Sell Your House Fast! Pray to St. Joseph the Worker

The U.S. economy has suffered a significant downturn in the past two years, with existing home sales falling to unprecedented levels, the lowest in nearly 10 years. Home sellers are finding it difficult to sell their homes, and those wanting to buy a house are facing more stringent scrutiny by banks.

When the going gets tough, sometimes we all need a little divine intervention to help us overcome obstacles that appear before us. St. Joseph has been extremely popular in the real estate circles, and many Realtors swear that St. Joseph's help is swift and effective, even if you're not Catholic. St. Joseph has been known to help home-owners with home-related matters, and with the recent housing market events, sales of the Home Sales Kits are pretty hot!

Who is St. Joseph?

In the Catholic Church, St. Joseph, a carpenter, is the Virgin Mary's husband and foster father of Jesus. Known as a humble family man, he is the patron saint of the home, family, and housing-related needs. The origin of St. Joseph's reputation as the patron of real estate varies, but one of the more popular stories refers to an order of nuns in Europe who were in desperate need to find a convent. As the story goes, a medal, depicting St. Joseph was buried while asking the saint for divine intervention, and it is said that the nuns quickly found a convent!

"The St. Joseph The Worker Home Sales Kit"

I placed my order On line, and last year, it was selling for $7.95 including shipping (this year it's $8.95). I placed my order with www.holyfamilycatalog.com and paid by credit card; the little kit arrived within five days.

If you search "St. Joseph Home Sales Kit" On line, you will be shocked at the number of pages that come up listing the various vendors. The demand for the Home Sales Kits is astonishing! My decisive factor was cost and shipping charges, and you'll see the range from $1.95 per statues to about $29.99, depending on size, materials, etc.

What's in the St. Joseph's Home Sales Kit?

~ A beautiful four-inch, polyvinyl resin statue, and it's hand-painted (according to the packaging) in pretty colors.

~ Instructions for selling your home

~ St. Joseph prayer card (made in Italy) that's beautifully illustrated.

"How to" Methods

The methods of burying the statue vary, but these are the more popular options:

~ bury it upside-down next to the "For Sale" sign,

~ bury it three feet from the rear of the house

~ bury it next to the front door facing away from the home.

Religious experts say there's no official doctrine that calls for the statue's burial, and according to Jaime Lara, associate professor of Christian Art and Architecture at Yale Divinity School, the practice may have stemmed from medieval rites of land possession, in which conquerors claimed land by planting a cross or banner.

Faith and devotion are necessary, in addition to obtaining the saint's statue; otherwise the practice amounts to little more than superstition or magic, according to Father Connell of the Boston Archdiocese. He also believes that out of respect, the statue should not be buried and instead it should be displayed somewhere around the house, placing it in a prominent spot. I completely agree with Father Connell.

After you sell your home

If you decide to bury your statue, custom dictates the statue should be dug up and put in a place of honor in the home. It's imperative to mark the spot where you buried St. Joseph, or you'll never find it, and then you'll always wonder what will happen because you did not follow the instructions properly.

My personal experiences with St. Joseph:

Miracle #1 - Indirect Experience ~ Year 2001

The first time St. Joseph came to the rescue was a few years ago when a co-worker put her home on the market and, at the same time had a contract on a new home. She closed on the new home, but not many prospective buyers were viewing her old home.

My friend was in a panic because she had two mortgages to pay, so I mentioned that St. Joseph was the patron saint of real estate and that she should pray to him. Both of us, being Catholic, didn't twice about asking a saint for a little divine intervention. She researched St. Joseph on the Internet and purchased a Home Sales Kit and followed the instructions. Within a week, she told me, people were starting to view her house, and in less than one month, her home was under contract. SOLD!

Her only problem was that she'd forgotten exactly where she'd buried St. Joseph, and she was mortified to ask the new owner if she could search for the statue. Luckily for her, the new owner is Catholic and gave my friend the green light to search for it. Once she found him, she placed St. Joseph in a place of honor in her new home.

Miracle #2 -First Personal Experience ~ 2005

When we accepted a job assignment overseas, we kept our home in the U.S., thinking that we'd like to return to it when we repatriated. When we repatriated to the U.S. we realized we didn't like the neighborhood anymore, and we decided to sell it before buying a new home.

I promptly ordered the St. Joseph Home Sales Kit, but before burying him, I embarked on a quick remodeling program, and as soon as my projects were completed, I buried St. Joseph. The funny thing was that when I did that, we had not't decided on a Realtor to represent us, and a "For Sale" sign had not gone up. I prayed the St. Joseph Novena and asked him to help us find a good Realtor and a buyer.

The miracle: That same week, my husband went to a job-related conference and ran into an old friend. They caught up with each other's lives, the friend told my husband that his wife had recently received her real estate license, and by the way, he had two friends that were looking for a townhouse, and perhaps they could view it?

The friends came to view the property, and that evening they called us to make an offer; we sold the townhouse in less than one month! We never put a "For Sale" sign up and we saved money by not listing it with a realty company.

Miracle #3 - Second Personal Experience - October 2007

This miracle refers to the house we purchased after we sold the townhouse mentioned in miracle #2.

Two-and a half years later, we were asked to take an assignment in Angola, and this time we wanted to sell the house before we left. We had been remodeling the house for nearly a year and a half, so we promptly finished it off, and hired a Realtor.

In preparation for the sale, I ordered the St. Joseph The Worker Home Sellers Kit and waited for the day the "For Sale" sign went up. I dutifully prayed to St. Joseph prior to burying the statue.

Our real estate agent was quite earnest about selling our home and heavily promoted the house, to include two open houses, two weekends in a row. The house was on the market two weeks when we had an offer, and on week three we had a contract. It took five weeks from the day the sign went up to the day we received funds. A miracle? I believe it is!

This time, I marked the location where I buried St. Joseph, but on the day we closed, I tried to disinter him, but could not find him. I'd like to think he wants to stay there and protect the house, which is fine with me.

Miracle #4 - Another Miracle!

In Angola, we live in a 10-house compound, we were told that the lease was not being renewed, and that we would have to move at the end of 2008. Many of us wanted to remain in this compound, as it is beautiful, large and it allows us to exercise our pets, we can plant vegetable gardens, and can safely get out and walk/run, etc. Besides, it's not fun to move.

So, I prayed for a miracle, and the lease was extended for one more year! We're here at least till the end of 2009, and I'm still hoping we don't have to move then.

This time, however, I didn't bury St. Joseph, and I placed him in a lovely setting inside my home, as I believe that through prayer (and not coercion) a miracle could happen.

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Just a suggestion, and it is more common sense than anything else: If selling your house, a little elbow grease to make your home sparkle is a must before putting your home on the market! Then, pray all you want, as a little divine intervention is all you'll ever need!