Thursday, September 4, 2008

The Family Tree

There have been many sins that have affected my family, immediate and extended, which have then directly affected me. Sins resulting in my present and past sufferings ... things that have taken years to overcome, yet still being taunted and tormented by their effects.



Passed down from generation to generation, these sins influence our very being, our souls, so that it has ramifications upon everything we do. This burden slowly wearing us down until we find it so difficult to move, to live, to love, while desperately trying to cling onto the Word of God to keeps us going. We find ourselves drowning in the everyday battles. We know He is there, we know He is beside us, but the suffering is so great that we feel like we are losing the war.



Can we ever be completely healed by the influences and effects these sins create? Can we be free from this bondage, this burden placed so heavily upon us? Can we feel His love again? Yes! Through the Sacraments. Through prayer. Through fasting. Through Jesus. He died so we could have everlasting life ... free from the bondage of sin, including the sins of the past, present, and future.



I pray this prayer in hopes of being completely healed, as well as healing for my family, one day.









Prayer for Healing the Family Tree


Heavenly Father, I come before You as Your child, in great need of Your help. I have physical health needs, emotional needs, spiritual needs, and interpersonal needs. Many of my problems have been caused by my own failures, neglect and sinfulness, for which I humbly beg Your forgiveness, Lord. But I also ask You to forgive the sins of my ancestors whose failures have left their effects on me in the form of unwanted tendencies, behavior patterns and defects in body, mind and spirit. Heal me, Lord, of all these disorders.


With Your help I sincerely forgive everyone, especially living or dead members of my family tree, who have directly offended me or my loved ones in any way, or those whose sins have resulted in our present sufferings and disorders. In the name of Your divine Son Jesus, and in the power of His Holy Spirit, I ask You, Father, to deliver me and my entire family tree from the influence of the evil one. Free all living and dead members of my family tree, including those in adoptive relationships, and those in extended family relationships, from every contaminating form of bondage. By Your loving concern for us, heavenly Father, and by the shed blood of your Precious Son Jesus, I beg You to extend Your blessing to me and all my living and deceased relatives. Heal every negative effect transmitted through all past generations, and prevent such negative effects in future generations of my family tree.


I symbolically place the Cross of Jesus over the head of each person in my family tree, and between each generation; I ask You to let the cleansing blood of Jesus purify the blood lines in my family lineage. Set Your protective angels to encamp around us, and permit Archangel Raphael, the patron of healing, to administer Your divine healing power to all of us, even in areas of genetic disability. Give special power to our family members' guardian angels to heal, protect, guide and encourage each of us in all our needs. Let Your healing power be released at this very moment and let it continue as long as Your sovereignty permits.


In our family tree, Lord, replace all bondage with a holy bonding in family love. And let there be an ever deeper bonding with You, Lord, by the Holy Spirit, to Your Son Jesus. Let the family of the Holy Trinity pervade our family with its tender, warm, loving presence, so that our family may recognize and manifest that love in all our relationships. All of our unknown needs we include with this petition that we pray in Jesus precious Name.


Amen.

1 comment:

dom said...

You have chosen a wonderful community to enter and God will truly bless you in your vocational discernment. Stay close to Our Lord and Our Lady.

The Sisters of the Most Holy Trinity truly live what they believe.

dom