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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
does the intention count when asking St. Joseph for help?	Linda	Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Question: Dear Brother; I don't understand the problem with praying to St. Joseph when you are trying to buy a house. Some people light a candle in church and pray for St. Joseph's intercession. If someone was praying to St. Joseph and put his statue on the property they wanted to buy, how is this superstition? Does it depend on their intention? In other words if they think that just by putting or burying the statue of St. Joseph on the land they want to buy would get them the land ,this is superstition. But if they offer a prayer to St. Joseph and put the statue of St. Joseph on the land intending only to invoke him, understanding that they still may not get the house or land they want, would this be acting wrong?
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM Dear Linda: Praying to St. Joseph asking him for intercession and assistance to sell one's house, or to buy a house, is not a problem. Having a statue of St. Joseph as an aid to prayer is not a problem. This is fully consistent with the Doctrine of Communion of the Saints and Intercessory Prayer and no different than praying to Our blessed Mother or any other saint. The problem comes when we think that placing a statue, and especially burying a statue, is going to assist in the sell or purchase of the property. A statue has no implicit power to influence anyone to buy or sell. To assign such power to it is to make it magical. Since St. Paul tells us to not even have the appearance of evil, and since superstition is evil, we should not give appearance of practicing a superstition. If we wish to pray to St. Joseph asking for assistance to sell or buy a house, no problem. If we wish to use a statue as an aid to prayer, no problem. Place the statue in your livingroom or home prayer altar. That is where it will do the most good -- as an aid to prayer. Placing the statue on the property in the manner of superstition, even if our intention is not superstitious, is nevertheless an "act" of superstition or at least an appearance of it. Why put the statue on the property, or especially to bury it? What good does that do? If we are using the statue to aid in our prayer then we need to be in the presence of the statue while we are praying. How can we do that if the statue is buried? If we place the statue on the property somewhere are we going to go to that spot daily to pray before the statue? If not, then why put it there? As for St. Joseph, he knows which property you want to sell or buy. He does not need a landmark. The best approach is to pray to St. Joseph in one's home, in front of a statue if one has one, and have faith in God, not in superstition, or pseudo-superstition. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below: Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum. Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

does the intention count when asking St. Joseph for help?

Linda

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Question:

Dear Brother;

I don't understand the problem with praying to St. Joseph when you are trying to buy a house. Some people light a candle in church and pray for St. Joseph's intercession. If someone was praying to St. Joseph and put his statue on the property they wanted to buy, how is this superstition? Does it depend on their intention? In other words if they think that just by putting or burying the statue of St. Joseph on the land they want to buy would get them the land ,this is superstition. But if they offer a prayer to St. Joseph and put the statue of St. Joseph on the land intending only to invoke him, understanding that they still may not get the house or land they want, would this be acting wrong?

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM

Dear Linda:

Praying to St. Joseph asking him for intercession and assistance to sell one's house, or to buy a house, is not a problem. Having a statue of St. Joseph as an aid to prayer is not a problem. This is fully consistent with the Doctrine of Communion of the Saints and Intercessory Prayer and no different than praying to Our blessed Mother or any other saint.

The problem comes when we think that placing a statue, and especially burying a statue, is going to assist in the sell or purchase of the property. A statue has no implicit power to influence anyone to buy or sell. To assign such power to it is to make it magical.

Since St. Paul tells us to not even have the appearance of evil, and since superstition is evil, we should not give appearance of practicing a superstition.

If we wish to pray to St. Joseph asking for assistance to sell or buy a house, no problem. If we wish to use a statue as an aid to prayer, no problem. Place the statue in your livingroom or home prayer altar. That is where it will do the most good -- as an aid to prayer.

Placing the statue on the property in the manner of superstition, even if our intention is not superstitious, is nevertheless an "act" of superstition or at least an appearance of it.

Why put the statue on the property, or especially to bury it? What good does that do? If we are using the statue to aid in our prayer then we need to be in the presence of the statue while we are praying. How can we do that if the statue is buried? If we place the statue on the property somewhere are we going to go to that spot daily to pray before the statue? If not, then why put it there? As for St. Joseph, he knows which property you want to sell or buy. He does not need a landmark.

The best approach is to pray to St. Joseph in one's home, in front of a statue if one has one, and have faith in God, not in superstition, or pseudo-superstition.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

Footer Notes: This forum is for general questions on the faith. See specific Topic Forums below:
Spiritual Warfare, demons, the occult go to our Spiritul Warfare Q&S Forum.
Liturgy Questions go to our Liturgy and Liturgical Law Q&A Forum
Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) Questions go to our Divine Office Q&A Forum
Defenfing the Faith Questions go to our Defending the Faith Q&A Forum
Church History Questions go to our Church History Q&A Forum