Friday the 13th!.
Photo by Leo Reynolds
Photo by Leo Reynolds
Photo by Leo ReynoldsHello friends, happy Friday the 13th!
Here are a few fun facts about the Friday the 13th superstition / myth:
Paraskevidekatriaphobics — people afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th.
13 is an intriguing number to begin with:
LEGEND HAS IT: If 13 people sit down to dinner together, one will die within the year. The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894). Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. Many buildings don’t have a 13th floor. If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil’s luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names). There are 13 witches in a coven. [story source]
The Bible Connection:
Photo by radiospike photography
Photo by Fergal OP
Photo by Lawrence OP(Artworks of Jesus betrayed by Judas)
There were 13 present at the Last Supper. One of the dinner participants, Judas, betrayed Jesus Christ and set Crucifixion into motion. And Crucifixion… happened on a Friday!
Also many have considered Friday as a bad luck day since Eve offered the apple to Adam on a Friday, the beginning of the great flood was on a Friday, and the confusion at the Tower of Babel. Throughout western literature, Friday is often referred to as a bad luck day. It is a terrible day for getting married, changing the bed (can cause bad dreams), beginning a sea voyage, and so on… [story source]
How about you? Do you have any interesting tales about Friday and 13th?
ps. Don’t forget, we will be giving $500 cash prize away for EcoJoe’s new packaging design contest! See details of design contest here.
pps. Our celebration is coming up! Save the date: Tuesday, 9/28/2010!
Are you a believer of Paul the Octopus?.
Are you a believer of Paul the Octopus?
So many people are still debating if Pauly the Octopus can predict the future, just like many still debate if burying Saint Joseph statues can indeed guarantee a speedy sale. But hey, 8 out of 8 predictions for World Cup 2010 is pretty darn good. What do you think?
By the way, Paul has become such an icon, he now has his own iPhone app:
Do you want an iPhone app for Saint Joseph?
Image source
Image source
Image source
Rising From the Ground or Buried Underneath, More About St. Joe’s Miracles.
We know about St. Joseph, but what do we know about St. Joseph of Cupertino?
A Franciscan friar, born in 1603 — this St. Joseph was best known for miracles that he performed over and over again. Over seventy times, during mass or prayer, people saw him rise from the ground — floating in mid air!!
Learn more about St. Joseph of St. Cupertino.
Superstition Friday: Summer Brides Take Note, A Statue May Save Your Day.
Photo by tabrandtSince June seems to be the month of weddings galore, we thought we would do some digging on wedding superstitions for this month’s Superstition Friday.
Catholic Statue?
Saintly Intervention?
Sound familiar?
It’s not St. Joseph this time but a small statue of the Virgin Mary that is called on for extra help, not for selling homes but for a sunny wedding day.
Photo by Lawrence OPDifferent sources have different versions, but it sounds like if you put a tiny statue of the Virgin Mary in your windowsill, facing outwards at least one week before your wedding day (and say a small prayer), you can increase your chances of having a sunny wedding day. Looks like St. Joseph won’t be the only saint performing miracles this summer.
Just in case you need to have extra wedding bliss, you can read more about wedding superstitions here.
St. Joseph Gets Some Facetime with the Pope in the Vatican Gardens.
Image Source
On July 5, 2010 the Pope dedicated the 100th Vatican fountain to none other than St. Joseph. Located in the Vatican gardens, this fountain was dedicated to St. Joseph and was commissioned to pay homage to the Pope and his given name, Joseph.
In an address translated from Italian, the Pope said the fountain “represents a symbolic reminder of the values of simplicity and humility in accomplishing God’s will every day…”
The was designed by by Italian artist Franco Murer and is decorated by six bronze panels depicting different scenes from St. Joseph’s life and service. The address by the Pope goes on to describe St. Joseph and how he lived his life with humility and trust. An especially thoughtful part of the address highlights how St. Joseph carries out his service to others and activities in silence.
Summer can be a good time to do volunteer work and perform services for others. This has been a busy summer for St. Joseph. Have you spent any time this summer helping others?
Watch a newscast of the dedication here: Vatican’s 100th Fountain Dedicated to St. Joseph
“St. Joseph – Sell My House!”.
Special thanks to realtor Jennifer Davis, who wrote a great blog sharing the legend behind St. Joseph and how he is helping home sellers everywhere. We love to read about different ways that others in the real estate industry share this very interesting tradition. Jenn’s blog mentions that many St Joseph statues are still left behind even when the properties had sold, this is the exact problem EcoJoe solves! It’s great to have the eco-friendly alternative to resolve issues like this.
Here is what she wrote:
St. Joseph is the patron saint of real estate matters and home sales. In this recovering market, as some homes languish on the market, the practice of using a St. Joseph statue has become increasingly popular to aid in the sale of homes.
The custom begins with burying a St. Joseph statue upside in the front lawn. If you do not have a front lawn, a potted plant will suffice. Place the statue head down, facing east, and cover the hole. Some say his feet should be facing heaven and his head facing the home (which may not be east-facing). Some say it should face the street or face the “for sale” sign. But there is agreement that his head should be buried upside down.
There is a prayer that needs to be said at this point and that prayer usually comes with the St. Joseph packaging. When the property sells, you must dig up the statue, clean it off, and carry it to your new home where it should be kept in a place of dignity or honor (fireplace mantle, for example). I bet there are many St. Joseph statues still buried upside down and forgotten. I wonder what happened with the subsequent sale of that property?
Of course, none of the sales could be complete without a top notch real estate agent. But that is another discussion for another time. I can send you the St. Joseph prayer; simply email me at jdavis@mcguire.com.
See Jenn Davis’ original St Joseph statue post here.
Around the World Wednesday: South Africa Welcomes ‘Die Hardste Werk Saint in Real Estate!’.
In honor of the World Cup this year, St. Joseph — the hardest working Saint in Real Estate — took a break from his day job and headed to Cape Town, South Africa to catch the games.
Ok — not really.
So St. Joe didn’t make it to the World Cup this year, but he was there in spirit. And some students from St. Joseph’s Primary School (let’s just call them Ambassadors for St. Joe) were caught in the cutest photographs ever, faces painted and all — cheering on their respective teams from Trafalgar Square.
We think that’s close enough to do this month’s Around the World Wednesday from South Africa. Don’t you? (Image Source)
A Special Send Off for St. Joseph.
We found this jewel of a blog by Barb, a Catholic teacher in Nebraska — and *loved* the party they threw for St. Joseph!! Here’s a quick summary:
Jo, a good friend of Barb’s, is a Religious Education coordinator for three separate parishes in Nebraska. When The Sisters of the Good Shepherd closed up their convent 21 years ago, they held an auction and she became the proud owner of a 5foot statue of St. Joseph. She had a special devotion to St. Joseph and and made the statue a center piece in her home.
Recently, Jo learned that the Immaculate Conception Church was in need of St. Joseph statue — and thought it would make a nice gift to the church and the perfect place to pass on the special piece to. She held a special send off party at her home, along with special blessings from a group of her 11 closest friends. They prayed the rosary and reflected on the life of St. Joseph and on the different ways St. Joseph had touched their lives.
After St. Joe takes a quick visit to a local Religious restoration shop he will be moved to his new home at Immaculate Conception. We’ll check back in with Barb in Nebraska to see how it goes!! (Image Source, credit to Barb’s Flickr stream) Make sure you visit her great blog!
Don’t miss details of our upcoming party to celebrate EcoJoe’s FIRST BIRTHDAY in August!! Join our Facebook page to make sure you get your invite!
Superstition Friday ~ Do You Know Why You Knock on Wood?.
Photo by opacityFew people know why they do it, but still today when we mention something good that is supposed to happen in the future, many of us “knock on wood” twice to keep from jinxing the expected good fortune.
Once upon a time, it was thought that trees were the homes of the gods. When in need of a favor or some good luck, one politely mentioned this wish to a tree and then touched the bark, representing the first “knock.” The second “knock” was to say “thank you.”
Photo by fatboyke (Luc)
Read more about Popular Superstitions like breaking a mirror and walking under a ladder and their origins here!
The Legend of the Spiral Staircase + St Joseph.
Source: Trip Advisor
Here is an interesting legend about St Joseph and the spiral staircase:
The Loretto Chapel was completed in 1878. When it was finished, there was no way to access the choir loft approximately 22 feet above. Several carpenters were called in to resolve the problem, but the best solution was a ladder leading up to the choir loft. There simply was not enough space in the interior of the small chapel for a staircase.
Legend says that in order to find a solution to the problem, the Sisters of the Chapel made a novena to St. Joseph. On the ninth and final day of prayer, a man appeared at the Chapel with a donkey and a toolbox looking for work. Several months later, the elaborate staircase was finished. The carpenter disappeared — the nuns did not have a chance to pay him or even thank him. After searching for him for weeks and not finding any trace of him, many concluded that the carpenter was St. Joseph himself that came to answer the sisters’ prayers.
The structure was innovative for the time and many of the design considerations still perplex experts today. The staircase has two 360 degree turns and no visible means of support. It’s also been noted the the staircase was built without nails — only wooden pegs. Questions also surround the number of stair risers relative to the height of the choir loft and about the types of wood and other materials used in the stairway’s construction.
Source: PlanetWare
The legend has been the subject of many articles articles, TV specials, and movies, including “Unsolved Mysteries” and a television movie entitled “The Staircase.”
Do you have any interesting legends or stories about St Joseph? We would love to know! Send them to us.
Who’s the Patron Saint of Irony? How about a Chinese Saint?.
An odd thing about saints? They sometimes become the patron saint of things that either maimed or killed them in life. Scary, huh? That’s why in paintings, the saints are generally painted with the weapons that caused their death.
Here are a few out of the box stories about sainthood and how these interesting characters become patron saints: (Thanks to source religournal.com for this great story)
Saint Apollonia is the patron saint of dentists. Why? An anti-Christian mob pulled all her teeth out in Alexandria in the early years of the A.D. Ouch.
Women were often tortured by their breasts (creative, huh?) and for most female saints, there were not only tortured and murdered, they also had their breasts cut off. A partial list of those subjected to this awful fate includes St. Anastasia, St. Christina, St. Agatha, St. Febronia, St. Tatiana, St. Guilia, St. Juliana, and St. Barbara. The most common theme amongst the women is that they were beautiful young virgins who were lusted after by all the local pagan men and when they refused to submit to their marriage proposals were persecuted as Christians. A good-looking hottie can scoff at false idols and worship Christ all she wants until she refuses to put out. Then you guys get touchy.
So who is the Chinese Saint?
Around the World Wednesdays with EcoJoe, Next Stop: Santiago, Chile.
SANTIAGO, CHILE
Our friends, Rosmary and Carlos Gantz, from Los Angeles Chile, shared this link and pics from a Seminary in Santiago, Chile. Below are photos from the garden and a painting — illustrating the Holy Family.
Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata, Seminary of Philosophy, Santiago Chile
St. Joseph is honored around the world, not only as the patron Saint of carpenters, real estate, and protector of the home — but as the human father figure in the Holy Family. This painting, housed in the chapel of the Sacred Stigmata, in Santiago, depicts the three divine figures together.
