'AITA for putting my foot down with my mother-in-law? She put religious icons in our house.'
"AITA for putting my foot down with my mother-in-law?"
So my husband and I have been together for 12 years and his family is extremely religious and I don’t have an issue with that. We are Catholic but his parent’s mom to be exact are on another level. She goes to church 4 times a week, carry anointing oil with them, believe any priest on YouTube, push religion on me.
I don’t need 56,000 pictures of Jesus or Mary in home to believe in my faith. Now, when we have taken vacations they stay with our dogs at our house. Every time she stays she puts oils on my doors, writes a holy math equation on the door with crayon, and puts rock salt in every corner of the windows house.
She says it’s all holy by I have asked her to stop. I don’t believe in all of that stuff. I’m good with holy water and a Bible. She comes and does it behind our backs then when I tell my husband he confronts her and says she didn’t do it. My husband and I have had arguments over this.
Today I discovered oil in the shape of crosses in my daughter’s room on the walls to where it was dripping on the base board and carpets. AITA for wanting to put our dogs in a dog hotel while on vacation and take her house key because she can’t be respectful of our wishes?
The internet did not hold back one bit.
Flimsy-Fortune6437 wrote:
Is your daughter Linda Blair?
Maybe ask your parish priest to explain to your MIL that she’s not an exorcist.
OP responded:
She has done this in every room of the house even our master bedroom.
Fubar_As_Usual wrote:
NTA. Do it. Funny how so many religious practices seem like nothing more than superstition. I would definitely get the locks changed, and you can always hire a pet sitter if you don’t want to put dogs in a doggie hotel. At least with a sitter, you have a 99.9% guarantee that you won’t come home to ruined doors, walls and carpet.
chickendelish wrote:
She's putting a spell on you because she wants more grandchildren. But she doesn't want her granddaughter to have children. Rock salt is to preserve your family from corruption. The oil to protect from evil spirits entering the home.
Not sure where your in-laws are from but these rites aren't really associated with modern day Catholics although some nationalities lean into the magical side of Catholicism more than Western European or North American Catholics. What she's doing is a form of vandalism if it's not welcome. NTA.
Solid-Musician8476 wrote:
Put your foot down. Remind Hubby of his vows he took with you. Change the locks...don't bother getting the key back. Don't let her in your home unsupervised anymore and get a dog sitter or kennel them like you suggested in the first place.
I would be the bad guy and have no problem with it. The keyless locks are great....you can have guest codes for emergencies. I was raised catholic. This is insanity and her wanting to control.
Hilarious_Genus wrote:
I only have one correction to what you’ve written. Change the locks on your house she may have made copies and could still get in. If you don’t she has way overstepped boundaries and I’m sure that part of her religion insists that she tell the truth so by her lying about not putting this anointing oil on the walls in your house, she’s perpetrating a sin. Just sayin’.
MarionberryPlus8474 wrote:
NTA. Rock salt on the windows? Oil on the walls that’s dripping onto the carpets? Bible “equations” written on the doors/walls in crayon? This is not religious, this is crazy behavior. She’s free do do all this in her home, but not in yours. PLUS, she’s lying about it. You know, like Jesus would and the Bible encourages.
Do not let her stay in your home unsupervised. Use a kennel When you take trips. I would make sure she doesn’t have a key. Side-eye at your husband, is he believing her when she says she isn’t doing all this and acting as if it’s what, a poltergeist that only acts when your MIL is around? Childish evasion.
Gingerbreadwitch_878 wrote:
Ask her why she is performing witchcraft in your house and watch her head explode. It sounds closer to that than anything that a Catholic priest would condone.
NTA.
pandylynn wrote:
NTA.
Please inform her that anointing doors with an holy equation and rock salt in windows are also used in Pagan rites. she's dipping awfully close to the non Christian side.
Bud_Johnson wrote:
NTA. Put up a couple nanny cams and make sure she knows about them. Then put up a couple more that she doesn't know about. If you catch her doing it once with video evidence that's all you need to be justified to kenneling or getting a pet sitter. None of, "I don't know who did that" anymore from her.
TapingDrywallsucks wrote:
Sorry, but the "holy math equation" made me spit out my water. Memory unlocked! For those unaware, it's the first two digits of the year, and C M and B for the 3 wise men, then the last two digits of the year, all separated by crosses, so it does totally look like some algebra thing.
20 † C † M † B † 25
I admit I had to look that up because it's been many decades since I've lived in a house that's been blessed.
AlienGoddess91 wrote:
If a direct approach isn't working, start calling them "her witchy little rituals" or "you know my coworker is pagan and does the same stuff. Are you sure that's catholic? My church never taught that." NTA.
Scarlettnotthatone wrote:
NTA. Take her house key. If she can't manage to help out with your dogs without also redecorating your house, keep her out. What is your husband's argument? I can't even imagine it. Unless it's something like, "But that's my mother, so just let her disrespect you, OK?" which is not the right argument for him to be making.