from her mouth and wrapped it in her veil, so that she might give It to someone who promised to make a love potion of It for her spouse. Yes, a miracle occurred because of her sacrilege, but it still was a sacrilege.

And if the selling of St. Joseph realty kits offends you, do not go to ebay and type in “Catholic!” You’d be amazed at the sacramentals which are auctioned off.

Pax Christi. <><
 
When all else fails in debating a point, tell said person to ****** * *******…yeah…THAT’s first rate apologetics right there! :cool:

and if I do nothing more in my life than to defend St Joseph, catholic practices, etc…then I already ****** * ****** **** ******… 👍

The previous poster is correct…it is a SUPERSTITION. There are MANY ways of piety to ask a saints intercession…lighting a candle, placing a statue in a place of PROMINANCE in ones home or window…do you guys who advocate this stop and think exactly what it is you THINK you are doing or intending to do by burying a statue in the dirt?..I actually hear catholics saying…well…as long as its not upside down, etc…HUH??? :eek:

The act is meant to MAGICALLY BIND the saint (which doesnt work anyway) to do your will…that is, what you are saying is…St Joseph…I am going to bury you in the ground until you do my bidding…sell my home and I will release you… thats it plain and simple…

this practice has NOTHING to do with buying a home and burying blessed holy medals around the parimeter btw.
 
Just got back from Saturday night mass and could not resist telling my parish Priest about this, he got a pretty darn good chuckle and said No, this isn’t sacrilege, this can be traced far back as something people mainly Catholics have done for many years and tradition is not such a bad thing in this day. Of course he said some will always say this could be seen as sacrilege and he said they are right to their opinions but the Catholic church doesn’t have a problem with the Saint Joseph statue being used like this as long as you are asking Saint Joseph to simply pray to God for you and pray for you and not praying to Saint Joseph as some people could misunderstand that, it needs to be made clear and it should not be bought at a hardware store but the ones the nuns sell are blessed by a priest so those would be some things to think about.

And he also reminded me that people who have already made up their minds that this is sacrilege even if told my a priest that it is not are not going to listen so leave it at that and thats what I’m going to do, I believe my priest and these wonderful nuns in a heartbeat over what someone on a message board is proclaiming. 👍
 
I’m sorry faith2rome, I should not have wrote that, you *** **** **** * ************** ****** I can’t get over it.

I’m wondering do you challenge your priest if he says something you don’t like? Sometimes we don’t like what the messenger has to say but just as many priests and nuns who say this could be sacrilege well guess what, just as many will say not sacrilege.
You are going with your own personal opinion without bothering to get the facts. When the pope makes a statement saying Using the Saint Joseph statue is sacrilege and all Catholics should not use it or bury it in thier yards, then I’ll listen but your not the pope, your just a fellow Catholic who feels that his personal opinion is Catholic church teaching!
 
It seems to me that this is more a superstition than a sacrelige. The icon itself, not having been blessed, is not a sacred object in the strictest sense of the term. However, to purchase the icon for the purpose of burying it in the back yard and in the belief that doing so will expedite the sale of the home appears to be an expression of belief that the object has the power to accomplish the goal. Superstition is defined as “an irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.” Looks like a good fit.

By the way, just this week at work I heard someone saying that a friend had a realtor bring over a statue for his client to bury for the same reason.
 
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Aurelia:
Just received the local Ace Hardware store’s advertising paper today, and guess what they’re selling—a do-it-yourself home selling kit consisting of a small plastic statue of St. Joseph, plus an instruction leaflet with the "correct "prayers to say. Incredible!
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SO many postings! Surely this burying of statues is just a form of “superstites.” There can be no real sacrelege, as these objects are not consecrated. Whenever I fly, e.g., usually once a week, I wear a phial containing the holy dirt of Chimayo. Now, I know that this is just dirt, but it is the dirt of my home, centered on a pilgrimage site. It is a sacramental, and I hope it will bring me home safely. If it doesn’t, I don’t suppose I’ll blame God for any failure on His part…
 
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kamz:
… it needs to be made clear and it should not be bought at a hardware store but the ones the nuns sell are blessed by a priest so those would be some things to think about.
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Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought it was against Canon law to buy and sell blessed articles. Hence, you purchase a statue, unblessed, and then take it to your priest to have it blessed. Otherwise, it appears one is paying for the blessing, which is not permitted.

So, the statue kits in the hardware store are one and the same kits purchased from the nuns. The blessing must come after the purchase, not before it.

Pax Christi. <><
 
You are correct, I had to ask my mom as she bought it for us. The nuns told her she could get it blessed by a priest and they could have him come in and do it then if she wanted or she could take it to her own parish.

Sorry for getting that one mixed up!
 
I bought the rosary in Haifa, Israel. The person working there said they were already blessed. I should probably have it blessed just in case.
 
I chuckled at your backhanded apology…you apologize…but then proceed to call me **************…in the next sentence…So your priest thinks its fine…what does it mean if I were to tell you MY priest DOESNT? Now what? Who is correct? Here’s a much better way for anyone to settle this…go to EWTNs website and proceed to look up any past questions…or even post it as a new one…I GURANTEE you that you will not find ONE ARTICLE or ONE Priest there who will say its okay… I put more stock in what the Priests at EWTN…whether online or the show have to say about these matters than any of the parish priests I have come across. JUst go there, look up the questions…sometimes the search engine doesnt work right…if not, then ask it as a new question… then when ya get your reply…dont forget to tell THEM how ************** they are as well… 😉
 
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maggiec:
A secular store selling somthing that is associated with the catholic faith? I’m shocked!!! :clapping:
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Yeh… the store normally be may be selling only secular goods or products… but it’s the owners who make the call!

👍
 
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PASCENDI:
It’s almost like Voodoo (see article in …Crisis) where a symbol of Catholicism has an alternative use in paganism.
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:eek: Which symbol of Catholicism is that?
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PASCENDI:
For sacrilege I think it’s hard to top the Lipton TV commercial with the fella in line for communion with a bowl of chip dip.
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Praise God I’ve been spared that commercial. :eek:
 
Faithful 2 Rome:
Who is correct? Here’s a much better way for anyone to settle this…go to EWTNs website and proceed to look up any past questions…or even post it as a new one…I GURANTEE you that you will not find ONE ARTICLE or ONE Priest there who will say its okay… I put more stock in what the Priests at EWTN…whether online or the show have to say about these matters than any of the parish priests I have come across. JUst go there, look up the questions…sometimes the search engine doesnt work right…if not, then ask it as a new question…
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F2R,

Hmm … look to EWTN for the next Pope - no need to wait for his consecration, infallibility at the ready, from the outset.

Too bad, with that amazing level of absolute correctness, you’d think their search engine would always work right.

Sorry for the sarcastic tenor of these comments, but when someone puts such absolute faith in those associated with an institutional entity, for no reason other than their association, and denigrates the knowledge and capability of priests out on the front lines of pastoral responsibility, it’s time for a reality check.

Many years,

Neil
 
I don’t know Karl, but it think the intention in the heart of the person using St. Joseph’s statue makes for the superstition on this one. If you want a really good story about how wonderful St. Joseph is to those who promote him, check out the story of Brother Andre’ up in Canada. It is full of rather dubious uses for medals and statues according to your standards, but many, many miracles are attributed to St. Joseph’s intercession via Brother Andre’s use of said Sacramentals. The Little Flower too, has her “proofs” of the intercession of St. Joseph.

As for the Ace Hardware store selling the statues for the sole purpose of selling houses I’d go with simony on that one! 👍

Peace and all good,

Thomas2
 
Seems like we’re getting pretty worked up over something that is essentially harmless. I don’t think anyone actually thinks that burying St. Joseph in the yard is the real reason their house gets sold. It’s just one of those harmless superstitions - like crossing your fingers, using your lucky bat, picking up a penny, not walking under a ladder, wearing your lucky underwear, blessing yourself after you sneeze - etc., etc.- that make us quirky, cute little humans so loveable to God. :love:

I’ve got St. Joseph statues buried in four different states. I’ve always wondered what the new owner thinks when he digs those things up someday. At least he knows a Catholic used to live there. That’s good enough for me.

I would hope that God measures my life on something more significant than whether I’ve taken liberties with plastic saints. :angel1:
 
OhioBob, you are truley amazing, your words are always so right on, thank you for being such a good person and Christian witness to those around you. 🙂
 
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