Arranging for Private Masses for the Healing of Your Family Tree

To arrange to have a Mass or Masses celebrated for the intention of

your personal family tree, or for the healing of any possible bondages
afflicting the body, mind or spirit of any family members, living or dead
(and also for the prevention of disorders in future family members who
do not yet even exist), present your request with a stipend of your
choice to support the work of the Claretian Missionary Fathers, who
exercise their vow of poverty by applying stipends to help the poor in
our missions throughout the world, especially in Haiti. The typical
stipend offering ranges from $10 to $25 per Mass.

CTM accepts AmericanExpress, Visa, MasterCard, and

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You may want to prepare an ancestor chart, descendant chart,

pedigree chart, genogram or other listing of names of family tree
members. Although it is not theologically required it may be useful for
personal devotion to provide a focus for praying. Such listings are
always incomplete. God knows the names of your many relatives,
your in-laws, the natural parents, living or dead, of adopted family
members who may be in need of healing. He also knows your
particular needs and graces to be prayed for (far more than we
humans are aware of) and those of living, dead and future members of
your family tree. There's no need to spell out every need of your loved
ones; a general intention suffices, for God knows all our needs far
better than we do (see Matthew 6:8 and 32).

If you prefer a particular date or dates for the Mass(es), let us know
this in writing when you submit the Mass stipend. If no other petitioner
has requested Mass on the date(s) you have chosen, then Father
Hampsch will accede to your request. If those dates have already
been requested by another petitioner, then the date(s) of your
requested Mass(es) will be assigned to another Claretian priest in this
community.

If you specify no particular date(s), then the Mass(es) will be offered

on the first open date(s) in which Father Hampsch has no Mass
intention booked.
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The Mass(es) will be registered with the stipend collector of our
local community when the stipend is received. It would save us much
time and work if you state that we don't need to acknowledge
receiving the stipend. Please know that we are most grateful for your
financial support of the work of our missions throughout the world. If
you do request an acknowledgment, please state either your e-mail
address, or your phone number.

Please state the exact number of Masses you are requesting.

Some petitioners request only one Mass, sometimes for a specific
anniversary or birthday; some prefer a triduum (three successive
days) of Masses; some want a novena (nine successive days) of
Masses; others want a Mass every week or month on a certain date
for a predetermined period of time. Some list a series of specific
preferred dates for the Masses. And some petitioners don't request a
Mass for their exclusive "stipendiary" intention, but simply request the
priest's prayerful remembrance within any Mass at any time (a
"memento").
The quantity (number) of Masses is not related to the quality (spiritual
effectiveness) of the Masses. The intrinsic value of one Mass is
infinite, of course, but the extrinsic (application) of that limitless value
is not infinite, but finite. By analogy, you can draw water from the
ocean, but you can't engulf the ocean, and the amount of water
you draw from the "infinite" ocean is determined by the size of your
container (thimble, cup, bucket, tub, vat, reservoir, etc) Many
factors, especially your faith level, will determine how much of the
infinite ocean of God's power is applied to your intentions.

Quantitatively, the more Masses you arrange to be celebrated

for your intentions, the more times you will be "dipping" your
"container" (faith and other prayer-empowerment factors) into the
infinite ocean of God's beneficence.
When the Mass intention is for the healing of one's family tree, we
suggest that the date(s) of the Mass (es) be the occasion for fostering
a "spiritual family reunion," with as many family members or relatives
as possible (cousins, uncles, aunts, in-laws, etc.) agreeing to attend
Mass and receive Communion (if Catholic), each in the most
convenient location for them. At the Consecration and the Communion
in the Mass, they should ask Jesus to symbolically pour his Precious
Blood between each generation of ancestors and descendants, to
break any transgenerational bondage from ancestral sins (see Lam.
5:7, etc.).
If the participants' faith in Jesus' Eucharistic presence is strong,
you can expect truly remarkable healings, both "curative" and
"preventative."