Silencing the Slanderous Accuser of the Brethren

Silencing the Slanderous Accuser of the Brethren

Jennifer LeClaire

(chrisroll/freedigitalphotos.net)

Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit. Listen atcharismapodcastnetwork.com.

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I’ve faced my fair share of slander from the accuser of the brethren. Sometimes it comes through religious spirits that type 50 words per minute and rip off an email without considering the spirit in which they're written. Other times it comes through atheists or radical gay activists who mock and condemn me for voicing God’s Word.

Still other times it can come from who you let get close to you that have believed the enemy's lie.

Of course, it’s no coincidence that the slander always makes its way back to your ears. The accuser of the brethren knows that folks—yes, even Christian folks—can’t resist the temptation to gossip, despite the fact that the Bible says a perverse man sows strife (Prov. 16:28); despite the fact that death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21); and despite the fact that God warns us not to circulate a false report (Ex. 23:1). Many can’t resist the temptation to gossip—especially when slander is involved.

Slander is not pretty. It means "to defame someone; to harm their reputation; to disgrace; or to accuse." Slander is a tool of the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). Consider this: the word slanderer in 1 Timothy 3:11 is the same word for “devil.” When we slander someone, we are acting like devils. We are mirroring the character of Satan. We can’t walk in the anointing God has for us and mirror the character of Satan at the same time. We just can’t.

But what if you are the one being slandered?

How to Respond to Slander

How you respond to mistreatment is one of the most important aspects of your spiritual life. When we respond the right way, we climb higher—or go deeper—in the Spirit. When we respond the wrong way, we get bitter. Over time, that bitterness will defile our spirits and dull our ability to sense the presence of God or hear His voice. Bitterness is deadly—and it’s easy for the people around you to discern. Where true humility lives, though, bitterness can’t take up residence. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

As I said, I’ve endured plenty of mistreatment during my life, and I can honestly say that I count it a blessing. By God’s grace, I’ve always managed to ultimately respond in meekness rather than retaliating against the poor soul manifesting the character of slanderous Satan. And I pray that God’s grace will continue to pour over me as the slander from religious spirits, atheists, radical gay activists and, occasionally, even those who I let get close to me who have believed the enemy's lie continues.

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No one likes to be slandered. I don’t enjoy it. It makes me sorrow for the one who’s committing the sin. The Bible says, “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy” (Ps. 101:5, NKJV). And Romans 1:30-32 suggests backbiters are worthy of death. Paul told us not to keep company with a believer who has "a foul tongue [railing, abusing, reviling, slandering]" (1 Cor. 5:11, AMP)—Scripture actually lists the slanderer among the sexually immoral, the covetous, idolaters, drunkards and extortioners. The point is, God hates slander.

Understanding how seriously God takes slander has had a twofold impact on my heart. First, I don’t want any part of slander. I don’t want to engage in it, and I won’t listen to anyone else engaging in it. If someone comes to me with slander on their lips, I put out the fire and bring gentle correction to help them avoid Satan’s snare. Second, when I see the damage the slanderer is doing to himself by attacking me, I take pity on him. While they think their words are digging a pit for me, they are actually the ones who are bound to fall headlong into the hole.

Transferring Your Personal Rights

I’ve learned over the years to transfer my personal rights to God, knowing He will vindicate me amid the slander—or any other mistreatment. And He has confirmed me time and time again in the presence of my enemies when I give Him the reigns. As Paul wrote, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20, NKJV). I’ve committed my spirit into the Lord’s hands, and, in return, He takes responsibility for my protection, provision and vindication when necessary.

I don’t want to be like the accuser of the brethren. And I don’t want to swap insult for insult (1 Pet. 3:9). I want to be like Jesus, “who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:23). God is the judge. He will make the wrong things right in His way and in His timing. Vengeance is His. He will repay (Rom. 12:19). I won’t be overcome with evil, but I will overcome evil with good (v. 21). I will rejoice when I am persecuted because I know that when I respond the right way, I am blessed. My first response is to pray for those who persecute me. And pray. And pray. And pray some more. It keeps my heart clean.

I’ve found it true, looking back over the many instances where I’ve been mistreated, abandoned, robbed, persecuted, falsely accused and otherwise slandered that the initial sting of the mistreatment fades more quickly when you walk in love, speak the truth in love without being defensive, and refuse to retaliate. I’ve also found it true that God repays, vindicates and takes vengeance on my behalf. If you respond with meekness in the face of mistreatment, you can have the same testimony. Amen.

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Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Spiritual Warrior's Guide to Defeating Jezebel. You can email Jennifer at  jennifer.leclaire@charismamedia.com or visit her website here. You can also join Jennifer on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

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Beware Of Spiritual Pride!

Beware Of Spiritual Pride!
  By William Gurnall

    Pride was the sin that turned Satan, a blessed angel, into a cursed devil. Satan knows better than anyone the damning power of pride. Is it any wonder, then, that Satan sows pride among saints, that he so often uses it to poison them? Spiritual pride is one kind of pride that Satan uses to assault the saints.

    One kind of spiritual pride is pride of gifts. By gifts I mean those spiritual abilities the Holy Spirit dispenses to Christians for the edification of the body of Christ as a whole. The apostle tells us of the great diversity of gifts (1 Cor. 12:4-11). Just look around you at the different species of plants and flowers, and you will have some idea of God’s love for infinite variety. He has been no less creative with the human personality. Every child of God is unique and important for the proper functioning of the body of Christ.

    But when pride creeps in, we begin to create hierarchies among the brethren and among gifts. This inevitably leads to divisions and disputes. Satan knows it and labors to taint every single gift with pride. In so doing he can hurl two stones at once. With one, he strikes the unity of the body as a whole; with the other, he cripples the individual saint.

    Consider the possibility that pride is the reason we do so little good for others with our gifts. When pride prevails, we pray, preach, comfort, or console to be thought good by others, rather than to do good to others. We set ourselves upon a spiritual pedestal and, in a manner of speaking, expect those we serve to worship at the shrine of our good works. Will God honor such efforts? He has told us in no uncertain terms that He will not share His glory with anyone else (Isa. 48:11). The humble man may have Satan at his right hand to oppose him, but the proud man will find himself in a worse fix. God Himself will be there to resist him. If you doubt it, read His Word: "[He] resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (Jas. 4:6).

    Our pride is also the reason we receive so little good from the gifts of other Christians. Pride fills us with notions of our own spiritual sufficiency. We think we are too good (or too holy) to need the help of most other saints. We find few preachers who are "spiritual" enough to minister to us. And if someone offers a word of correction, we close our ears.

    Pride fools us into thinking we "are rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing" (Rev. 3:17). Alas for us! How long can a soul thrive if it steadfastly refuses wholesome nourishment, and will only sit down to a "choice dish" of high-sounding theory? Just as simple food is healthier for our physical bodies than an elaborate feast, so a steady diet of plain truths and God’s ordinances is better for our souls than dipping in the lordly dishes of man’s theological assumptions.

    If you are one who holds yourself in high spiritual esteem, hear this: Many humble Christians, of low estate by the world’s standards, have much to offer you if you are not too proud to receive spiritual food at their hands. Pride always destroys love and separates saints. Without love for all the brethren, we are bound to lose much that God wants to give. The Bible says every saint has been given gifts to benefit the body of Christ.

    Here is a word to you who think your gifts are inferior to those of other members of the body: Be content with your condition. Great gifts lift a saint up a little higher in the eyes of men, but they also tempt him to pride. Do not envy those with great gifts; instead, pray for them. It is hard for them to escape the error of supposing that God’s grace in them is their own doing. You have a real advantage over them, for you have the help of their gifts but not the temptation of their pride.

Words of Caution

    Here, now, are some words of caution for you to whom God has given more or better gifts than ordinary.

    Pride wants to grow where the best gifts have been bestowed. So beware of pride! The only thing that will keep you from it is your humility. Remember whom you wrestle with – spiritual wickednesses. Their ploy is to lift you up high in order to give you a harder fall. They will try to convince you that your spiritual accomplishments are a result of your own efforts and that you deserve the credit for them. Surely you know this is not true! In case you have forgotten, think back to what you were like before the Holy Spirit came to you with gifts from God’s storehouse. How can you be proud of another’s bounty? You may be able to impress other men with your gifts, but you will not impress God. He knows where they all came from.

    Where pride flourishes, the body of Christ suffers. Had God given you gifts merely for your own pleasure or edification, the sin of pride would not be quite so bad. But when you use your gifts to lift yourself up, you tear down the body of Christ. Your gifts are necessary to the health of the whole body, but they must be administered properly. You must be careful to acknowledge that Christ is the Great Physician; you are only the assistant who uses His instruments and carries out His orders.

    Where pride grows, grace withers. Here is another reason to be humble if you have great gifts: every proud thought you entertain costs you a measure of grace. There is not room for both to prosper in the Christian’s heart. Indeed, when grace and pride sit down at the same table, pride shows itself a glutton, and grace leaves the table unfed. Pride must have the most and best of everything to satisfy its appetite. This voracious lust will devour your spirit of praise. When you should be blessing God, you will be applauding yourself. It will eat up Christian love and cause you to disdain the fellowship of other Christians. It will keep you from acknowledging the gifts of others, because that would take away some of the glory you want for yourself. Ultimately, pride so distorts our taste that we can relish nothing drawn from another’s dish.

    Where pride reigns, God chastens. God will not allow such a weed as pride to grow in His garden without taking some course or other to root it up. He may let you fall into a sin that will humiliate you before men and God, and force you to come crawling home in shame. Or He may use a thorn in the flesh to prick the balloon of your pride. If your pride has placed His honor in jeopardy, expect to feel God’s rod of correction. Most likely it will be applied to the very spot where your pride is rooted. Hezekiah boasted of his treasure; God sent the Chaldeans to plunder him (Isa. 39:1-8). Jonah was proud of his gourd; God sent a pestilence to destroy it (4:6-11). Can you expect Him to wink at this sin in your life when He has dealt so firmly with it in His other children?

    Where gifts are bestowed, God calls an audit. Suppose a friend died and named you executor of his estate. But instead of dividing his inheritance according to the instructions left in his will, you took the money and put it in your own bank account, then went around town bragging about how rich you were. How long could you fool people with your false prosperity? Sooner or later the rightful heirs would show up and not only take what is theirs, but probably sue you as well. In a spiritual sense, you are only God’s executor. He has given you gifts, and specific instructions on how to dispense them. By the time you have paid all the legacies, you will see little left for yourself to brag or boast of. Never forget for a moment that you will be held accountable for the talents left in your care.

    Now perhaps you do not keep your gifts from others, but serve the church tirelessly. That sounds commendable. But let me ask you this: who gets the credit for your activities? Suppose a man who was named executor of an estate paid out the legacies as instructed but he pretended they were gifts from himself. Would we not label him a thief and a swindler? A proud soul who takes the credit for his good works is just as much a thief. What is worse, he steals from God Himself!

Warning Signals of Pride

    How can you know when you are in danger of committing the sin of spiritual pride with respect to your gifts? Here are some warning signals.

    You are in danger of spiritual pride if you catch yourself dwelling on the thoughts of your gifts with a secret kind of contentment – always taking them out to look at and admire. A proud man is consumed with love for himself. He is the apple of his own eye. The great subject and theme of all his thoughts is who he is and what he has that is better than someone else’s. Before you protest that you could never fall into the hands of pride, let me tell you that no one is beyond its bounds. Bernard, that great old saint, confessed that even in the middle of one of his sermons, pride would be whispering in his ear, "Well done, Bernard, well done!"

    How can the Christian escape those persistent self-promoting thoughts? Run from them as you would from an enraged bear. Do not stand still to listen to these lies, or soon the devil will have you erecting a monument to yourself with the glory of your God-given gifts. Remind yourself daily how weak you are and how utterly dependent on God for every good and perfect gift.

    Another indicator that you are caught in the trap of spiritual pride is envy of others’ gifts. Keeping our hearts and envy separated is as difficult as keeping two lovers from meeting. It is the sin that shed the first blood: Cain’s envy hatched Abel’s murder.

    Envy is an affront to the character and person of God. When you envy you are questioning God’s right to administer His gifts as He sees best. You are also maligning the goodness of God. You are angry that God wants to bless someone besides you. Would you not have God be good? You might as well say you would not have Him be God, for He can no more cease to be good than He can cease to be God! When your envy prods you to belittle the gifts of other Christians, you are really belittling God who gave them.

    Envy, like its mother, pride, is the scout for a whole host of other sins. This sin of the heart goes before and sets the stage for all kinds of sins of the flesh. Saul, Israel’s first king, fell so low as to plot the murder of the very man who had saved his kingdom. From the day he heard David preferred above himself in the women’s songs, he could not get the sound out of his head. Envy brought him to hate, which carried him on to plot David’s death (1 Sam. 18:6-9).

    Later on, what did envy do to David’s own heart but make him covet the wife of his trusted soldier, Uriah, and lead him through a maze of lust, lies, adultery, and murder? (2 Sam. 11:1-27). Not one of these would have been committed had it not been for that rabble-rouser, envy. It is a bloody sin – the womb wherein a whole litter of other sins is formed (Rom. 1:29). Therefore, unless you are willing to welcome the devil and his whole train, resist the sin of envy.

    To gain mastery over this sin, you must call in help from heaven. We have a sure promise that the foundation of our grace is stronger than that of our lust, but only if we enlist the Holy Spirit in our behalf: "The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy. But He giveth more grace" (Jas. 4:5-6). Do not challenge envy to a duel with your own resolve; you are not strong enough or smart enough to win. But God can give you more grace than you have sin – more humility than you have pride. If you are humble enough to ask for His grace, He will make sure you are not so proud as to envy His gifts or grace in others.

    From The Christian in Complete Armour, Volume One by William Gurnall. This excerpt reprinted by permission of the Banner of Truth, P.O. Box 621, Carlisle, PA 17013.

    William Gurnall (1616-1679) was a highly esteemed Puritan preacher and writer.http://www.heraldofhiscoming.com/Past%20Issues/2006/July/beware_of_spiritual_pride.htm

SATAN'S MILITARY

Inhuman and Human Spirits

SPIRIT TYPES - Compared to US Military

►Ancestral (Human and/or inhuman) Air Force
►Trauma (Abuse & Fear; inhuman) Navy
►Sin Spirits (Our own sins; Inhuman) Army
►Occult Spirits (Satan & false god worship) Marines
All of the above listed open doors letting unwantedspirits in.
For more information on human spirits, (ghosts) see the paranormal section of this website

“No journey to freedom takes place without the grace of God & the power of His Holy Spirit working in & through you.”
One of the most common ways unwanted spirits sabotage us is by attaching to our emotional hurts, many we experienced as a child. Unhealed hurts are food for unwanted spirits, so they aggrivate our known and unrecognized hurts, to make more food for themselves.

But, as we go through the healing process, the hurts go away, leaving the unwanted spirits with little food. They then become weak and are easy to remove while healing with the Lord.
In our own lives we have things that can keep us from healing.These things can be expressions of evil spirits influence.
Why do they influence us in this manner?
They do not want us to heal & get free, they enjoy making us miserable.

•If hurts are not healed, spirits will return to their food source Lk 11 24


We have double blocks, our own & unwanted spirits prevent our healing

Healing & Deliverance releases us from bondage

into blessing!

CAN HUMANS BE AFFECTED BY VARIOUS EARTHBOUND, DEMONIC SPIRITS?

There are many spirits around us and perhaps they affect us in ways we seldom detect. Christ cast them out at every turn and mentioned not just "devils" but also "ghosts" and "unclean" spirits. Is there a difference?

Many are those who believe that in addition to Satan's minions, there are human spirits who are doing their purgatory on earth (St. Padre Pio spoke of this) or are earthbound due to obsession.

These spirits -- some deliverance experts maintain -- can likewise cause ill fortune, disruptions in our lives (especially with our emotions), and even illness (we note Christ casting out "unclean" spirits to heal). It raises a question: is an unclean spirit a demon, or a human soul that has not gone through purgatory (has not been cleansed)?

And if "spirits" linger behind -- or are in bondage here -- might they display the same negative characteristics that they did during life, including anger?

Skeptics argue that there is no Catholic teaching on this -- and they are right. There's a paucity of Church direction on it. Others proclaim it as superstition.

We can say that there often seems to be a supernatural dynamic interwoven in the course of daily life: good and negative, angels and demons -- and perhaps other forms of existence. We won't understand it all until we're on the other side of the veil (until then, much is speculation).

But according to a growing number of Christian deliverance experts, including Jan Reagor, of Montana, a Catholic who has long studied and worked with such cases (often with priests), there is a spiritual analogue to physical cleanliness and in fact she describes her ministry as "cleansing" homes, believing, as she does, that many different spiritual entities can interact with us and do on a constant basis.

If there is a "familiar" feeling to a spirit, says Jan, it is possibly a deceased family member, and if not that, someone who lived in the home or on the property or in the vicinity. She claims there are also "ancestral spirits" -- deceased family members who "can pass from generation to generation" and "affect mental illness and other such infirmities, and can bring a person curses and other problems which they encounter during their lifetimes. These spirits are identified by discernment and detection by getting a family history." She has written two manuals on the subject. Controversial stuff, but also fascinating -- and potentially beneficial.

Meanwhile, there are the inhuman spirits (read: demons) and she says that they cause foul sulfur-like odors and dark red "orbs" and are "often described as blacker than black." These entities come through sinfulness, human faults, and in a special way through occult past-times such as witchcraft, psychic phenomena, Santeria, voodoo, Goth, palm reading, horoscopes, and the Ouija board (to name a few).

Reagor breaks them down even into sub-classes, naming "elemental spirits" as malicious entities that appear foul and beastlike and are on "assignment" from the evil one. Blessed oil, water, and salt are powerful against demons, she notes, while prayers and Masses for any deceased that may be earthbound (if we accept this premise) can solve a "haunted" situation. These spirits need our prayers and love to head for the Light and are dealt with, she and others maintain, differently than demons. The Eucharist and the "Jericho walk" are also said to reclaim land for God (that is, praying seven times around a property).

We have to be careful with these things. One caution: avoid being overly curious. Do not become immersed. Seek not to be a ghost-hunter. Keep away from practices that can bring more problems than they cure.

But realize too that there are spirits all around us.

How about music?

In our view, they can bring dark forces in the same way as the occult because in a way certain types of music are occult-like to begin with. Bands made up to look like demons or calling themselves things like Black Sabbath can bring in dark spirits just as choirs and holy music draw angels.

Draw down the angels! And remember that besides music, our sinfulness and even objects in the home can allow darkness to enter. It can be like germs -- a spiritual epidemic. What books, posters, paintings, tattoos, statues, antiques, videos, websites, TV programs, and magazines are in your home?

Intractable problems (such as arguments, divorce, loneliness, or inability to succeed) can be caused, at times, by a spirit or spirits around a person (spirits that seek to separate us).

"Earthbound spirits," says another from California who claims spiritual insight, are of a "lower vibration than spirits who have gone to God. Angels are of an extremely high vibration. They are much harder to see and have to make the intention to slow their vibration so that they may be visible. Ghosts attract things of extremely low vibration, such as demons (unholy angels). This is another explanation of why they must go -- even if they feel they are helping their loved ones, they are not -- it is very dangerous for them to hang out. Another reason is because they too can get manipulated by demons, just as we can. [Many] 'ghosts' become manipulated by the unholy angels and turn into manipulated ghosts. Make sure that the grandmother talking to your child is a spirit and not a ghost, no matter how friendly she is."

"Ghosts are humans who have died and not yet gone back to the Father. Manipulated ghosts have been attacked and have fallen prey to the manipulations of the unholy angels and become convinced that they are demons too. The unholy Angels twist the manipulated ghosts and use them against people like pawns, and this is why ghosts can become very destructive and evil, because they are tapping into this source. Remember these manipulated ghosts are at their core children of God, and they still have the chance to go back to the Father, to learn more about love and have more opportunity to share in his love. Manipulated ghosts need more assistance to return back home to the Father because they can no longer see themselves as once human, they see only the darkness and the manipulation fed to them. These are the ghosts that appear disfigured, distorted, a perversion of what they were. Anywhere there is a perversion of how something was intended to be, count on the fact that there is demonic influence present."

These things are deep.

Too deep? It is all stated for your own determination. We certainly respect skepticism.

And yet, we live at a time when many seem afflicted -- and in need of help that is not provided to us, despite the example (and instructions, see Matthew 10:8) of Jesus. We can be attacked while awake. We can be attacked at night. No need for paranoia. The need is to pray.

Many are the manifestations. Spirits can operate in both the natural and supernatural. Often, they attack during sleep. It is very important, therefore, to pray before we go to sleep, and immediately upon rising, so they can take no root. Wrote Brother Gabriel (Thomas) Ridenour of Caribou, Maine (concerning an article about terrifying, "freak" dreams, during which people feel paralyzed):

"I had it happen to me several times during my last year as a teacher in a Christian school in Kentucky some ten years ago. Each occurrence was a prelude to some attack in the natural realm. It was as if the devil was trying to make the point that if he couldn't scare me one way, he would try some other. Once it was followed by a wave of gossip and slander by some of the school parents. Another time as I was out on a prayer walk along an open stretch of country road late at night a pickup truck drove by at high speed and hit me square in the back with a half-full Coke bottle, only to turn around and come back at me head-on and hit me in the arm with another, which left me with a nasty bruise.

"Always as I lay 'paralyzed' I would try to call on the name of Jesus, but could only do so in my mind and with great difficulty. Then it would leave. Once as it was leaving I could hear a hideous laughter in my right ear. The windows were open and dogs began to bark one after another as the thing made its way through the neighborhood. If I had not experienced this myself, I would think anyone who said they had such an experience was crazy."

It is important to know that darkness exists and how it manifests but not to dwell on it -- which can give it more power. When we pray the Rosary, it is especially powerful. Evil usually dissipates instantly, when we call upon Mary. I especially recommend the Scriptural Rosary (which combines the power of the Bible with the grace of the Blessed Mother).

See it, purge it, and move on -- in faith. Fasting and reading the Bible are powerful at times of duress, which in the Name of Jesus must lift (whether that trial is eventual or immediate). Cast out, move on, and fill voids with the Holy Spirit.

There is no need to know all the alleged intricacies of spiritual workings, no need to search out every detail, just to know that when they negatively affect us, they ultimately are rooted in a force of darkness.

The antidote is the Light of Jesus.

Nothing dark -- no thing -- can stand before it.

[resources: spiritual warfare books, Scriptural Rosary, and Jan Reagor's handbook, "Prayers for deliverance and blessing for homes and other buildings," available at Alive in Jesus Healing Ministry, P.O. Box 73, Gt. Falls, MT 59403; for a brochure e-mail here or her website]

[Also: Michael H. Brown spiritual retreat and Mass, Minnesota and Retreat in New Jersey]

HEALING THE FAMILY TREE: PRIEST POINTS TO 'GENERATIONAL' SPIRITS AS ROOT OF ILLNESS

We've long been interested in the testimony of priests concerning what they call "generational healing." That's when spiritual burdens from the past -- from ancestors -- are allegedly lifted. We say "allegedly" because while this practice is growing, is accepted by many priests, and appears to conflict with no strictures of the Church, it still raises questions among some Christians. It is a fascinating concept: that like Scripture says (Exodus 34:7) -- and as we know from Adam and Eve -- sins of the fathers can be passed down through the generations.

Could this really be? Might spiritual matters be inherited -- passed down like genes?

In the past, we've spoken to experts such as Father John Hampsch of California and Father Robert DeGrandis of Washington, D.C. Last week we called another, Father Lou Cerulli of Montreal, who explained that there are just too many cases where recurring problems -- divorce, alcoholism, financial problems, accidents -- run in families. When a person dies, he believes, spirits that caused such problems or spiritual proclivities are passed on to the descendants.

"All of us are affected at least to some degree," says Father Cerulli. "Some people are more affected than others. Some people have no problems until they are 40 or 50. There are always degrees. But if you're going back to all the generations, there is going to be something. Whether we're aware of it or not is another question."

According to Father Cerulli (who travels extensively giving healing Masses), burdens from the past seem to especially manifest through disorders that are psychological or emotional. To dispel them Father Cerulli focuses on the Eucharist, asking those who seek his help to fill out a "genogram (basically, a family tree with the names of ancestors) and reciting prayers designed to alleviate such problems. During Mass the priest tells those seeking his counsel to continue writing down any facts, thoughts, or memories about deceased relatives. He speaks especially about the effects of past occult involvement. After the gifts are brought up, Father Cerulli says he recites another prayer to break generational curses.

"Then they bring up the family trees and they are placed in a basket that I raise up to the Lord for His healing," explains Father Cerulli. "The Eucharist is celebrated and afterward the genograms are sealed in envelopes that are never opened and given to a community of nuns in Montreal who pray over them for three months, later disposing of them by burning them."

All kinds of problems dissolve. There are physical healings. There is deliverance from disorders like anorexia, bulimia, and even suicidal tendencies. Usually it's the relief from a general malaise that has haunted folks for decades.

"Invariably, there will be people who come up and say they had been carrying a burden -- abortion, miscarriages, infant death -- and afterward you can see the release on their faces," claims Father Cerulli. "Such peace and joy! Often, there is reconciliation. We have cases where there's been an estrangement and people haven't heard from family members for maybe 20 years or more, and all of a sudden there's a knock on the door or a letter in the mail or a phone call. I remember an instance where a lady was even unaware that she had a sibling and after a weekend retreat, she came into contact with this sibling. Sometimes this is within days or weeks of a celebration of the Eucharist for the family tree."

Now Father Cerulli was a late vocation who was ordained in 1991 and was inspired to start his ministry by an English psychiatrist named Dr. Kenneth McCall who wrote extraordinary, groundbreaking books on generational healing (at some point in the future, we'll explore the life of this incredible psychiatrist). Father Cerulli usually gives a monthly healing Mass in Montreal, and will soon be pastor of St. Ignatius Loyola in that Canadian city.

What advice does he give to families who feel they are "haunted" -- that there is something negative hovering around their lineage?

If they can't get to a healing Mass, he advises, they should meet as a family and discuss the issue. "One thing I suggest they do is put their thoughts on paper and develop a genogram as a tool, not as a science, but to become as specific as we can in praying for our families," says the priest. "If possible, get together and look at the family tree. Sit down, have a nice meal together, share your stories, bring your photographs, and put it down on paper. Try to be as specific as possible. Put down names if you can. If you don't know the name of your great-great grandfather, then just put down 'GGF.' After you've had your discussion and made your notes, pray. Pray for the healing of your family tree."

Father Cerulli believes there are spiritual aspects particular to various lineages. For example, Italians often confront occult spirits passed down from ancient paganism or from practices such as witchcraft, the Black Hand, or the "evil eye." There is also much occultism in Latin cultures, notes the priest -- who worked in the financial industry and designed training programs for major corporations before responding to the priestly call.

But really, says Father Cerulli, no ethnicity can be singled out. Every culture has its spiritual problems. Unhealthy practices "open up doors to the family line that never should have been opened," and one striking example, he believes, may be the ancient and seemingly intractable Jewish-Arab division. He believes if it may go back to the fact that Abraham had two sons -- one by his lawful wife, Sarah, the other by their Egyptian servant, Hagar.

The son by Sarah was Isaac, and his descendants were to inherit Canaan. The son born of Hagar was named Ishmael and may have been a patron of Arabs.

"His hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him; And he will live to the east of all his brothers," notes Genesis 16.

"These two guys and these two nations have been at each other ever since," notes Father Cerulli.

"Ultimately, we all have problems. We're all connected. We may be different people and different cultures and different languages, but if you go right back we come from God and are all one, are all connected."

[Fr. DeGrandis's book] [Fr. Hampsch's book] [Dr. McCall's book]

PRIEST EMPHASIZES POWER OF FORGIVENESS NOT JUST OF THOSE ALIVE BUT ALSO DEAD

"Forgiveness breaks the connection with the unlove of the past. It is a pathway of healing. It's a lifelong practice. There's always something we have to forgive. It's a moment by moment grace. When we simply allow the Lord to empower our choice to forgive, then the transformation process begins. Then we begin to change."

So says Father Lou Cerulli -- a powerful priest (from Canada) and an expert at what they call family or intergenerational healing. It's a heavy statement, full of meaning we have to digest: Forgiveness. Christ said to do it all the time -- not just seven times, but seven times seventy: meaning constantly. It lifts us out of current crises -- stops the aggravation that so often mires us and our loved ones -- and when applied to past generations, even to the deceased, claims this priest, it can have surprising results. This is especially important in the closing moments of this month during which we pray for those in purgatory.

Forgiving the dead? Do we really need to do such a thing? Why?

There are bonds, claims Father Cerull. There are bonds between us and those in our bloodline. Are we not bonded all the way back to the Garden? As a result, Father Cerulli, a former corporate consultant who was ordained about ten years ago, recommends prayer in which deceased relatives are visualized and forgiven. What really helps, he says, is receiving Communion for them. He believes it's especially important to pray for two groups of people: those we liked the most and those we disliked the most! They are the ones who were either closest to us or who caused the greatest antagonism.

Praying for them can often free us from problems that otherwise seem to have hidden roots, asserts this charismatic priest, who hails from Montreal. "We just bring all of them before the Lord and into the Eucharist," he says. "First we ask the deceased to forgive us. In the Presence of Jesus, we ask them to forgive us for any wrongs we may have committed against them. That may include the failure to pray for family members who needed prayer. Then we forgive them -- we forgive them for their sinful habits, and for the damage they have done."

It is a growing ministry that is both controversial and fascinating. Are we really affected by the deceased? Can what relatives and even distant ancestors have done still take a toll? And if so, how do we know what to pray about?

One basic way of approaching this, says Father Cerulli, is to simply state: "I forgive you for whatever you have done that is affecting me today." The priest recommends that we apologize to God on behalf of our ancestors -- "for the insults they have perpetrated, perhaps through occult activity," he states in his tapes. "Receiving forgiveness from Christ removes guilt. Receiving forgiveness from someone else lubricates the healing-love flow. And giving forgiveness removes resentment."

"Jesus says in 1 Corinthians 11:26, 'whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.' And so in this part of the Eucharist we pray for our family trees. We pray that even as Jesus comes into the bread and wine, so will He come into the family we are praying for."

What matters, says Father Cerulli, is not how we may or may not feel, but that we concentrate on showing the Lord to the dead person and let Jesus bring healing to the living. He believes that the afflictions of the deceased can otherwise haunt the living. "The negative bond between us and them is broken," he asserts. "The Eucharist contains all the means we need to be set free."

This is especially important, he says, for deceased relatives who may never have known the healing love of Jesus. Often the bondages we have are not due to demonic spirits, he believes, but to familial spirits. He cites the case of a lady who had an unusual fear of heights and sensed the presence of a dead grand-father, whom she frequently saw in her dreams. After offering the Eucharist on his account, according to Father Cerulli, the woman found that she no longer had a phobia of falling. Further research revealed that her grandfather had died after falling off a ladder.

"Sometimes what people sense as an evil spirit may be rather a familial spirit," he asserts. "However this may work on a spiritual level, it's like someone who is trying to get our attention and needs our prayer."

Healing books: Fr. DeGrandis, Fr. Hampsch's, Dr. McCall']

CURSES OR BLESSINGS: LOOK AT YOUR LIFE AND BE CAREFUL HOW YOU HANDLE GRACE

Do you want curses or blessings? Do you want to fully partake of what Jesus offers, or reject it? Do you want grace -- or gracelessness?

It sounds like a silly question, but at times -- many times -- we choose the "curse."

We curse ourselves. Jesus taught this. We curse ourselves in many ways. Most often, it is through words.

If there are blocks in your life -- if prayers seem unanswered -- take stock of what you say (and think) through the day.

"The words we are pronouncing say much about ourselves," noted an Croatian priest named Father Ljubo Kurtović a while back.

"A word can wound and heal, it can kill and bring back to life. This is why it is important to overcome what is bad and evil within us with what is good, pure, and blessed. Whatever is blessed brings blessing. Bless a thing and it will bless you! Curse it and it will curse you! Whatever you judge in your life will come back to you and hurt you.

"If you bless a situation, it has no more strength to hurt you and, even if for a time it causes you trouble, little by little this trouble will disappear, and the blessing coming from a pure heart will become a blessing for others. When you bless, you become ready to receive blessing. Blessing is the strength and the light for our paths. Through the blessing, light and peace enter into us. As soon as someone starts to bless instead of curse, wishing good to others instead of cursing them, he becomes healthy, happy, and saved from the hands of the enemy."

We put ourselves at risk when we are not grateful. We do that when we are angry (even when offered grace). We do that when we fail to see God's goodness in suffering (when we do not take advantage of the great power in suffering). We do it when we lack kindness.

And we do it when we consider a blessing a curse.

Look back at your life and meditate on the times God sent you much to do -- perhaps a flood of business -- and you made it into a trial instead of a gift; you cursed all you had to do instead of thanking Him for it!

We also turn a blessing into a curse when:

--we reject someone who was sent to us

--we violate what was sent to us in marriage

--we squander or hoard what we were meant to share

--we divert a blessing into ego

--we turn joy into pride

--we fail to pray for those who attack us

--we stray from the Bible

--we have sex instead of having love

--we exploit nature

--we compromise with the world

--we count blessings with dollar signs

When sufferings come, remember the Law of Abraham: the pain (even agony) will be redeemed and made whole. There is always eternity -- the greatest blessing of all!

Frequently we lose grace due to a spirit of self-righteousness.

Did you ever realize how much of your casual conversation is taken up pointing out the faults or inferiority -- or negativity -- of another?

This gets back to how we talk: we are in a time when everyone is better than everyone else, when everyone has harsh words, when Christians and non-Christians alike destroy their spirituality by attacking others.

Everyone is above everyone else; everyone is filled with self-righteousness (caused by self-deception).

Don't let the devil take away what God wants to give you (which is a lot!). Don't judge others. You will be judged by the same measure. If you set the bar high, it will be high for you. On the other hand: "If you are humble," said Mother Teresa (heed this well), "nothing will touch you."

WHEN BLOCKED FROM PRAYING, STEP BACK FROM WORLDLINESS AND CLEAR THE SPIRIT

At times it can be hard to pray for someone (or ourselves) if there's a "block," which can come through sin or other spiritual problems -- a wall around a person. It's true; prayers can bounce back.

But here's a question: Might there also be times we can't pray for someone to regain health or improve in some other needed way because we're praying for the wrong result?

That is: are there times when God wants us to first pray that the afflicted person -- the focus of our prayers -- develop spiritually -- be healed at a higher level -- before we're cleared to pray for a physical result?

Yes. And so this advice: if you're stymied in praying for a physical healing -- if your prayers seem like a huge strain -- first pray for the spiritual aspect. Pray that the person progress spiritually from the problem (growing in humility, love, kindness); pray for growth; then, pray for the "miracle"!

How often we hear our priests say that spiritual healing is more important than physical healing, and they say that because it's what Jesus indicated!

Which brings us to another recent topic: worldliness.

Nothing stops healing more than over-attachment to the world. Take it from Thomas à Kempis in his classic The Imitation of Christ, when he quotes Christ as saying in a locution:

"My son, if, for your own pleasure or worldly friendship, you set your peace in any person, you will always be unstable, and you will never be content. A man draws nearer to God in so far as he can withdraw himself from the world and from all worldly comfort, and he ascends higher toward God in so far as he can descend lower in himself and become mean and abject in his own sight.

"If you could bring yourself to nothing -- and wholly banish from your heart all created love -- then, says our Lord, I should come to you with great abundance of My Grace."

"Created love" is worldly affection.

In other words: love at the deepest level if you want to see the miraculous -- and that means having concern not first and foremost with physical well-being but spiritual progression (the walk toward Heaven). Many people who are seriously ill have spiritual issues. These need to be resolved. God's main aim is bringing us directly to Him, and sometimes we are purified through suffering.

There is nothing like hardship -- especially a health scare -- to make us put things in better perspective.

That's not to say that all seriously ill people have issues. Hardly! Some are saints. Suffering can be a gift. It brings progression rapidly.

But in cases where there is a dark spot, healing the spirit transmits to the physical.

Confession is important here: where deliverance and even exorcism remove a spirit from the body, Confession removes evil from the soul (which by means of God controls the physical) and releases us for blessing.

To heal or be healed there must also be a climate of love. Love is the power of God and God alone wills a healing. Breathing love breathes in healing. To connect with Him, we must purify our innermost selves and build an atmosphere of goodness, kindness, and longsuffering, which bring us the pure oxygen of well-being.

If you're at real odds with someone -- wasting time going over and over a hurt (and rehearsing sharp replies, which are worldly) -- think instead, and simply: "quiet strength and humility and love. Totus tuus. Lord Jesus!" It is an instruction to your soul.

That can help purge those parts of the spirit that are secret chambers, of which we have previously spoken -- parts of us that can affect health but are so deep we are not even aware of them (only Jesus is).

When someone is ill, and you feel resistance, pray first that the person be healed spiritually; pray that the person develop; pray that the Will of God bring the best result (as far as the person's eternity); do this also for yourself; and the Lord will allow your prayer for healing to be released into His almighty arms as body and soul head for the joy of His favor.

[resources: The God of Miracles and Father DeGrandis's book]

When Spiritual Attacks Come Through Family, Remember to Disengage

Have you ever noticed that some of the greatest trials (and most intense attacks) come through members of the family?

Many stinging words and hurtful actions come through those closest to us, for the simple reason that the devil is clever.

He infiltrates. He hurts us through those who are closest to us, or he uses us to hurt them. You know how it is: you're visiting relatives and something is said or a certain tone of voice is used or there is the resurrection of an old hurt or an old argument or a conflict of personalities.

We all have baggage, and members of our families are likely to have some of the same weak spots, adding fuel to the fire.

Especially during holidays and summer months, we think of this because exposure is heightened. We also think of it because one of the Mass readings this week is from Matthew 10:36: "A man's enemies are those of his household."

"Enemies" is used in the sense of temptation -- and especially a temptation to fight back!

What do we do about it? How do we stop it from ruining family get-togethers?

There is first of all our own healing: If we have a conflict with a relative who shares some of our traits, we should seek to purge the traits that cause argumentation, and do this beforehand. Often, we are most aggravated at those who act through faults that we subconsciously recognize in ourselves. If you see someone as impatient or selfish, make sure you are not selfish or impatient. Many times what we see as negatively in another is a reflection of what is also negative within us. Relatives are often mirrored images of each other.

There is also "pre-forgiveness": When there is a particular person with whom you have trouble, forgive that person before you even visit. Forgive him or her for anything that might be said. Then, ignore the insult. This is crucial. Say, "It doesn't matter." Rise above aggravation.

Such is difficult and we do through the "prayer of disengagement": When you are to be near someone who likes to pick fights, who has rankled you, or with whom you simply fall into conflict, pray beforehand that you are emotionally disengaged as soon as the insult arrives, so that you will not react hastily and with similar hostility. It is when we react instantly, and with equal negative force, that we feel the strongest "sting."

Instead, reply to attacks with prayer and soon the attacks will end. Use as your mantra "reconciliation, love, humility." Remember the scripture about how a kind word turns wrath away?

Greet insults with silence, and inject your spirituality into debates. In the heat of the moment we rarely regret what we have not said.

I saw this recently. Someone wanted to pick a fight about politics, and I instead turned the discussion to prayer. The attack vanished.

It's when we let our egos become involved that conflicts sting the most and become long-lasting.

Hard as it may seem, don't take such attacks personally. Know where they come from (often, the devil) and excuse the person immediately.

That isn't to say we should let someone continue unfairness without rebuke, nor that there is not a place for correction, but that we should respond (and use corrective words) only with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Go to Mass before meeting with someone with whom you have special problems! Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you to become disengaged as soon as the spark of an argument is lit.

Pray to be healed from any past hurts associated with whomever you will have contact, and forgive those hurts.

And don't become overly attached. Strange as it seems, we are not supposed to be overly attached to anyone, including family members. Such over-attachment often is at the root of antagonism.

In The 12 Steps to Holiness and Salvation, St. Alphonsus Liguori says that "to arrive at a perfect union with God, it is necessary, therefore, to be entirely detached from creatures. In particular we must renounce every inordinate attachment for our relatives. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ tells us that he who is too much attached to relatives cannot be His disciple. And why? Because it often happens that we have no greater enemies of our soul than our own relatives [my italics]."

Strong words, but often true. When we look too much to people instead of God, conflicts, imbalance, and attacks erupt. When there are problems, keep a holy distance. See through the prism of Jesus. Being attached should not be confused with love! We are always to love, but we are to love God first and to love all around us through Him.

This keeps us from over-attachments -- and from many family problems.

"It is sad to see so many souls who are otherwise rich in virtues and graces, but who never reach a perfect union with God because they have not courage to renounce some little attachment," said St. Alphonsus. "All that is necessary is one generous effort to break the cord that bind them and constitutes the only obstacle to their happiness."

In A Culture Immersed In Anger, Remember That Such Feelings Bring You Misfortune

Anger. It is a great stumbling block of our time. Turn on your radio. Turn on the TV. Watch the way everyone talks about each other.

Oh, the self-righteous amongst us! We are a people filled with anger without realizing it -- and the dangers.

In fact, if there are misfortunes in your lives, or at least blockages, you may want to take a reckoning of what's going on in your thoughts.

Is there dislike? Are you an angry person? Critical? Do you tend first to look at the bad side of others?

We speak here of anger because often the frustrations in our lives -- the inability to find a mate, troubles in marriage, financial distress -- are the result of negativity. What a downward path this is!

"Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go," warns Proverbs (22:24-25), "lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul."

Unwittingly, when we have anger toward someone we are cursing and such curses are boomerangs that come back to haunt us.

"We give the enemy a legal right to attack, or to gain a stronghold in our lives, when we harbor anger," writes Bill Banks, an expert.

This goes right to Scripture: "Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27).

We grant the devil an evil right when we share in his rage and in our culture we're surrounded by this. Some make a living being angry. In politics, they believe they have the right to be angry if they are on the "right" side of an issue.

Righteous indignation is one thing, but spewing a constant litany of anger is anything but being on the right side.

All around are those who are rude and critical over the air or in person without realizing the harm they are doing to themselves and the blocks they are creating.

Anger plays an enormous role in blocking answers to prayers because anger is connected to hatred, which is the opposite of God and fuels attack by the enemy. It is his energy!

When we look at anger, it is often caused by either pride or by fear. Fear is the opposite of faith -- it is faith in a negative -- and what you fear makes you angry.

Did you know that? Did you know that your anger, by and large, is rooted in fear? We get this even from the dictionary. Webster's tells us that anger is an "affliction," that it is angst, anguish, and fear, "a strong feeling excited by a real or supposed injury."

So get rid of that too. Get rid of emotional hurts. Ask the Sacred heart to heal them. And don't fear. "For the thing I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me," lamented Job (3:25).

The same is true of anger: it brings what we least want -- and it is a sign of another great block to healing: unforgiveness. When we have anger we must often look for deeper wounds and heal those wounds lest they continue to fester.

Unhealed, they cause endless trouble. Emotional wounds attract the enemy. And when we have rage, we grow attached to the subject of our anger! Did you ever realize that? When you express anger at someone, you become attached to that person in a negative sort of soul tie; we enter into a vicious cycle of dislike, that often grows.

What we hate is hard to shake and brings what we least want -- while love chases evil away.

From Time To Time All Homes Are Prone To Spiritual Attack And Must Be Blessed

Your home is supposed to be your castle, and as such it needs protection. While we live in a society that largely discounts the existence of evil spirits, there is no doubt they exist -- and that from time to time they afflict all our homes if we don't take the proper spiritual measures.

How do we know if we are afflicted? Through prayer, of course: when we pray we're sensitized and we can ask the Lord to warn us if there is an evil spirit. We know there is affliction if there are strange noises or shadows or if we are suddenly overcome by negative emotions when we arrive home or enter a specific room. We know there is darkness when all of a sudden everything seems to go wrong: when there is depression or oppression; when there is division; when there are suddenly intense arguments, often for no reason. An evil spirit can cause everything from insomnia and general malaise to serious illness. "The presence of evil is manifested by physical discomfort; insomnia, headaches, or stomachaches; or a general malaise that happens in that particular place and nowhere else," writes Father Gabriele Amorth, Rome's official exorcist, in a powerful book we highly recommend and in our bookstore, An Exorcist Tells His Story

If time after time we experience a swing of emotion on entering a locale, we need to pray to discern the situation. This is not to say that every depressed mood and every argument comes from a demon. But it is to say that such spirits trouble us more than we know -- and that they often attach themselves to a residence.

How does this happen? How does evil lay claim to a house?

There is the obvious: the evil that comes when we sin (when our homes are used for acts that contravene moral teaching, especially by way of drugs, homosexuality, or prostitution), or if the occult has been practiced in a home (astrology, Tarot cards, Ouija boards, seances, numerology, crystals). But spirits can also infiltrate more subtly. They can come from the books we have, or the programs and movies we watch, or what we do on a computer. They can come with those who have spirits attached to them. They can come with heavy-metal posters that are hanging in our kids' rooms. Just as a holy book, picture, or statue brings a blessing, so does a dark item bring oppression.

In short, there are countless ways that evil enters. Sometimes it comes as a mere test. Sometimes there is no explanation. But there is always a solution. The solution is the Name Jesus, and in His Name, all evil, however strong or weak, must leave. It's a matter of invoking His Name in the right way, and often a matter of persistence. When we feel a dark cloud over our homes, we need to start with the sacramentals. Get an abundant supply of Holy Water, and then pray as you sprinkle some in every room (from basement to top floors and even the attic).

Fill your homes with prayer and evil must leave and pray to fill it with angels.

Even if your home is not specially afflicted, this should be done on a regular basis, at least weekly in these times when evil is so rampant. It only takes a few minutes. There is also Blessed Salt, which is as powerful as Holy Water. Have a priest bless salt in a plastic bag just as he would Holy Water (it is an official sacramental), and use this also -- especially in stubborn cases. In such instances, having a Mass said in a home can lift an oppression. Father Pellegrino Ernetti, the most well-known exorcist in the Venice area (also famous as a biblical and music scholar) has advised those in strong cases "to mix in a cup or glass exorcised water, oil, and salt; then every evening, to pour a teaspoon of the mixture on the ledge of every window and at the threshold of every door, praying the Our Father while doing it," according to Father Amorth's book.

The Rome exorcist has written a follow-up that we also recommend, An Exorcist, More Stories. Blessed Salt, he says has the "specific function" to "protect places from an evil presence or influence." (We'll be carrying articles on Blessed Salt in the future.)

Is this all hokum? Is this what critics of Catholic practices, or the modernists, would call paranoia or superstition?

Naturally, we have to have balance. We can't get too swept up in watching for demons. Our eyes are to be trained upward! But it is true. We saw a case ourselves recently whereby a person who was involved with a very questionable situation was coming to our home and we blessed the entrance with Holy Water -- with the specific prayer that no evil spirit would be able to follow this person in.

At the end of the evening, when this person was ready to leave, and a prayer was in progress, suddenly there was a loud disturbance just outside the front door -- the wind kicking up in a way that startled and surprised everyone -- and a Christmas angel out front was knocked over, right at the threshold (as if whatever was around was angry because it couldn't get in).

Coincidence?

We don't think so. We think instead that these days, with so much darkness, every threshold could use a blessing.

Breaking Generational Curses

Speaking of curses.

Generational curses are judgments that are passed on to individuals because of sins perpetuated in a family in a number of generations.

The Bible mentions “generational curses” in several places (Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9). It sounds unfair for God to punish children for the sins of their fathers. However, this is looking at it from an earthly perspective. God knows that sin is passed down from one generation to the next. When a father has a sinful lifestyle, his children are likely to have the same sinful lifestyle as well. That is why it is not unjust for God to punish sin to the third or fourth generation – because they are committing the same sins their ancestors did. They are being punished for their own sins, not the sins of their ancestors. The Bible specifically tells us that God does not hold children accountable for the sins of their parents (Deuteronomy 24:16).

Moses addressed this issue when the Israelites were preparing to enter the promised land. He told the new generation that was preparing to enter in that they would not enter unless the dealt with their own personal sins and also the sins of their fathers. The account can be found in Leviticus 26:39-42

39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;

41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.


There are four Curses in the Bible I think it would be wise to plead the blood of the lamb for removal of -- with ALL sincerity. UNLESS - you are already saved by the blood of Christ. In that case - rest assured even the curses below are forgiven.....

None of these curses effects your ultimate salvation if you have your faith in Jesus Christ. When we become Christians, we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17): 17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new". The cure, then, for a generational curse is faith in Christ and a life consecrated to Him (Romans 12:1-2): They do give Satan "ammunition" to set up roadblocks for your life, however -except for those who are saved. Removal of these may just help your health and/or prosperity. You may think I'm being superstitious - see below how both Nehemiah & Daniel took these very serious....

So, be safe and ask Jesus to cut any generational ties to you and anyone in your family who may have begun these curses. Ask Him to also cut any of these ties between you and your children and grand children.

CURSE THOSE THAT CURSE ISRAEL:

Genesis 12:3: "And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all nations of the earth be blessed."

Christians should never forget that Jesus of Nazareth was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, and was proud to be a Jew. Jesus (Yeshua) was also a rabbi. It was because the Roman Cornelius of Caesarea was good to the Jews that Cornelius was the first Gentile to receive the gospel. In Psalm 122:6 we read; "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee."

Knowing this - and having eternal gratitude to the Jewish People I do not think it is possible to be a good Christian and not stand with Israel and the Chosen People. Jesus said "Salvation is of the Jews".

BIRTH OUT OF WEDLOCK:
This is a 10 generation curse of Deuteronomy 23:2. God commanded that a person of illegitimate birth must be kept out of the congregation of the Lord, and his ancestors for ten generations. See the mighty prayers of which the sins of the fathers were repented of in Nehemiah 9:2-3 and in Daniel 9:5-6. They both took this very serious.

IDOL WORSHIP:

Yahweh (I am/Yeshua) not be the God of anyone who denies the suffering and atonement of His only Son on the cross as all other religions do. Just think what it would be like to always think you have to do the will of a false god who is not even there, and to be constantly surrounded by hatred that always "eggs you on" to hate and kill.

Another curse you may want to plead away is that if anyone anywhere in your family ever bowed down to "Ba'al", "Molech" or any pagan god. Masons do this, many "unknowingly". But that does not release them from this curse -as masonry is idol worship. It is the sin of idol worship.

Idolatry visits the sins of the fathers to the children.

See Exodus 20:4-5 "..visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children even unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me".

Freemasonry is also a generational curse. Freemasonry is also a religion other than Christianity. Masonry’s practices and doctrines are iniquities laced with idolatry, paganism, the occult, Kabala, fertility cults, Satanism, spiritualism, demonology, and put it into a blender and come up with the Masonic religion. It is not of God! It is a false religion; the Harlot of Babylon. Masons say they offer new candidates "the light". The light they are actually giving is: Lucifer. The Christian Bible says that Satan walks to and fro on this earth masquerading as an "angel of light", that many might be deceived.

SOUL TIES:
God made marriage to be a covenant. It is coming together under one flesh. In the Old Testament, mere
sexual relations constituted a marriage. So intimacy with someone actually creates a covenant link -- or "soul tie".

It would be wise to confess this to Jesus and ask that any of these out of marriage sexual relationships ("soul ties") be severed, except from your husband or wife....

So I think it would be wise to plead the blood of the lamb about all of the above - OR - is it necessary at all - since all your sins are forgiven once you accept Jesus Christ's death on the cross as payment for your sins?

WE KNOW THERE IS ALSO ANOTHER, ON SATAN

Genesis 3:14 - 15

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

'HIDDEN HINDRANCES' SEEN AS BLOCK TO HEALING WHEN CAUSE IS SPIRITUAL IN NATURE

Healing is real -- and it is as spiritual, in many cases, as it is physical. Thus, when illness persists, it is sometimes because there are hidden spiritual hindrances.

This is according to Maria Vadia, a lay evangelist in the Miami area who relates in a new book that those hindrances can include obvious factors like unbelief but also ones we do not contemplate, such as: curses, unforgiveness, unconfessed sin, and general demonic interference.

"Sin in our lives is an open door for the enemy to come in our lives to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10) with sickness and disease," writes Maria, who was baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1987 and is active in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. "It's like leaving the back door of your house open! Unwanted guests will probably pay you a visit (Ephesians 4:26-27). Some people are sick because of an open door of sin in their lives. It's extremely important that we shut the door to the enemy by renouncing, repenting, and confessing every sin, including any kind of occultic involvement in the past."

This is critical: ridding occult involvement: Many do not realize that even touching horoscopes, Tarot cards, fortunetelling, New Age practices, or Ouija boards can have a profound effect.

It is idolatry (see Chapter Twenty of Exodus for the consequences of that).

"My brother, who is a doctor, ministered to a Catholic patient who had suffered from left-side abdominal pain for over twenty years," she writes in Healing is for You!. "She had been tested and treated by different gastroenterologists with no results. As my brother prayed with her, he asked the Lord for a word of knowledge to get to the root of the problem. The Lord gave him the word 'San Lazaro,' which is a Santeria, witchcraft 'saint.' My brother commanded the spirit of 'San Lazaro' to leave her; it came out and the pain was gone! She was set free from the pain and then told my brother that all her life she had placed 'San Lazaro' above Jesus."
Oh, that we might all have doctors like that!

It may be a "spirit of fibromyaligia." It may be a "spirit of depression." There is power in casting out by name, and this is also true of mental illness.

"My mother, who is a psychiatrist, realized after she was baptized in the Holy Spirit that the root of the problems in many of her patients was demonic in origin," writes Maria, who is from a medical family. "Medicine, in many cases, could only deal with the symptoms. The real problem, an evil spirit, needed to be cast out in the Name of Jesus for the person to be healed."

The very reading on Easter was from Acts -- describing how Jesus "went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil." "In Matthew 17, there is the story of the epileptic boy whom the disciples couldn't help, even though they tried. As you can see, Jesus had to rebuke the demon first, for the boy to be set free and healed. Once again, we see that the root of the problem in this boy's health was demonic: Jesus dealt directly with the problem and the boy was healed instantly.

"There are the other modern examples.

There was the woman involved in the occult with a lung tumor. She finally agreed to receive Christian prayer and the tumor disappeared. This also happened to a woman who declared a healing over herself and cursed the root of her cancer cells as Christ had cursed the tree. She did this with supreme faith and "there was no trace of cancerous cells in my uterus [after]," says Maria. "I thank the Lord for His healing."

Then there is the lack of forgiveness.

Evangelists and healing priests constantly point to this as a hidden and yet powerful cause of "unwellness."

When we don't forgive, we maintain a hold on darkness.

"Just today my brother, the doctor, treated a 75-year-old woman suffering from arthritis and sciatic pain," relates the author. "She was in great pain. My brother realized by a word of knowledge that this lady had not forgiven those who had hurt her. The Holy Spirit -- the Spirit of Truth and revelation -- was right on target. My brother prayed with her and she repented, committed her life to Jesus, and forgave those who had hurt her. Her body pains left her body and she left his office thanking Jesus!"

As for our iniquities:

"Unconfessed sin and iniquity in the family tree, in which there has been no repentance and forgiveness, gives the enemy a legal right to enforce a curse in the descendants," Vadia observes in the book. "My definition of a curse is a negative, powerful force coming down the family tree: it's demonic. As it relates to sickness or disease, when you see a sickness repeated throughout the generations, or if you see it many times in one generation, that's a good indication that a curse might be present.

"For example, at times you see cancer repeated down the family tree; depression, alcoholism, diabetes, and so forth, tend to run in families. Even doctors will ask you to fill out a form with your 'family history' of sickness and disease. The curse needs to be broken before the healing can take place," she says, citing Exodus 20: 3-5.

That's the bad news.

The good is that such curses can be broken in the Name of Jesus.

His simple Name -- because He took all curses upon Himself -- is what we most need, for as it says in Galatians (3:13), He "redeemed us from the curse" and "became a curse for us so that the curse could be broken and we could enter into the blessing of Abraham," adds Vadia.

After a curse is broken, says the evangelist, it's important to begin proclaiming the opposite.

If there has been alcoholism, proclaim sobriety; if a history of depression, proclaim the joy of God!

Our greatest stumbling block, she points out, is not realizing how we can be healed!

Here we see Hosea 4: 6: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."

Added a doctor she quotes in the book: "One of my patients was devastated because her daughter, who lives in Brazil, had been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. The doctors in Brazil told her she had less than a year to live; she went ahead and bought her own burial plot and coffin.

"That day in the office I commanded the spirit of cancer to leave her in Jesus' Name and prayed for total healing. Her mother and I had an inner assurance that her daughter was healed. The mother called her in Brazil and told her to go back to the doctor, for she was cancer free. The daughter did so, and after testing there was no trace of cancer in her body. She went ahead and sold her burial plot and coffin!"

[resources Healing is for You! and Pressing Ahead in the Spirit]