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]
BELIEVE IT and RECEIVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!
It's a POWERFUL PRAYER! When you are DOWN to nothing ... God is UP to
something'
Father, in the Name of Jesus, bless me even while I'm reading this
prayer and bless the one that sent this to me in a special way. Open
Doors in our lives today, Save and set free!
Give us a double portion of your Spirit as we take back everything that
The devil has stolen:
****Emotional Health
****Physical Health
****Finances
****Relationships
****Children
****Jobs
****Homes
****Marriages
I cancel every plot, plan and scheme the enemy has devised Against us in
The NAME OF JESUS. And I declare:
NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST US WILL PROSPER. I speak LIFE into every dead
situation. And, I thank you that nothing is over until YOU say it's
Over! Speak prophetically into our lives and to our situations:
****our households are blessed;
****our health is blessed ;
****our marriages are blessed;
****our finances are blessed;
****our relationships are blessed;
****our businesses are blessed;
****our jobs are blessed;
****our children are blessed;
****our grandchildren are blessed;
****our parents are blessed;
****our siblings are blessed;
****our ministries are blessed;
****our decisions are blessed;
****our friends are blessed.
****Mortgages are paid and debts canceled; our hearts' desire is on the
Way; According to YOUR perfect will and plan for our lives.
YOU SAID YOU'D NEVER FORSAKE US! IN JESUS' NAME!
AMEN!
The Lord spoke to my heart during our CFC Governance Household Meeting. To night was the continuation of our Household Leaders Training (HLT) on Faith in God.
And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-18
There is good news regarding aging. It turns out, just because you get older doesn't necessarily mean your health and happiness go down the drain. It is a choice we make.
Take for instance Betty Brothers, who discovered the modern-day fountain of youth, complete with 6-pack abs. It is a combination of exercise and positive relationships.
"My doctor said I had the blood pressure and the cholesterol of a teenager and he said I was extremely healthy for my age," Brothers said. "I'm 62 and he said, 'I probably don't wanna see you any more until you're 65,' so that made me very happy."
Turning Back the Hands of Time
Right on her heels are Maria and Joe Camacho. They, too, are making changes to their lives to turn back the hands of time, as far as their bodies and minds go. That is a complete u-turn from where they were just months ago.
"We would go shopping, my husband and I, and I would just start crying in the store," Maria Camacho said.
The couple assumed their declining health and appearance was a normal part of aging. But from your body's point of view "normal" aging is not normal at all.
Manhattan internist Dr. Harry Lodge did double duty: keeping one eye on his patients who were aging well and the other on new scientific research.
The result? The bestseller: Younger Next Year.
Promote Cell Growth
"The message we've been given over and over and over again is a lie about what aging should look like," he said, "It turns out that your cells really don't age. They either grow or decay. And if you do things in your life that trigger growth in the cells, then your body gets stronger, younger, fitter, healthier."
Lodge said your body is better able to resist disease and you live life as functionally as a younger man or woman until very late in the game.
Three months from now, we will all have almost entirely new bodies. That is because most of our cells only live that long. Now, whether the new cells are older or younger, that is to say, whether they grow or decay, depends on how we signal them.
Motion is the signaler. Sedentary muscles tell your cells to decay, but when you exercise, your muscles release substances telling your cells to grow. An hour a day, six days a week will produce amazing results. Even deep into your 70s you can double your leg strength in just three months.
Give Love
In addition to exercise, caring about others also signals cell growth. People who do things like volunteer and get involved in a larger purpose, live longer, healthier lives. People who are socially engaged have half the immortality of people who are isolated.
People involved in a religious community live about four years longer than people who are not.
But negative emotions like stress, anger and loneliness trigger the secretion of adrenaline and cortizol, which turn off vital machinery inside every cell.
"They turn off the parts of our body that are supposed to repair us, to re-do the damage that comes from daily life, to keep ourselves young and nourished and healthy," Lodge said. "We know that cancer, heart attacks, strokes and Alzheimer's are driven very powerfully by emotional substructures."
Connect With Others
Additionally, MRI scans of a depressed person's brain reveals areas that actually begin to die off. Those areas come back to life when the people begin positively connecting with others.
So in the Bible, when we are told to love and care it is actually great medical advice.
Joe Camacho has taken this advice to heart.
"What I try to do is every month is try to think of someone I can help and try to focus on that person to see how I can help them," he said.
He is currently involved in a mentoring program to help inner-city teens.
If you hang out with people with negative attitudes, remember this: happiness is twice as contagious as depression. You can turn that crowd around with a positive attitude.
Humans are designed to be both very physical and positively engaged with others. Pay attention to these, and you'll live longer and live better.
*Originally aired August 12, 2009
(I invite you to pray this prayer regularly, with gratitude. Gratitude is a position of openness and trust, that makes room for the Lord to work on our behalf.)
Speak Blessings Over Your Family
"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." (3 John 1:2)
(Psalm 5:12 12For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.)
The prayer every mother must pray for her child whether that child is prodigal or not:
“By the power of the blood of Jesus Christ, bring every thought and imagination of my child’s mind, every emotion of his heart, every deed of his hands, and every step that he takes under Your Lordship. Lead him to love You with all of his heart, mind, and soul, and his neighbor as himself.”
A Prayer when you are under spiritual attack:
Psalm 18:1 I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
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PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE MY LIFE, MY LOVE: Lord Jesus I thank You for Your presence with me today. I know that You love me and have called me by name. You came to set the captives free. Thank You for Your love that calls me out of bondage and into Your abundant life. I praise You, bless You, worship You. I stand and proclaim that You are Lord of my life. You are my Life. I repent of my sins and I turn away from them and turn to You. Thank You for filling me with Your Holy Spirit and releasing in me the anointing of Your Spirit to pray this prayer.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE MY HIDING PLACE: I place myself under Your protection, Jesus, and cover myself with Your precious blood.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE MY RIGHTEOUSNESS: Lord Jesus, I enter into deep forgiveness, with gratitude that the Holy Spirit is cleansing me of any roots of bitterness or resentment. I pray now for the one person during the last week who has been the greatest source of pain and annoyance. I forgive that person from the depths of my heart. I pray a blessing on that person. Jesus because I love You I say to those people, "Even though you have hurt me, I am not going to hurt you. I give you to Jesus. I forgive you, accept you, and love you as you are."
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE THE WONDERFUL COUNSELOR: Lord Jesus, I pray now for the one person who has hurt me the most in life. Thank You for Your Spirit, guiding and counseling me in the middle of these hurts. I lift this one up to You to receive Your blessing. Thank You, Lord, for the grace to truly forgive myself for my greatest sin, my biggest breech in my faith relationship with You. You have forgiven me, and I receive from You the grace to forgive myself.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES: Lord Jesus I come to You on behalf of everyone in my family who is not perfectly united to You. I apologize to You for their sinfulness. I acknowledge that some of my family may be, or may have been, involved in the occult - spiritualism, witchcraft and all manner of seeking information from forbidden sources. Lord, forgive. Jesus, in Your Name that is above all names, I break the power of evil over my family. I break all curses, hexes, spells, evil wishes, evil desires, voodoo, black magic, satanic vows, hereditary seals, pacts, spiritual bonding and soul ties with satanic forces, and sever the transmission of those links through my family. Jesus, united with You, I come against the effects of all family links with psychics, astrologers, clairvoyants, mediums and fortune tellers. On behalf of my family I renounce all family participation in seances and divination and activity with tarot cards, ouija boards, astrology and occult games of all kinds. In Your Name, Jesus, I renounce all ways that satan might have a hold on me or my family. I break the transmission of all satanic works passed on through my family. Lord I invite You to remove from my family all effects of involvement in the occult. Any territory handed over to satan by my family, I hereby take back and place under Your Lordship, Jesus. Thank You for beginning now to raise up in my family holy godly committed Christians deeply committed to Your truth.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE MY WISDOM: Thank You, Jesus, that You are Lord of my family. In Your holy name, Jesus, I come against all deeply ingrained patterns of marital unhappiness in my family. I say "No" to all suppression of spouse and all expressions of marital unlove. Thank You, Jesus, for setting us free. In Your Name, Jesus, I stop all hatred, death wishes, evil desires and intentions in marriage relationships in my family. In the power of Your Holy Spirit, I put an end to all transmission of violence, all vindictive, negative behavior, all infidelity and deception. I renounce all family patterns of tension, divorce and hard hearts in the name of Jesus. United with You, Jesus, I bring an end to all deeply ingrained family patterns of feeling trapped in unhappy marriage, all feelings of emptiness and failure. Thank You, Jesus, that You will forgive members of my family for all the ways they have dishonored the sacrament of marriage. I invite You to bring to future generations in our family many committed marriages filled with love, faithfulness, fidelity and kindness.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE MY DEFENSE: Jesus, standing one with You, I now put a stop to all family patterns of wounding children. In Your Name I come against the hurting ways--the abortions, miscarriages, unwanted pregnancies, unwelcome babies, births conceived out of wedlock. In Your presence I renounce all family patterns of not valuing life. I renounce all habits of emotional and physical battering, abandonment and abducting of children. Lord thank You for forgiving all the ways past generations of my family have brought harm to children. Lord Jesus, our Defense, I welcome Your presence in our family, bringing forth in future generations people who reverence and love their children and raise them in ways that honor you. May the future children in my family line know what it means to be deeply loved.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE THE MIGHTY WARRIOR: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Spirit at work in our family, bringing to a halt all patterns of sexual sin, rape, fornication, incest and perversion. Thank You, Mighty Warrior, for the anointing of Your Spirit that breaks this chain of evil and brings sexual health and wholeness into my family. May current and future generations of my family shine with the beauty of a healthy sexuality.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE OUR VICTORY: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Spirit that heals any patterns of mental illness in my family. May there be no more paranoia, schizophrenia, personality disorders, manic-depressive patterns in my family. Through the power of Your Victorious Spirit, Jesus, let there be an end to any family patterns of wounding and repressing masculinity; any suppression and damage to the female spirit. Thank You Jesus, that there will be no more patterns of self-destruction in my family. May the people of our family have Your mind, Jesus. In You, Jesus, I invite healthy thinking, emotional balance and wholesome patterns into my family. Jesus, thank You for bringing a spirit of light and laughter and joy into my family line.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE EMMANUEL, GOD WITH US: Lord Jesus, You tell us there is no fear in love, because perfect Love casts out all fear. Thank You for Your perfect love healing any patterns of fear in my family. Thank You that Your perfect love casts out fear of water, men, height, success, failure, crowds, women, God, death, leaving home, closed places, open spaces, speaking out, flying and pain. Thank You Jesus for setting our family free of fear. Thank You for Your precious protection around my family, driving away any negative spirits that would seek to plant seeds of fear in my family.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE ALL THAT I NEED: Lord Jesus, You are our self control. Thank You for breaking compulsive habits in our family: all addictive patterns of gambling, shopping, talking, drinking, and chemical abuse. Thank You for breaking all patterns of hoarding and squandering resources and talents. Thank you for healing patterns of stinginess and stealing. Thank You for releasing my family from bondage to all compulsive habits in Your mercy, grace and generosity.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE MY HEALING AND WHOLENESS: Lord Jesus, we go to doctors for medicine sometimes, but You are our healer. Thank You for releasing physical healing into my family. Thank You for severing family links to diseases of every kind: heart disease, blood disease, cancer, digestive and eating disorders, ulcers, and all tendencies to form tumors. Thank You for stopping patterns of female disorders in my family: menstrual problems, hormone imbalances, infertility and sexual coldness. Thank You for stopping patterns of male sexual disorders: impotence and transmitted diseases. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit at work in healing physical deformities, hearing problems, immune deficiences, rare diseases, weak eyes, bad teeth, flat feet. Thank You for healing migraines, mental retardation, lung problems, arthritis, skin diseases and bone disorders. Thank You Jesus, for touching all physical traumas with your healing love. Thank You for touching the root causes of all physical disorders in my family. Jesus, thank You for forgiving those in my family for any ways they have chosen sickness to avoid life; for any ways they have tried to meet needs in unhealthy ways. Thank You for building into my family a new pattern of choosing life.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE THE LION OF JUDAH: Thank You Jesus for healing the effects in my family of the evil perpetrated by swindlers, exploiters, torturers, blackmailers and extortionists. Thank You for the anointing of Your Spirit closing the door on evil perpetrated by criminals of every kind. Thank You that all corruption and brutality in my family line is coming to an end.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE OUR STRENGTH AND OUR SONG: Lord Jesus, thank You for stopping all patterns of breaking away in my family. Thank You for the roadblock that stops all runaways in my family: children, adults and parents. Thank You for dissolving all roots of isolation, hiding and escaping. Father, thank You for encircling my family with Your loving, forgiving nature, and putting Your Song in our hearts. Thank You for drawing us together. Thank You for giving us the ability to relate with each other and the community in close, free, loving ways.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE OUR PROVIDER: Thank You, Jesus, for encircling my family with protection, bringing to an end the family pattern of suffering from overwhelming conditions: harsh climates, hunger, abandonment, betrayal, public shame. Thank You for giving my family living conditions that are healthy, enough food, enough money, warmth and shelter. Thank You that we are free to thrive through your Holy Spirit.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE THE REAL LIFE: Thank You, Jesus, for giving each member of our family the mind and heart to serve only one God - the living God. Thank You that our family does not focus on the idols of home,jewels, modes of transportation, food, drink, titles, appearance, power, people, money, land, animals and possessions of every kind. "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE OUR CHAMPION AND SHIELD: Lord Jesus, thank You for healing in our family any effects from being different, because we are accepted and bonded into Your family. Thank You that because of You, we do not suffer as a result of speaking a different language, or because of our color, race, skin color, size, talents, or body style.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE: Jesus, thank You for healing any communication disorders in my family: inability to communicate, fear of speaking out, speech defects and especially stuttering. Thank You for healing all patterns of wounding others verbally, all blasphemy, all treachery of the tongue. Thank You for raising up members of my family who communicate healing and wholeness.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE OUR COVENANT: Lord Jesus, thank You for healing patterns of suffering in my family, including the need to suffer and the need to fail. Thank You for healing patterns of broken hearts, rootlessness, and a sense of not belonging. Thank You for healing patterns of rejection, bitterness, resentment and unforgiveness. Thank You for bringing to mind ingrained patterns that You are ready to heal--any pattern of shame, pain or grief.
PRAISE YOU, JESUS, YOU ARE WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE: Thank You Jesus for sending your Holy Spirit throughout my family, touching, healing and making whole. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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]
My Dear Heavenly Father, I call to You right now in a special way. It is through Your power that ___________ was created. Every breath he takes, every morning he awakes and every moment of every hour, he lives under Your power. Father, I ask you to touch him with the same power. For, if you created him from nothing, you can certainly recreate him and fill him with the Healing Power of your Spirit. Cast out anything that should not be in him. Mend what is broken. Root out any unproductive cells, open any blocked arteries and veins and rebuild any damaged areas. Let the warmth of your Healing love pass through his body to make new any unhealthy areas. So that his body may function the way You created it to function. And Father restore him to full health in spirit, mind, body and soul, so that he may love You for the rest of his life. I ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord and through the intercession of our Blessed Mother.
Amen.
Kyrie eleison(Lord have mercy). God, our Lord, King of ages, All-powerful and Almighty, You Who made everything and Who transforms everything simply by Your will. You Who in Babylon changed into dew the flames of the "seven-times hotter" furnace and protected and saved the three holy children. You are the doctor and the physician of our souls. You are the salvation of those who turn to You. We beseech You to make powerless, banish, and drive out every diabolic power, presence and machination; every evil influence, malefice, or evil eye and all evil actions aimed against your servant. . . Where there is envy and malice, give us an abundance of goodness, endurance, victory, and charity. O Lord, You who love man, we beg You to reach out Your powerful hands and Your most high and mighty arms and come to our aid. Help us, who are made in Your image, send the angel of peace over us, to protect us body and soul. May he keep at bay and vanquish every evil power, every poison or malice invoked against us by corrupt and envious people. Then, under the protection of Your authority may we sing, in gratitude, "The Lord is my salvation; whom should I fear?" I will not fear evil because You are with me, my God, my strength, my powerful Lord, Lord of peace, Father of all ages. Yes, Lord our God, be merciful to us, Your image, and save your servant . . . from every threat or harm from the evil one, and protect him by raising him above all evil. We ask you this through the intercession of our Most Blessed, Glorious Lady, Mary ever Virgin, Mother of God, of the most splendid archangels and all yours saints. Amen."
ANIMA CHRISTI
Soul of Christ, sanctify me; Body of Christ, save me; Blood of Christ, inebriate me; Water from the side of Christ, wash me; Passion of Christ, strengthen me;
O good Jesus, hear me; within Your wounds, hide me; let me never be separated from You; from the evil one, protect me; at the hour of my death, call me; and bid me come to You; that with Your saints, I may praise You forever and ever. Amen.
PRAYER AGAINST EVERY EVIL
Spirit of our God, Father, Son , and Holy Spirit, Most Holy Trinity, Immaculate Virgin Mary, angels, archangels, and saints of Heaven, descend upon me. Please purify me, Lord, mold me, fill me with Yourself, use me. Banish all the forces of evil from me, destroy them, vanquish them, so that I can be healthy and do good deeds. Banish from me all spells, witchcraft, black magic, malefice, ties, maledictions, and the evil eye; diabolic infestations, oppressions, possessions; all that is evil and sinful, jealousy, perfidy, envy; physical, psychological, moral, spiritual, diabolical ailments. Burn all these evils in hell, that they may never again touch me or any other creature in the entire world. I command and bid all the powers who molest me -- by the power of God all powerful, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary -- to leave me forever, and to be consigned into the everlasting hell, where they will be bound by Saint Michael the archangel, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, our guardian angels, and where they will be crushed under the heel of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
PRAYER FOR INNER HEALING
Lord Jesus, You came to heal our wounded and troubled hearts. I beg You to heal the torments that cause anxiety in my heart; I beg You, in a particular way, to heal all who are the cause of sin. I beg You to come into my life and heal me of the psychological harms that struck me in my early years and form the injuries that they caused throughout my life. Lord Jesus, You know my burdens. I lay them all on Your Good Shepherd's Heart. I beseech You -- by the merits of the great, open wound in Your heart -- to heal the small wounds that are in mine. Heal the pain of my memories, so that nothing that has happened to me will cause me to remain in pain and anguish, filled with anxiety.
Heal, O Lord, all those wounds that have been the cause of all the evil that is rooted in my life. I want to forgive all those who have offended me. Look to those inner sores that make me unable to forgive. You Who came to forgive the afflicted of heart, please, heal my own heart.
Heal, my Lord Jesus, those intimate wounds that cause me physical illness. I offer You my heart. Accept it, Lord, purify it, and give me the sentiments of Your Divine Heart. Help me to be meek and humble.
Heal me, O Lord, from the pain caused by the death of my loved ones, which is oppressing me. Grant me to regain peace and joy in the knowledge that You are the Resurrection and the Life. Make me an authentic witness to Your Resurrection, Your victory over sin and death, Your living presence among us. Amen."
PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE
My Lord, You are all powerful, You are God, You are Father. We beg You through the intercession and help of the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel, for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one. All saints of heaven, come to our aid.
From anxiety, sadness, and obsessions, We beg You: Free us, O Lord. From hatred, fornication, envy, We beg You: Free us, O Lord. From thoughts of jealousy, rage, and death. We beg You: Free us, O Lord. From every thought of suicide and abortion. We beg You: Free us, O Lord. From every form of sinful sexuality. We beg You: Free us, O Lord. From every division in our family, and every harmful friendship. We beg You: Free us, O Lord. From every sort of spell, malefice, witchcraft, and every form of the occult. We beg You: Free us, O Lord.
Lord, You Who said, "I leave you peace, my peace I give you," grant that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every evil spell and enjoy Your peace always. In the Name of Christ, our Lord. Amen."
"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']
Prayer for Healing
Almighty and merciful Father, by the power of your command, drive away from me all forms of sickness and disease. Restore strength to my body and joy to my spirit, so that in my renewed health, I may bless and serve you, now and forevermore.
Healing Prayer of Surrender
Dear Lord Jesus, it is my will to surrender to you everything that I am and everything that I’m striving to be. I open the deepest recesses of my heart to you and invite your Holy Spirit to dwell inside of me.
I offer you my life, heart, mind, body, soul, spirit, all my hopes, plans and dreams. I surrender to you my past, present and future problems, habits, character defects, attitudes, livelihood, resources, finances, medical coverage, occupation and all my relationships.
I give you my health, disabilities, physical appearance, home, family, marriage, children, sexuality and friendships. I ask you to take Lordship over every aspect of my life. I surrender to you all my hurt, pain, worry, anxiety and fear, and I ask you to wash me clean.
I release everything into your compassionate care. Please speak to me clearly, Lord. Open my ears to hear your voice. Open my heart to commune with you more deeply. I desperately need to feel your loving embrace. Shut the doors that need to be shut and open the doors that need to be opened. Set my feet upon the straight and narrow road that leads to everlasting life. Amen.
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Healing Prayer of Isaiah 53
Precious Lord Jesus, I thank you for your loving care. You came into the world to set me free from the consequences of sin. You embraced the violent death of the cross to pay the penalty on my behalf. You suffered the scourging at the pillar, taking the sickness of humanity upon your own flesh, so that I could be healed.
I come before you now to place all my sins upon your cross and ask for your precious blood to wash me clean. I place the penalty for my sinfulness, all my sickness, diseases and infirmities upon your cross, and for the sake of your sorrowful passion, I ask to be set free. I accept your sacrifice and receive your gift of reconciliation. I confess your Lordship over every aspect of my life, heart, mind, body, soul and spirit.
Through the power of your cross Lord Jesus, I now resist all forms of sin, sickness and disease. I say to all forms of sin, sickness and disease, that you are not God’s will for my life. I enforce the power of the cross upon you right now.
By the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I command all forms of sickness and disease to leave my presence immediately. Jesus bore my infirmities. He was wounded for my transgressions. By his stripes I have been healed. No sickness, pain, death, fear or addiction shall ever lord over me again. The penalty has been paid in full. I have been ransomed and redeemed, sanctified and set free. Amen.
Prayer of Reconciliation
Dear Lord Jesus, for the sake of your sorrowful passion, I ask you to forgive all my sins, especially those that have allowed any form of sickness or disease to enter my body and harm my health. I humbly ask you to send forth the Holy Spirit’s gift of conviction and shine the light of truth into the deepest recesses of my soul, so that I may make a complete act of contrition before you now.
Lord Jesus, please forgive me for all my sins, especially for any unknown and hidden sins. I am heartily sorry for having offended you. I ask forgiveness for all the times I failed to make you Lord over my life. Forgive me for having other gods before you; for buying images, bowing down and serving them; for taking your most holy name in vain and for failing to observe the Sabbath day of rest. Please forgive me for not honoring my father and mother, committing the sin of adultery or abortion, stealing, bearing false witness and coveting my neighbor’s spouse, property and possessions.
Please forgive me for not loving you with my whole heart, mind, body, soul and spirit, for not loving my neighbor as myself and for disrespecting the temple of your Holy Spirit. Please forgive me for not taking better care of my health, for eating unhealthy foods and poisoning my body with chemicals, drugs, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and any other harmful substance or medication.
Please forgive me for committing the sins of hypocrisy, intolerance, unforgiveness, ungratefulness, disbelief, deception, disobedience, envy, pride, fantasy, fornication, idolatry, impatience, division, dissension, offending others, hard-heartedness, hate, haughtiness, anger, rebellion, gambling, greed, intimidation, jealousy, perfectionism, judgmentalness, lust, legalism, manipulation, resentment, rudeness, sexual idolatry, sexual immorality, sexual impurity, sexual perversion, selfishness, self-centeredness, self-righteousness, self-pity, slander, worry, vanity, worldliness, witchcraft, addictions, dependencies, complaining, gossiping and all other forms of unrighteousness.
Lord Jesus, I ask you to forgive me for all my sins, trespasses and transgressions and to cover all my offenses with your most precious blood. Surround me with your light and penetrate the very depths of my being with your love. Let no area of darkness remain in me, but transform my whole being with the healing light of your infinite love.
Healing Prayer of Command
Precious Lord Jesus, you came into the world to heal our infirmities and endure our sufferings. You went about healing all who were sick and bringing comfort to those in pain. By a simple command you rebuked Peter’s mother-in-law’s fever. You spoke directly to the illness, condemned it for its actions and commanded it to leave her body.
In the same way, Lord, you have called all of your disciples to follow your example. You have given us power over all the works of the enemy and sent us forth to make disciples of all nations. In the healing tradition of the church, and through my obedience to your written Word, I hereby take authority over all forms of sickness and disease that have been attacking my body.
In the name of Jesus, under the power and authority of the Lord God Almighty, I command all forms of demonic illness to leave my body now and go straight to the feet of Jesus Christ. Your assignment and influences are over. I rebuke all pain in the name of Jesus, and I command it to get out of my body right now. I rebuke all spirits of infirmity, nerve disorder, lung disorder, brain disorder, heart disease, AIDS, cancer, hypochondria, fatigue, anorexia, leukemia, arthritis, tumors, abnormal growths, diabetes and all other forms of sickness to leave my body now in the name of Jesus.
Lord Jesus, I thank you for your healing power. I ask you to send forth your ministering, medical and surgical angels, to repair and restore any damage that was caused in my body by the presence of sin, sickness or demonically influenced infirmities. I ask that you send forth your Holy Spirit and fill me with your love, light, peace and joy. Come Holy Spirit and transform me into the child of God that you intended me to be.
Prayer for a Creative Miracle
God of all creation, you who spoke a simple command and brought forth light from the darkness, I call upon you now to send forth your miracle-working power into every aspect of my being. In the same way that you spoke unto the dust of the ground when you created humankind in your own image, I ask you to send forth your healing power into my body. Send forth your word and command every cell, electrical and chemical impulse, tissue, joint, ligament, organ, gland, muscle, bone and every molecule in my body to come under complete and perfect health, strength, alignment, balance and harmony.
It is through you that I live and move and have my being. With every breath I take, I live under your life-giving grace. I ask you to touch me now with the same miracle-working power that you used when you fashioned me inside my mother’s womb. As surely as you have created me in your image and likeness, you can also recreate me now and restore me to health.
Please fill me with your healing power. Cast out all that should not be inside of me. I ask you to mend all that is broken, root out every sickness and disease, open all blocked arteries and veins, restore my internal organs, rebuild my damaged tissues, remove all inflammation and cleanse me of all infections, viruses and destructive forms of bacteria.
Let the warmth of your healing love flood my entire being, so that my body will function the way it was created to be, whole and complete, renewed in your perfect health. I ask this through my Lord, Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer to the Divine Physician
Dear Lord Jesus, you went about healing all those who were sick and tormented by unclean spirits. You cleansed the lepers, opened the eyes of the blind and by speaking a simple command, you empowered the crippled to rise up and walk. You sent forth your life-giving power to all those in need, including those you raised from the dead.
O Divine Physician, I come to you now in great need of your intervention. I surrender my life and health into your loving hands. I ask you to send forth your healing power into my heart, mind, body, soul and spirit. Remove from me every lie of the enemy and destroy all the word curses that have been spoken against my health.
If I have accepted medical beliefs that I should not have, I ask for your forgiveness and denounce those beliefs right now. I break every agreement that I have made with my sickness and disease. I denounce every symptom of my illness, and I ask to be set free by the power of your truth.
Please send forth your Holy Spirit to renew my mind and cleanse my thoughts. I refuse to bow down and serve the symptoms of my illness any longer. Please draw my attention away from myself, and help me focus on your enduring love.
O Divine Physician, you are the source and strength of my recovery. Show me how to proceed with your plan for my restoration. I surrender my healthcare into your loving hands. Please help me to discern every aspect of my treatment, medications and recovery process, so that my every thought and action conforms to your good and perfect will for my life. Amen.
Generational Healing Prayer
O Father of mercies and God of all healing, I come before you as your child, in great need of your help. Many of my problems and physical health needs have been caused by my own failures, neglect and sinfulness. Others have been passed down through my family lineage in the form of genetic defects from my ancestors.
I humbly beseech thee Lord Jesus to go back into my past and forgive my parents’ and grandparents’ sins, especially for those sins that have exposed me to genetic and physical defects. I ask you to place your cross between me and my parents and grandparents and cleanse my entire family lineage all the way back to the beginning of time.
Precious Lord Jesus, please look upon my physical and emotional health needs with your great love and mercy. I ask that you send forth your medical angels to minister to every area of my genetic composition. Please heal every infirmity and abnormality in my brain chemistry and all my thought processes where disturbances are present. Heal all the damage caused by my mother’s stress, neglect or abuse when I was being formed in her womb. Please remove all defective and mutated genes and restore my genetic composition back to its original and proper condition.
If my parents’ or grandparents’ sins have exposed me to any form of demonic illness or generationally inherited curses, by the power of the Lord, God Almighty, I take the sword of the Spirit and cut myself free. I command all evil spirits of infirmity, sickness and disease to leave my body now and to be consigned into the everlasting lake of fire. Your assignment and influences are over.
I call forth the heavenly host, the holy angels of God, to surround, protect and cleanse all areas vacated by the forces of evil with God’s holy light. I ask the Holy Spirit to permeate my heart, mind, body, soul and spirit, filling me to overflowing with the life and love of my Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayer for Inner Healing
Almighty and everlasting Lord, I come before you now in great need of your mercy. You are the doctor and physician of my soul. I humbly beseech thee to send forth your healing power into every area of my inner-woundedness. I surrender to you all areas of unforgiveness, especially those hurtful past events where anger and bitterness have been allowed to fester, causing harm to my physical health.
I ask for your grace to forgive every person in my past who has ever hurt me. I forgive my father and mother and ask to be set free from all forms of mental, emotional and psychological ailments. I forgive my brothers and sisters for their sibling rivalry, selfishness and divisiveness that have caused strife within our family. I forgive my friends, coworkers and neighbors for all their harmful actions and the unkind words they have spoken against me.
I forgive my spouse, children and all my extended family members, and I ask for your loving grace to heal all the circumstances where I failed to receive the love, affection, support and respect that I needed. I forgive all those who have violated my sexual purity, and I ask to be set free and washed clean by the power of your purifying love. I forgive myself for my past mistakes and failures, and I ask to be set free from all destructive consequences, guilt, shame and self-condemnation.
I forgive all those in positions of authority, especially those doctors, nurses, healthcare providers, insurance adjustors, paramedics, police officers, government officials, former employers and members of the clergy who have treated me unjustly. I forgive my greatest enemies and those who I have vowed that I would never forgive. I break those vows right now by the power of your name Lord Jesus.
By an act of my free will, I choose to forgive everybody, including the person who hurt me the most. I release my desire to receive an apology, my need to be justified in my actions and my need for others to acknowledge the injustice. I surrender the entire debt of all injuries into your merciful hands, Lord Jesus. I denounce all forms of anger, bitterness and resentment, and I command every evil spirit that has entered my body through the lack of forgiveness to leave now and go straight to the feet of my Lord, Jesus Christ.
Through the power of your Holy Spirit, I ask you Lord Jesus to fill me with your love, peace, patience, kindness, generosity and self-control. May your healing hand rest upon me now as I bless all those who have hurt me. I desire to be kind and compassionate to everyone, forgiving them just as you have forgiven me. I ask for the healing power of your love to flow through every cell of my body and into the lives of those whom I have forgiven. Amen.
Prayer of Confirmation
Lord, God Almighty, I thank you for protecting me from every form of evil and bringing me the gift of your divine health. I thank you for breaking the chains of oppression and delivering me from every form of sin, sickness, disease and lie of the enemy. I thank you for the powerful name of Jesus to which every knee shall bow.
In the power and authority that you have given me, I say to all addictions, perversions, chemical dependencies, hopelessness, worry, doubt, fear, despair and all symptoms of any such illness that you must bend your knees now to the name of Jesus. I cast down every argument and proud obstacle that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. I bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Thank you for giving me your authority over all the power of the enemy. Nothing shall harm me. I call upon a heavenly spirit of praise and worship to fill and guard me against the enemy’s lies. Thank you for your full armor, your name, your most precious blood and your Holy Spirit. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. Thank you heavenly Father for all your provisions, for yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, both now and forevermore. Amen.
Prayer for Peaceful Rest
Dear Lord Jesus, as I rest in the comfort of your love, I ask to experience your gentle embrace as you tenderly wrap your loving arms around me. I trust your compassionate care will bring peace to my mind, serenity to my heart and renewal to my spirit.
In your loving embrace, I ask that you grant me a peaceful night’s rest. Please purify my dreams, cleanse my subconscious and wash my thoughts with the purity of your infinite love. Please minister to my heart, mind, body, soul and spirit as I rest in your compassionate care tonight.
Please send forth your protective angels to stand guard over me as I sleep. May your angelic army destroy all curses, hindrances and demonic influences that have been sent against my ability to experience a peaceful night’s rest. I ask that your heavenly host protect me as I stay awake and watch over me as I sleep, that awake I may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace. Amen.
Healing Scriptures
The following scripture passages have the power to bring healing and strength to your heart, mind, body, soul and spirit. Meditate on them day and night. Allow God to speak to your situation through his written Word. Accept the Word of God as if the Lord himself were speaking directly to you. Take what is being said deep into your heart.
Allow your faith to grow to the point where you can command the mountain of sickness, hardship and despair out of your life. For according to Mark 11:23–24, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Exodus 15:26, "If you really listen to the voice of the LORD, your God," he told them, "and do what is right in his eyes: if you heed his commandments and keep all his precepts, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases with which I afflicted the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."
Exodus 23:25, The LORD, your God, you shall worship; then I will bless your food and drink, and I will remove all sickness from your midst;
Deuteronomy 7:15, The LORD will remove all sickness from you; he will not afflict you with any of the malignant diseases that you know from Egypt, but will leave them with all your enemies.
Deuteronomy 28:1–14, 1
1 "Thus, then, shall it be: if you continue to heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and are careful to observe all his commandments which I enjoin on you today, the LORD, your God, will raise you high above all the nations of the earth.
2
When you hearken to the voice of the LORD, your God, all these blessings will come upon you and overwhelm you:
3
"May you be blessed in the city, and blessed in the country!
4
"Blessed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks!
5
"Blessed be your grain bin and your kneading bowl!
6
2 "May you be blessed in your coming in, and blessed in your going out!
7
3 "The LORD will beat down before you the enemies that rise up against you; though they come out against you from but one direction, they will flee before you in seven.
8
The LORD will affirm his blessing upon you, on your barns and on all your undertakings, blessing you in the land that the LORD, your God, gives you.
9
Provided that you keep the commandments of the LORD, your God, and walk in his ways, he will establish you as a people sacred to himself, as he swore to you;
10
4 so that, when all the nations of the earth see you bearing the name of the LORD, they will stand in awe of you.
11
The LORD will increase in more than goodly measure the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your soil, in the land which he swore to your fathers he would give you.
12
The LORD will open up for you his rich treasure house of the heavens, to give your land rain in due season, blessing all your undertakings, so that you will lend to many nations and borrow from none.
13
5 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail, and you will always mount higher and not decline, as long as you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I order you today to observe carefully;
14
not turning aside to the right or to the left from any of the commandments which I now give you, in order to follow other gods and serve them.
Deuteronomy 30:19–20, 19
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live,
20
by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
I Kings 8:56, May he draw our hearts to himself, that we may follow him in everything and keep the commands, statutes, and ordinances which he enjoined on our fathers. Psalm 91,
Psalm 103:1–3, 1Of David. 1 Bless the LORD, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name! 2Bless the LORD, my soul; do not forget all the gifts of God,3 Who pardons all your sins, heals all your ills,
Psalm 107:19–20, In their distress they cried to the LORD, who saved them in their peril, 20 Sent forth the word to heal them, snatched them from the grave.
Psalm 118:17, I shall not die but live and declare the deeds of the LORD.
Proverbs 4:20–22, 20
My son, to my words be attentive, to my sayings incline your ear; 21 Let them not slip out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 For they are life to those who find them, to man's whole being they are health.
Isaiah 41:10, Fear not, I am with you; be not dismayed; I am your God. I will strengthen you, and help you, and uphold you with my right hand of justice.
Isaiah 53:4–5, Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted.
Jeremiah 1:12, Then the LORD said to me: Well have you seen, for I am watching to fulfill my word.
Jeremiah 30:17, For I will restore you to health; of your wounds I will heal you, says the LORD. "The outcast" they have called you, "with no avenger."
Matthew 8:1–3, 1 When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
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And then a leper 2 approached, did him homage, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."
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He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I will do it. Be made clean." His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Matthew 8:17, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: 11 "He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases."
Matthew 18:18–19, 15 Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
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16 Again, (amen,) I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
Matthew 21:21–22, 17 Jesus said to them in reply, "Amen, I say to you, if you have faith and do not waver, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done.
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Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive."
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Mark 11:23–24, Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.
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Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.
Mark 16:17–18 These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.
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They will pick up serpents (with their hands), and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
John 10:10, A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
Romans 4:16–21, For this reason, it depends on faith, so that it may be a gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us,
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as it is written, "I have made you father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.
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He believed, hoping against hope, that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "Thus shall your descendants be."
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He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body as (already) dead (for he was almost a hundred years old) and the dead womb of Sarah.
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He did not doubt God's promise in unbelief; 6 rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
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and was fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to do.
Romans 8:11, If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.
II Corinthians 10:4–5, for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments
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and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ,
Galatians 3:13–14, Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,"
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that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith
Ephesians 6:10–17, Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
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Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.
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For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.
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Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
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So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
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and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.
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In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one.
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And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Philippians 2:13, For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.
Philippians 4:6–7, Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
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Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
II Timothy 1:7, For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.
Hebrews 10:23, Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.
Hebrews 10:35, Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense.
Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
James 5:14–16, Is anyone among you sick? 6 He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord,
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and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. 7
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Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
I Peter 2:24, He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
I John 3:21–22, Beloved, if (our) hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in God
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and receive from him whatever we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
Emotional Healing Exercise2
1. Spend some time in prayer and ask the Lord to show you if there are any unresolved emotional wounds that are causing problems with your health. If the Lord brings to mind some people who have hurt you, ask the Holy Spirit to bring back the fullness of your repressed emotions, so that you can be set free.
2. After you identify a hurtful past event that needs healing, try to separate the situation from everything else that has happened to you. Instead of trying to work through years of emotional abuse at one time, try to isolate one experience and keep working on the situation until it is resolved.
3. Begin the exercise from a prayerful and meditative state of mind. Find a quiet place where you can be alone with the Lord. Make sure you have plenty of tissues and the necessary writing supplies.
4. Picture the person who hurt you in your imagination. Imagine that person can hear everything you are about to say. If the person is deceased, picture them in heaven standing next to Jesus.
5. Begin writing your letter with the words, I’m angry because you hurt me! Tell this person all the ways that he or she has hurt you by his or her careless and disrespectful actions. Keep writing the words I’m angry, over and over again. Vent all your anger on paper. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar; just release everything that needs to be said.
6. After you vent all your anger, move on to any fears that you may have experienced. How has this person affected your life? Describe how the consequences of his or her careless actions have carried forward into your present-day relationships.
7. After you vent any fears or guilty feelings, get in touch with your sadness. Tell this person what you wanted to happen that didn’t. If you’re writing to your father say, I’m sad because I wanted a better relationship with you. I wanted you to treat me like a beloved son or daughter. I wanted your love and support.
8. Conclude your letter with anything else you need to say to this person, and then begin a new letter by picturing the person who hurt you in a completely healed state. Picture them in heaven standing next to Jesus. Imagine this person full of God’s love, and because they are full of God’s love, allow them to offer you an apology.
9. Start your apology letter by saying, I’m sorry for hurting you. You didn’t deserve to be treated like that. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. Write down all the loving words that you need to hear.
10. Conclude your apology letter with prayer. Release the person who hurt you into the Lord’s hands. Ask Jesus to wash away any negativity that you may have picked up by accepting this person’s abuse. Surrender this person to the Lord, and if appropriate, ask Jesus to break all unhealthy soul-ties.
11. Allow Jesus to speak to you through a closure letter. Accept the Lord’s love and forgiveness. Allow the Lord’s love and forgiveness to flow into your heart and cleanse you of all curses, resentment and negativity.
12. Ask the Lord to show you if there’s anything else that you need to release. Allow yourself to fall into the Lord’s arms and be permanently set free—free to be the child of God the Lord intended you to be.
Notes
1. Psalm 51:1–12, New Revised Standard Version Bible: copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2. Emotional Healing Exercise, Healing Power for the Heart (Denver, CO: Valentine Publishing House, 2006) Used with Permission. www.ValentinePublishingHouse.com
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Praise You, Jesus, You are my life, my love.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the name above all names.
Praise You, Jesus, You are Emmanuel, God with us.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the King of Kings.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the King of creation.
Praise You, Jesus, You are King of the universe.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Lord of lords.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Almighty.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Christ.
Praise You, Jesus, You are Christ the King.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Lamb of God.
Praise You, Jesus, You are Lion of Judah.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Bright Morning Star.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Champion and shield.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Strength and our Song.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the way of our life.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the only truth.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the real life.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Wonderful Counselor.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Light of the World.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Living Word.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Redeemer.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Anointed One.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Holy one of Israel.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Good Sheperd.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Sheepgate.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Lord of hosts.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Rock of all ages.
Praise You, Jesus, You are my hiding place.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Savior of the world.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the strong tower.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Mountain Refuge.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Bread of Life.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Font of all holiness.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Living Water.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the True Vine.
Praise You, Jesus, You are my Spouse. my Maker.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Fortress.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Deliverer.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Victory.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Salvation.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Righteousness.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Wisdom.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Sanctification.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Justification.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Door.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the great I AM.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the great High Priest.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Cornerstone.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Sure Foundation.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Joy.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Portion and Cup.
Praise You, Jesus, You are my Healing and Wholeness.
Praise You, Jesus, You are our Covenant.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Promise of the Father.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Everlasting One.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Most High God.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Lamb that was slain.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Just Judge.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Balm of Gilead.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Mighty Warrior.
Praise You, Jesus, You are my Defense.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Bridegroom.
Praise You, Jesus, You are my Patience.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Solid Reality
Praise You, Jesus, You are my Provider.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Resurrection and the Life.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Alpha and the Omega.
Praise You, Jesus, You are the Beginning and the End.
Praise You, Jesus, You are all that I need.
Praise You, Jesus, You are all that I want.
Praise You, Jesus, You are worthy of all praise.
Amen.
赞美你，耶稣，你是我的生命，我的爱。
赞美你，耶稣，你是所有名字之上的名字。
赞美你，耶稣，你是伊曼纽尔，上帝与我们同在。
赞美你，耶稣，你是万王之王。
赞美你，耶稣，你是创造之王。
赞美你，耶稣，你是宇宙之王。
赞美你，耶稣，你是万主之主。
赞美你，耶稣，你是全能的。
赞美你，耶稣，你是基督。
赞美你，耶稣，你是基督国王。
赞美你，耶稣，你是上帝的羔羊。
赞美你，耶稣，你是犹大的狮子。
赞美你，耶稣，你是光明的晨星。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的冠军和盾牌。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的力量和我们的歌。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的生活方式。
赞美你，耶稣，你是唯一的真理。
赞美你，耶稣，你是真实的生活。
赞美你，耶稣，你是出色的顾问。
赞美你，耶稣，你是和平的王子。
赞美你，耶稣，你是世界之光。
赞美你，耶稣，你是永生的道。
赞美你，耶稣，你是救赎主。
赞美你，耶稣，你是受膏者。
赞美你，耶稣，你是以色列的圣洁之一。
赞美你，耶稣，你是好牧人。
赞美你，耶稣，你是牧羊人。
赞美你，耶稣，你是万军之耶和华。
赞美你，耶稣，你是所有年龄的磐石。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我的藏身之地。
赞美你，耶稣，你是世界的救主。
赞美你，耶稣，你是坚固的塔。
赞美你，耶稣，你是避难所。
赞美你，耶稣，你是生命的粮。
赞美你，耶稣，你是一切圣洁的字体。
赞美你，耶稣，你是活水。
赞美你，耶稣，你是真正的葡萄藤。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我的配偶。我的制造者。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的堡垒。
赞美你，耶稣，你是拯救者。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的胜利。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的救恩。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的公义。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的智慧。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的成圣。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的辩护。
赞美你，耶稣，你就是门。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我的伟大。
赞美你，耶稣，你是伟大的大祭司。
赞美你，耶稣，你是基石。
赞美你，耶稣，你是肯定的基金会。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的喜乐。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的部分和杯。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我的医治和整体。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我们的约。
赞美你，耶稣，你是父的应许。
赞美你，耶稣，你是永恒的人。
赞美你，耶稣，你是至高的上帝。
赞美你，耶稣，你是被杀的羔羊。
赞美你，耶稣，你是公正的法官。
赞美你，耶稣，你是吉列德的香脂。
赞美你，耶稣，你是全能的战士。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我的防御。
赞美你，耶稣，你是新郎。
赞美你，耶稣，你是我的耐心。
赞美你，耶稣，你是真实的现实
赞美你，耶稣，你是我的提供者。
赞美你，耶稣，你是复活和生命。
赞美你，耶稣，你是阿尔法和欧米茄。
赞美你，耶稣，你是起点和终点。
赞美你，耶稣，你就是我所需要的。
赞美你，耶稣，你就是我想要的。
赞美你，耶稣，你值得所有赞美。
- 阿门
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