Healing of the family tree

Every family and ancestry – save for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph -- has tendencies that were or are negative and need to be purged. It could be a family inclination to selfishness, division, pride, or argumentation. It could be occultism. It could be a preoccupation with materialism. It could be lying. These characteristics need to be cast out as “spirits” – blotches of darkness -- or they will repeat themselves like a broken record in our lives and then in the lives of those who come after us. “Loving families lay the foundation for our eternal progress,” writes another who had a near-death episode.

“They help us build strengths, identify and overcome weaknesses, and bring challenges of their own for us to overcome. They significantly influence us in our earthly missions and affect how we influence others in their missions. Every family bond – with spouse, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws, uncles, cousins, etcetera – can play a crucial role in teaching us how to love and be loved.”

When the sin is intense, claims Father John Hampsch, who wrote a seminal book called Healing the Family Tree, the effects may go beyond the three or four generations so commonly mentioned. The greater the sin, the more darkness we attract. We also may draw demonic spirits of a higher level. As the Bible tells us, there are powers and principalities. They mimic the hierarchy of angels (seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels).

There are also earthbound or departed “familial” spirits – those who have not “gone on.” These are spirits that have attached themselves to a person, family, things, or locations. If someone commits a murder, this is a strong force that attracts the demonic. If there is a spirit that was addicted to sex, drugs, or alcohol, it may seek to draw from or enter a living person who is indulging in excessive alcohol or illicit sex (in order to re-experience it). An involvement in the occult is a transgression known to greatly enhance spiritual infestation.

continue at Spirit Daily 

I've read other articles on this topic and have found it to be very insightful.  I think it comes from a the charismatic movement, but I know I have a prayer to Divine Mercy for healing of a family tree.  I can't find anything on it now, maybe some of you have also prayed this prayer?  If so, please share where we can find it.  For some time I was very interested in the charismatic movement, as I had never heard a priest talk about evil spirits or any spiritual realities of this world.  I do not think it is a fascination; in fact, knowing we can help bring my family to faith is something that continues to motivate me to keep fighting; and particularly that my personal sin affects more than just my relationship with God.

From Orthodoxy - GK Chesterton

Certain new theologians dispute original sin which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.

Some followers of the Reverend R. J. Campbell, in their almost too fastidious spirituality, admit divine sinlessness, which they cannot see even in their dreams. But they essentially deny human sin, which they can see in the street. The strongest saints and the strongest skeptics alike took positive evil as the starting-point of their argument. If it be true (as it certainly is) that a man can feel exquisite happiness in skinning a cat then the religious philosopher can only draw one of two deductions.

He must either deny the existence of God, as all atheists do; or he must deny the present union between God and man as all Christians do. The new theologians seem to think it a highly rationalistic solution to deny the cat.

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HT JB