AN INTRODUCTION TO INTERGENERATIONAL HEALING by Dr.

Christy Beck Gootee of Two Hearts Gospel Ministry, Inc.

Many of us take pride in our heritage. You can often hear someone telling a

friend or neighbor, “I have my Dad’s eyes,” or “This is my Mom’s china.” But

while we can rightfully boast of some things passed down from generation to

generation, there is also a negative side to what we can inherit. Sometimes we

hear comments like, “She has arthritis, just like her Grandma used to have,” or

“He has his Grandpa’s temper.”

While we may not have a full understanding of all the factors that cause our

negative inheritance, it is clear that we do have one. Certain physical illnesses,

like cancer, arthritis, or allergies, seem to run in families.

Emotional and spiritual bondages, such as depression, anger or unforgiveness,

can be seen in others. Sometimes the patterns of behavior are modeled from

one generation to the next. Other times there can be a spiritual oppression still

lingering from past family sins. Whatever the cause, Intergenerational

Healing...just like any other healing...can be experienced through prayer. As

Ephesians 1:7 tell us, “In Him we have redemption by His Blood.” We can pray

for the power of Jesus’ sacrifice to bring healing to ourselves and our families.

All such prayer is helpful, but one of the most powerful ways to do this is by

offering a special Mass for Intergenerational Healing. Fr. DeGrandis tells of

dramatic improvement seen in mental patients when such a Mass was offered.

We ourselves have witnessed healing in may individuals and families from

these Masses. One woman shared with us that all her family peacefully

celebrated Christmas dinner together after one such Mass was said in late

November. She had never before experienced this for there had always been

some members of the family not talking to others and feuding because of

constant resentments.

An Intergenerational Mass does not take away the brokenness caused by some

free will choices of individuals, nor does it substitute for other needed spiritual

truths, like ongoing conversion and prayer. But you and your family can

experience healing and grace from Prayers for Intergenerational Healing.

These prayers have a two-fold purpose: first you are praying, as the Church

always has (see 2 Macc. 12:42-46), for those in your family who have died;

second, you are praying for your own healing and healing for all the other

living members of your family. And they do not have to be present or even

know about the Mass or other intergenerational prayers to receive this healing.

God’s grace and mercy are so great that He is constantly offering us

opportunities to share in the fullness of His Life (John 10:10). “Thanks be to

God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15)

INTERGENERATIONAL HEALING PRAYER:

“Heavenly Father, I ask forgiveness for all unrepented sin in my family,.

through all past generations. I ask for the Blood of Jesus to cleanse me and all

my family of the lingering effects of any past sins. I pray, Lord, that I and each

member of my family may experience healing in body, mind and spirit in every

needed area. In the powerful name of Jesus and by His Most Precious Blood, I

break all curses and all spiritual bondages affecting any member of my family.

And in the power of the Holy Spirit, I call forth and receive for my family all

the graces and blessings that God desires to give. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen

“I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their

fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate Me, down to the third

and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation,

on the children of those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus

20:5-6)

THE ROAD TO FREEDOM (5 Resurrection “R’s”):

1. Recognize the blessings and the curses.

2. Repent of all personal and ancestral sin.

3. Reconcile, extending forgiveness to all in the family tree.

4. Rebuke all forces of evil in the name of Jesus.

5. Reclaim the inheritance intended by God through persevering prayer,

personal transformation and practicing the presence of God.

1. Recognize the blessings and the curses.

a. Look at yourself and your family to identify blessings, such as: intelligence,

compassion, a forgiving nature, patience, love of the Lord. Thank God for these

blessings and claim them as your inheritance in the Lord Jesus.

b. Identify the “curses,” the negative traits, in order to ask for God’s healing:

--physical (diabetes, cancer, heart problems, ulcers, arthritis, back problems,

migraines, allergies)

--emotional (fear, worry, self-condemnation, shame, anger, depression, suicidal

tendencies)

--spiritual (prayerlessness, atheism, occult involvement, idolatry, greed, lust,

murder)

--interpersonal (unforgiveness, bitterness, rage, abuse, divorce, marital conflict,

criticism, judgmentalism)

--addictions (alcoholism, drugs, gambling, sex, pornography, overeating,

controlling, perfectionism, workaholism)

2. Repent of all personal and ancestral sin.

-- “We have sinned, we and our fathers.” (Ps. 106:6)

-- “As long as I would not speak, my bones wasted away...Then I

acknowledged my sin to You...I said, ‘I confess my faults...and You took away

the guilt of my sin.” (Ps. 32:3-5)

-- “They will waste away for their own and their fathers’ guilt. Thus they will

have to confess that they and their fathers were guilty...when their

uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they make amends for their guilt, I will

remember My covenant...” (Leviticus 26:39-42)

3. Reconcile, extending forgiveness to all in the family tree.

“And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and

given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18). Reconciliation comes

through

the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. (Eph. 2:13-22 and Col. 2:9-15)

4. Rebuke all forces of evil in the name of Jesus and by His precious blood.

Ancestral contamination is accomplished mainly through the work of the devil,

for whom the door is opened by means of sin. But Jesus came into the world

precisely to destroy the devil’s work (1 John 3:8); hence Jesus is the great

Deliverer, and He shares His deliverance with us (Mark 16:17). Freedom can

come through the Sacrifice of the Mass (where we join with Jesus’ Sacrifice on

the Cross) offered specifically for our ancestors. Sometimes explicit rebuke (in

personal prayer) of certain recognized areas of bondage is also helpful. In

Jesus’ name, we plead the precious blood over ourselves and our ancestral line

and command all spirits not of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus and

by the power of His precious blood, to leave us and our ancestral line and to go

quietly to Jesus for disposition. We invite the Holy Spirit to fill that specific

area with His grace, love and truth. It is also helpful to invite and acknowledge

the presence of God’s holy angels to help us in the spiritual battle and to protect

us (Ps. 34:7-8; Heb. 1:14; Ps. 91:11).

5. Reclaim the inheritance intended by God. (“Consequently, those who have

faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith...And if you belong to

Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.”

Gal. 3:9,29)

Reclaim the inheritance through:

--persevering prayer (1 Thess. 5:16-24)

--personal transformation (Romans 12:2)

--practicing the presence of God (Eph. 1:13-14)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in

Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.” (Eph. 1:3)

“May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know...what are the

riches of glory in His inheritance among the holy ones...” (Eph. 1:18)

“Ancestral healing”--”healing the family tree”--”intergenerational healing”--it

goes by different names, but it is a part of the total healing and victory that

Jesus desires for each of us. First, it must be understood that it is only one step

on the spiritual journey. Full spiritual growth and healing will not come without

other essentials: ongoing conversion, repentance, prayer life, forgiveness,

community, discerning and obeying God’s will--to mention a few.

But Exodus 20:5-6 tells us: “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting

punishment for their fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate Me,

down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the

thousandth generation on the children of those who love Me and keep My

commandments.” The “punishment” experienced from generation to generation

can include susceptibility to physical illnesses, emotional bondage, or

addictions, and tendencies to sin, like lust, rage, greed. Ancestral prayer does

not take away personal responsibility or free will, but it does break spiritual,

generational bondage that can weaken the individual’s free will.

The power of Jesus’ victory on the Cross is brought not only into your life, but

also into your family’s. The prayer works at two levels: (1) The people living

now experience breaking of bondage and (2) Those who have died can have

their stay in purgatory shortened. Various forms of ancestral prayer are

possible, but the most powerful is the Ancestral Mass.

To prepare for such a Mass, you can begin to fill out THE GENOGRAM

FORM. Write in the names of relatives you know. Place a cross in the boxes of

those you don’t. Identify the “curses” or negative traits in your family. Write

them by the person or generation, if known, or at the top of the page. Areas of

ancestral healing include, but are not limited to:

physical--diabetes, cancer, heart problems, lung disease, arthritis, back

problems, migraines, allergies

emotional--fear, worry, self-condemnation, shame, anger, depression,

suicidal tendencies

spiritual--prayerlessness, atheism, occult involvement, idolatry, greed,

lust, murder

interpersonal--unforgiveness, bitterness, rage, abuse, divorce, marital

conflict, criticism, judgmentalism

addictions--alcoholism, drugs, gambling, sex, pornography, overeating,

controlling, perfectionism, workaholism