| Question Title | Posted By | Question Date |
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| Generation Curses | Lessly | Thursday, October 4, 2012 |
Question: Dear Br. Ignatius |
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| Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)
Dear Lessly: The Church teaches the existence of the seminal Generational Curse—Original Sin (1 Cor. 15:22) "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive" and explained in the Catechism beginning at paragraph 396ff. This doctrine is dogma and anyone who doubts it is a heretic. We inherit Original Sin both spiritually and physically. When Adam sinned and brought into the world Original Sin, the very chromosomes of the human genome were mutated. Our genetics changed and within our DNA concupiscence was inserted and passed on to all generations. It is because of this mutation in our DNA, passed down through the father's DNA, that Jesus did not have a human father. Thus, the Incarnate God had no stain of Original Sin in his biological body. Mary, on the other hand was conceived the normal way, she did have a human father, thus God preserved her from Original Sin at the very moment of her normal conception through the miracle of the Immaculate Conception. The reason for the virginal conception of Jesus, and the Immaculate Conception of Mary, is precisely because Original Sin is in our DNA. As to the notion of specific generational curses, other than Original sin, the Church does not offer any teaching. The idea is based in Scripture, many exorcists will affirm its existence, but ultimately this is a matter of anecdotal evidence and opinion. Fr. Fortea, the famous Spanish exorcist, is unsure of the existence of generational curses, but he is open to the possibility. Fr. Amorth does assert the existence of generational curses. The Scriptural evidence is in the "sins of the Father" passages:
Also in Scripture there appears to be passages that contradict the above:
While this appears to be a contradiction, it is not. Deuteronomy 24 is referring to legal issues (see context in vs. 6-19). Ezekiel 18 is merely repeating the Law of the Pentateuch (e.g., Deuteronomy 24). These passage are referring to legal matters in the Jewish Court System. The first set of passages, however, deal with God visiting upon the descendants the consequences of the rebellious fathers' sins. Another important issue is that many people, especially those in the Charismatic Renewal, as usual, mis-defines the meaning of Generational Curses or demonization. Many people think that a curse or demonization can be transmitted from generation to generation in a matter like genetics. This is false. We inherit genetic characteristics to which we have no control. While Free Will can influence genetic propensities in that we may choose how we respond to those genetic traits, we do not have control over the existence of the genetic trait. For example, let us say a man inherits the genetic trait attributed to aggression. The man may respond to that trait by being negatively aggressive as to bully others, or he use this trait to be positively assertive. This trait may help him to have a level of self-confidence to tackle mountain climbing or provide the seeds of criminality. While we cannot change our genetics, we can have something to say about the behavior we choose. Generational Curses and demonization does not work that way. A Generational Curse is not "inherited" through the generations like biological genetics, which is beyond our control. Rather Generational Curses happen when an ancestor has done something to place the family on Satan's radar, or someone else casting the curse has asked Satan, in effect, to keep this family on his radar. Unlike genetics, which is certainly passed from generation to generation, a curse or demonization from an ancestor does not guarantee that any particular generation, or even any particular person within a generation will come under demonic harassment. We have a prayer in our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog, linked below, concerning "Renouncing Ancestral Sins." This prayer is designed to shut the door to any consequences coming from ancestors. Everyone should pray this prayer since we cannot know what our ancestors may have done to put the family on Satan's radar. But, understand, this is about placing a family on Satan's radar, not an actual inheritance of a curse or demon. We each have Free Will to choose to live the Christ-Life that may largely avoid demonic harassment (though not absolutely since God may permit it even for the devout, as He did with St. Paul (e.g., the thorn in his side). We also are able to make the decisions needs to counter any demonic attack that may occur, through the weapons of warfare God has given us. These weapons of spiritual warfare given to us by God are founded upon His Word, which is the Sword of the Spirit, and His Church, which is the Ship of Salvation. Specifically, God give us His armor described in Ephesian 6, the Church and Her Sacraments, especially Confession and Eucharist which are the most powerful deliverance and healing prayers, the Sacramentals given to us by the Church (e.g., Rite of Exorcism, official blessings by a priest, Holy Water, Holy Salt, Holy Oil, blessed medals and scapulars, blessings allowed to be given laity, as well as priests, found in the official Book of Blessings, and all the personal devotions such as the Rosary, the Divine Mercy, etc. To be in the Catholic Church is to have at our disposal the full measure of grace, faith, and weapons to fight the devil, evil, and the sin within ourselves. No other ecclesial community has this fullness of grace and faith, nor the fullness of the armory of weapons with which to wage spiritual war. God Bless,
For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.
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