My grandmother shared with the family, one summer, our family genealogy. I’m not sure how she went about collecting all the information, but it was a project she undertook over several years. All this was done before programs like ancestory.com existed. I’m American, so from my perspective, there were some amazing things I learned. James Polk, a President of the United States, is in my family lineage. One of the original men, Thomas West, who landed at Jamestown, the first English colony, is in my family tree. There are also some historically unsavory figures like Prince John, the Robin Hood villain, and Benedict Arnold, the archetypal American traitor. Then, there are mostly people who just lived out their ordinary lives in ordinary ways. All these people have played a part in who I am, especially my parents.
Whether parents are a child’s best friend, or a child barely knew them, their relationship with mom and dad had an impact on who they have become. The rise of modern psychology has theorized that an adult personality develops from early childhood experiences, an insight empirically tested by attachment theory and developmental psychology that has gone on through the last century and continues into the present. Countless studies and extensive clinical research have found links between parents’ behavior during one’s childhood and how they then act as an adult. For example, if a mother was constantly juggling multiple jobs, one is more likely to suffer from stress. If parents spoke negatively about their bodies, one is more likely to have low self-confidence.
Passing along the Good and Bad
The hurts that parents have experienced in their lives can be passed on to their children, not just on the mental level, but in the spiritual realm as well. The sins of one generation can be passed on to subsequent generations. Even the Church, with this realization, offers prayers for generational and healing of the family tree. “The evils that people suffer today (psychic, moral, social, spiritual, and corporal) have a cause in their ancestors. The current person would be like the last link in a chain through which the evils that come to him are passing,” explains Fr. Alcantara, a Mexican exorcist.
These evils come from bad inclinations of one’s ancestors, the sins they have committed, and the curses that have been invoked. All these lead a person to have inclinations and certain tendencies toward evil and bondage. All of which, through God’s grace, prayer, and life choices, one hopes to be the last link. Not just the last link of evil but a source of goodness and mercy going forward. Evil does not define a genealogy, each of those people are loved by God and He wanted them to be.
Even Jesus
Even Jesus, as true God and true man, has a family tree. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” St. John’s Gospel begins with the supernatural family tree of Christ of God. Today’s Gospel from St. Matthew reminds us of Jesus’ unpredictable past. There are kings, villains, and ordinary people in Jesus’ lineage. Even the women mentioned, apart from Mary, are women with dark and difficult pasts.
God is proud of his genealogy. He makes sure that it is mentioned in the Bible. He sends His son, Jesus, into the world and into a family not to condemn but to save. Was there evil present in Jesus’ past? It does not define him. Even more, evil is precisely what Jesus came to conquer with love.
Very nice and interesting reflection. Young parents have to pass on healthy attitudes to their children, even as they grow in their own maturity. My parents did so even as they kept certain struggles private, so that I would not be detrimentally affected. Wisdom.