Who Was St Joseph

Saint Joseph is often called the house selling saint because of the tradition that been around for hundreds of years of burying a small statue of Saint Joseph upside down in the yard of a house that you’re trying to sell. But there is more to Saint Joseph than just selling houses. Saint Joseph was the foster father of Jesus, and was a very important figure in the life of Jesus. Saint Joseph is also an important father figure that symbolizes the kind of qualities that a good father should have.

Saint Joseph took on the responsibility of raising Jesus even though he didn’t have to.  When he first found out that the woman he was engaged to, Mary, was pregnant he could have broken the engagement but he didn’t. He loved Mary and didn’t want to see her publicly shamed for getting pregnant or even stoned to death, which was the punishment at that time for a woman that got pregnant without being married. He was confused and didn’t know what the right thing to do was. An angel sent by God came to Joseph to explain to him that the baby was Jesus, and that Jesus would grow up to change the world and God wanted Joseph to raise Jesus because of his good heart and values. Joseph accepted the responsibility that he was asked to take on by God and raised Jesus as his own child and shaping the type of man that Jesus would become.

Saint Joseph was first and foremost a devoted father. He dedicated his life to taking care of his family and never hesitated to do what he needed to do in order to protect them. When God warned Joseph that King Herod would be coming after Jesus and told Joseph to get the family out of Nazareth Joseph didn’t hesitate at all but moved the family to Egypt at once, starting over with no home and only the possessions that they carried.  Joseph used his skills as a carpenter to build a new life for his family and when it was safe and King Herod had died Joseph moved the family back to start over again.

Saint Joseph was a man that symbolized everything that a father and the head of a household should be, so often families that are in trouble will pray to Saint Joseph for guidance and help. If your family is having problems, or if you are a new father that is anxious to do a good job and raise your child to have the same core values and qualities that Saint Joseph had you can place a statue of Saint Joseph in a place of honor in your home and pray to Saint Joseph to help you accomplish those goals.

Saint Joseph is the patron saint of homes and real estate because he knew how important it was for a family to have a home and he sacrificed to make a home for his family no matter where they went.  That’s why people began praying to Saint Joseph when they needed to find a new home which is where the tradition of burying a Saint Joseph statue in order to sell a house began. Some say the tradition goes back all the way to the 1500’s when St. Teresa of Avila prayed to Saint Joseph for help finding a new home for her Discalced Carmelite nuns.  Over the years the tradition changed from burying medals of St. Joseph and praying to him in order to find a home to burying a small statue of him in the yard of a home in order to sell a home.  

Erik Geoffs