Today I was drawn into a Facebook conversion concerning burying St Joseph statues for luck in selling a home. This is a folklore that started in the 1500’s when a group of nuns wanted to acquire more land. They prayed to St Joseph and buried some metals of him in the ground. They believed their prayers to St Joseph were answered. That was the start of the tradition but somehow it changed from medals to statues being placed facing a certain direction, wrapped in plastic and so many feet in the ground. St Joseph kits with statue, directions and prayer are being sold in Catholic stores, and has drawn people from different religions and denominations into this superstition.

Whether people want to accept this or not, this is a form of idolatry. The bible tells us that reverence, worship, prayer or devotion to a god, person, place, item or behavior is idolatry. When we pray, our prayers are always offered to God; Jesus taught His followers to address their prayers directly to God the Father, and He said we should do it in His name (Matthew 6:9; John 14:13). The word of God says that we are to put our trust in Him, not man and surely not an idol. There is no mediator except for Jesus and without faith it is impossible to please him. He says He is a jealous God and we should not make idols or likeness of what is on heaven, nor worship or serve them (Exodus 20:4-5, a command removed from the ten commandments in the Catholic bible).

Of course, my Facebook comments and concerns were met with sharp disapproval and criticism. I cannot get over the consensus of most, “that since many people practice the burying of St Thomas for selling a home, it must be OK”. Instead of stating that folklore usually involve demons, I mentioned that idolatry opened the door to demonic attacks. Of course, it was of little concern.