The Fallacy of Generational Curses

The generational curses have become a perennial issue in our own time.  A lot of hype and hysteria surround the ‘breaking’ of generational curses. The generational curses can be traced to the utterances of Yahweh in some books of the Old Testament. For example, in Exodus 20:5 the Lord says “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me.”

 There are also passages in the OT that appear to suggest that God actually punished the children because of the sins of the parent(s). For example, the death of the child of Bathsheba after the adultery and murder committed by King David ( 2 Sam 12: 15-19).

However, in the prophesy of Ezekiel, the Lord announced a new order. No longer will the children be punished for the offences of their forbears. “The person who sins shall die. A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his own” (Ezek 18:20).

Jesus authoritatively confirmed this new order when the disciples asked him whether a man was born blind because of the sins of his parents. Jesus replied: neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him (Jn 9: 1-3). St Paul says that Jesus became a curse for all of us sinners and nailed the curses to the wood of the cross (Gal 3: 10-14).

The notion of generational curses does not exist in the New Testament. It is futile to have recourse to some passages in the OT even in the NT to justify it. Revelation of God and divine truths are taught in stages beginning from the OT to NT. For example, God commanded the sacrifice of animals for the forgiveness of sins and the circumcision of the flesh in the OT. But these practices (that were once recommended) are abolished in the NT. The idea of generational curses is not an inviolable or immovable code in the bible. It will be futile to quote some passages of the OT to justify animal sacrifice or circumcision of the flesh in our own time.

It is true that the children may suffer the negative consequences of the bad choices of their parents. For example the children may suffer for a long time the consequences of the bad choices made by an alcoholic and abusive father. But consequences are not coterminous with curses. It is almost a truism to say that life is full of twists and turns. It is callously lame to blame one’s parents for all the challenges of life.

Life can be very tough even for the children of ‘virtuous’ parents. "In the world you will have trouble. But be of good cheers I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33).
 In the face of challenges of life let us turn to Jesus. He will furnish us with the strength we need to carry our cross everyday and follow Him. Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matt 11:28).

The Vows of Consecrated Life (Part II)

St Thomas Aquinas identifies three stages of the vows of consecrated life (Summa theologica IIa-IIae Q 88 art 1). The first stage is deliberation. The vows presuppose a critical and honest soul-searching. At this phase, the consecrated person carefully examines himself/herself, life, history, motives, strengthens and weaknesses. He critically assesses the denotations and connotations of the vows. He seeks the will of God. He asks the fundamental question in Christian life: Lord what do you want me to do? The goals of this stage are self knowledge and discovery of the will of God. Hopefully, this will lead to the second stage which is purpose of the will.

This second stage is very critical. It is a time of incisive and decisive undertaking. It is the moment of decision and consent. The Christian gives his fiat. He responds willingly and enthusiastically to the invitation to follow Christ as a consecrated person. This is a turning point in the life of every aspiring Christian to consecrated life.

The third stage is profession of the vows. With poise and sense of purpose, the candidate makes his vows in the church and for the church. The consecrated person experiences these stages in his own unique way under the unfailing guidance of the Holy Spirit.


The Vows are Public

The profession of vows is often public not private. The vows are not pronounced in a clandestine manner since they are neither arcane nor esoteric. The profession of the vows often takes place in a public liturgical celebration with a form approved by the Church. The public pronouncement of the vows before God and the people of God instils in the consecrated person the gravity, implications and demands of the vows. Words and external signs can move the heart to devotion; fixed the mind more firmly on the thing promised and on the person the thing is promised.

Also, expressing the vows publicly strengthens the resolve of the consecrated person to avoid violating the vows not only through the fear of God but also through respect for people (Cf. Ibid). In Nigeria, the profession of vows whether temporary or perpetual often takes place in a colourful and elaborate ceremony. It is a tremendous sight, full of power and beauty. It provides a stellar opportunity for the family members of the professed to express their joy and support; the family members also gain some insight into the nature of consecrated life.


A Stupendous and Gratuitous Gift

The sacred vows are first all a gift of God. The evangelical counsels constitute a stupendous, unmerited, undeserved and gratuitous gift. “The evangelical counsels are above all a gift of the Holy Trinity. The consecrated life proclaims what the Father, through the Son and in the the Spirit, brings about by his love, his goodness and his beauty” (Vita Consecrata, n. 20). Nobody can take the honour on himself. The consecrated person is fully aware that he is undeserving of this gift, that there is nothing he/she could have done to merit his/her vocation and the gift of evangelical counsels.

The consecrated person is awed and humbled by the awareness of God’s generous and irrevocable gift; and is forever grateful to God for such supernatural gift of his/her vocation. Inasmuch as one’s vocation is gratuitous and unmerited, the pronunciation of the vows is an expression of gratitude to God – a song of praise. It is an outburst of awe, wonder and mystery. The consecrated person observes his/her vows with an attitude of gratitude.


A Response to God’s Unique Call

The vows are first of all a response to God’s calling. You did not choose me, I chose you: and I commissioned you to go out and to bear fruit (Jn 15:16). The initiative is from God: “it is an initiative coming wholly from the father (Cf. Jn 15:16), who asks those whom he has chosen to respond with complete and exclusive devotion” (Vita Consecrata, n. 17). The vows are free and radical responses to God’s call to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ as enunciated in the Gospels. The religious is both responsive and responsible.

The response demanded from the consecrated person is voluntary, spontaneous, unreserved, and generous. He responds with his whole life for all his life. He generously responds to this call in his own historical context according to promptings of the Holy Spirit and the specific needs of the Church. The different content and context of one’s vocation admits of some divergence and convergence. That is why there is a great variety of responses in the Church namely: monastic life, mendicants, societies of apostolic life and the secular institutes. The multiplicity of different forms of consecrated life is considered as both a gift and activity of the Holy Spirit.