IT IS CHRIST WHO BORE THE CURSE AND RELIEVES US OF OUR CURSE WHEN WE SEEK FAMILY HEALING

IT IS CHRIST WHO BORE THE CURSE AND RELIEVES US OF OUR CURSE WHEN WE SEEK FAMILY HEALING

To have a bright future you must let go of the past. Especially, you must release the darkness. Are you clinging to guilt? Did you do things for which you still castigate yourself? Do you think less of yourself despite years of purifying -- unable to "shake a mistake"? (Read Micah 7:14-15, 18-20.)

Are you and your loved ones held down by something that may have been handed down through the generations?

Let's focus on this: healing the family tree, which is the title of a brilliant book by Father John Hampsch of California, and also of a pamphlet by the charismatic healer, Father Robert DeGrandis -- two in a growing group of clerics who are addressing this arcane, often controversial, and always fascinating subject that we revisit from time to time because it is of huge potential importance.

Are there recurring problems in your family? Are there illnesses that seem like more than just genetic issues (spirits can enhance these)? Are there inherited spiritual defects -- anything from prayerlessness to atheism? Or emotional defects -- from shyness to suicidal tendencies?

"It is of critical importance to understand that there are two kinds of evil that could be involved in infecting the family tree, one interfacing with the other very often," says Father Hampsch. "The first kind of evil may be called intrinsic evil, or sin. In the Lord's Prayer, we refer to that with repentance in the prayer 'forgive us our trespasses.' The second kind of evil mentioned in the last part of the Lord's Prayer is extrinsic evil, which includes evil forces -- devils, demons, and evil spirits that may attack us from without, which we deal with in the phrase, 'deliver us from evil' -- that is, from the Evil One.

"Wherever there is any attachment to sin (intrinsic evil) there is usually an attempt of the extrinsic forces, demonic forces, to lodge in those areas. But Jesus, Who says, 'The prince of this world has no power over Me (John 14:30), should be called upon to cleanse the bloodlines of the family tree, both living and dead, of anything of evil that may block the healthy state of the individuals within that family. Through Jesus' Power we can break any inherited curses or hexes that may have been transmitted through the generations, and cast out any evil spirits that may harass the living members of the family." This is most effectively done, maintain both Father Hampsch and Father DeGrandis, through the Eucharist and simple private prayer.

The Holy Spirit will shed light on hidden aspects of your family.

Perhaps it is your mission to cleanse these matters. What a joy this can be!

We know one family that has been plagued by dissension -- siblings end up battling each other. This has happened with uncles and aunts and brothers and sisters for generations. There have been fires. There have been strange happenings in homes. When one aunt (an atheist) died, she was "seen" in the home of a niece who then began to take on her characteristics (fighting with her sister and dying soon after of cancer).

It's not all spirits. We all get ill. There is biology. There is psychology. But how much is enhanced -- made worse -- by a spiritual weaknesses? How many issues in a family could be resolved with prayer and recognition of the underlying cause?

All sin is an invitation to "intromit" demonic forces -- and pass them down, says Father Hampsch. Christ came to "bear the curse." Do we cleanse our families with His Blood?

"The most common concern of most people who learn of ancestral contamination is physical illness," says Father Hampsch, "with less concern, unfortunately, for spiritual weaknesses they may have inherited or will transmit to their offspring. Hence, to teach the heinousness of sin, God has emphasized its physical effects: 'If you do not obey the Lord ... The Lord will plague you with diseases... and strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation' (Deuteronomy 28:15-21; Leviticus 26:16, 39). In forgiving ancestral iniquities, physical outcropping of such sin is also healed. This seems to be the underlying dynamic of the healing of the family tree program, and accounts for astonishing testimonies."

It is useful but not essential, claims the priest, to outline one's family tree as a "genogram," in particular listing living or deceased persons who may have strongly influenced family members in a hurtful way (see Micah 7:6). "In the family tree healing service, each person should engage in a kind of individualized private prayer, even though it may be done as a group service. It could be a simple prayer like: 'Do not hold against us the sins of our forefathers' [Psalms 79:8). Or, 'Punish me not for my sins... nor for those of my forefathers' [Tobit 3:3]." In prayer, he advises, spiritually (or if you have drawn a family tree, physically) "place" a Crucifix between every generation and pray to break any pipeline of past sin.

Focus especially on anyone who may be linked to abortion, suicide, accidents, crime, jealousy, argumentation, addiction, or hatefulness.

"Ancestral sin can be punished even to the tenth generation, as stated in Deuteronomy 23:2-3," writes Father Hampsch -- who has a background in both deliverance and psychology, and is listed in Who's Who in Religion in America.

God is a God of forgiveness and forgives us best when we forgive ourselves. Otherwise, we are attached to past sins, which means past darkness, and here we can allow the entrance of spirits. Negative entities seek wounds to enter, especially when we have not forgiven ourselves. We should. We need to. "Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins," says Micah 7:14-15, 18-20.

Accept that forgiveness.

Cast darkness out.

Let not the past repeat.

Look backward and then forward and never backward again.

Recognize the problems. Repent of all failures. Confess. Grant forgiveness to every member of your family. Pray for deliverance over your entire family tree. Convert fully -- forsaking worldliness. Take the Eucharist. Ask the Lord to have angels encamp around you. Persevere in prayer (even when the devil tries to discourage you). Pray out all fallen angels who have been attracted to your lineage. Cast them away. Plead the Blood. Notice how important the lineage of Jesus was -- spelled out by the Bible in such detail -- and how the Lord cleared all past debris. He purified His line as we should purify ours, setting ourselves and loved ones free.

[resources: Healing the Family Tree]