Dear Chas:

In addition to the sins of our ancestors being passed down in terms of habits, traits, role-modeling and such in a psychological and environmental manner, there can be a spiritual heritage as well.

We have no idea what our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents may have done to cause the devil to place the family on his radar. We do not "inherit" demons like we do genetic traits. Rather, the devil may place a family on his "list" for special attention. That "attention" may exist from generation to generation. 

This does not mean that each person in each generation will be harassed by the evil one. It merely means that the family line is getting special attention. Just as our own personal actions can get us special attention by the devil, so can a family.

The prayers to Renounce Ancestral Sins is designed to block that attention the devil may give to our family due to sins of our ancestors (and current family members). Those family members who are devout and close to God are the least likely to be harassed.

Most things in the spirit has an analogy in this world. For example, on this issue, we can see the effect of the sins of one family member on the rest of the family. There are cases of entire families being murdered because one family member brought trouble into the home, such as drugs dealing.

There are thousands of cases of rebellious teenagers who seriously disrupt the entire family and may be instrumental in influencing younger siblings to get in trouble.

The point is that a family member can bring trouble into the entire family. Each family member is responsible for their own actions, but the actions of one can serious affect the rest of the family. The Spiritual Warfare prayers seek to break that cycle.

This principle can be found several Scriptures:

Nehemiah 9:2  And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

Daniel 9:16  O Lord, according to all thy righteous acts, let thy anger and thy wrath turn away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy hill; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have become a byword among all who are round about us.

Deuteronomy 5:9  you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

The language of Deuteronomy is also seen in Exodus 20:5; 34:7; 14:18.

The Navarre Bible Commentary says of the Deuteronomy text:

To understand this threat to punish children for the sins of their fathers, one needs to bear in mind that in the Eastern culture of the time each person had a strong sense of solidarity with his family and his people. Many episodes are to be found in the Bible (even in the New Testament) which reflect this outlook (cf., e.g., 2 Samuel 21:1-14; John 9:1-2).

However, even the notion of personal responsibility comes across quite clearly: "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor should the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own sin" (Deuteronomy 24:16). This is turn does not exclude the tremendously negative way the sins of parents can impact on their children by depriving them of spiritual benefits through the Communion of the Saints an by giving then bad example.

As for curses and such, the victim of a curse can be a complete innocent. Some other person casts the curse for revenge, jealously, hatred, or whatever.

When it comes to curses it should be noted that the curse-caster is more likely to be negatively effected than the intended target.

Curses can have many possible effects such as, extraordinary tension between spouses or friends (a divisive spirit), intense and inappropriate infatuation with someone (lustful spirit), sometimes illnesses with no explanation, and the proverbial, "if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all."

Of course, all other explanations need to be exhausted. The last item on "bad luck" can be a result, for example, of the person's bad decisions.

As Father La Grua recommends in his book, La preghiera di liberazoine (and quoted in Father Amorth book, "An Exorcist Tells His Story"): "...we must not believe too easily in curses."

Father Amorth goes on to say:

Hexes are always rare. When the complaints that are brought to the exorcist are analyzed, they almost invariably reveal psychological causes such as suggestiveness and false fears. Also, curses are often unsuccessful for many reasons, for instance, because God does not allow the evil, or the intended victim is a person of deep prayer and union with God.

In cases where a curse or hex may have an effect with a very devout person who is close to God, the likely reason is that God is allowing it to test one's faith, to strengthen that faith, and perhaps to prepare the person for some mission, or any host of other reasons that only God knows.

But, as Father Amorth says:

It would be a most grave error to live in fear of falling victim to a hex. The Bible never tells us to fear the devil; instead we are told to resist him in the certainty that he will flee from us )James 4:7) and to remain watchful against his attacks, by remaining firm in our faith (1 Peter 5:9).

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary