Some of those who clinically "die" and return say that when they were on the "other side," they learned the importance of genealogy.

That's ancestry -- our family lines. Usually, we recognize the importance of our immediate relatives. But what about ancestors? Might it be that there is a connection -- and a mission -- that involves all of them? Is this why the New Testament even starts with the ancestry of Jesus?

One man who "returned" claims to have seen members of his family line as "golden links joined to form long chains.

"Single links weren't as high nor shone as brilliantly as those that were linked together. The more links that were joined, the higher in the air they were and the brighter they shone. The long gold chains were very high, and their combined light made the sun pale in comparison."

In other words, lines of ancestry ascend together toward God as they grow in brilliance.

The Blessed Mother is the new "Eve" and has the chore of helping us strive to be as pure -- as immaculate -- as she is. Might it be that we are called to rectify wrong inclinations that may go all the way back to Eve and Adam?

It is a fascinating thought, especially near Christmas, when we think of families and when we should think of purifying them.

It is also, of course, the highest form of speculation. Deepest mysticism!

We can say this: it is important not to become overly attached to creatures of the world (Jesus showed that this can even mean members of the family), at the same time that we are called to purify our family lines so that darkness is not passed to future generations.

Whether through genes, learned behavior, or spiritual factors, unfortunate habits, illnesses, and other misfortunes can plague the lineage.

Do spirits of deceased family members "haunt" the lines, causing problems -- and some of the maladies?

Here we get into especially controversial research. One of those who subscribed to the notion was Christian psychiatrist Kenneth McAll, who wrote two books on the subject, A Guide to Healing the Family Tree and Healing the Haunted. 

In them the psychiatrist argued that true-life case histories of people suffering from a variety of physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental illnesses showed that they were influenced by disturbed souls from previous generations (ancestral spirits who were seeking to work out unfinished business through the lives of the living).

"The cure, once the origin of the trouble has been identified, lies in Confession, forgiveness, and a new spiritual discipline based on daily morning quiet time with God and attendance at the Eucharist," says the book, which at the least is very interesting.

Now deceased, Dr. McAll, an associate member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in England, claimed that even physical ailments (especially allergies, nerve disorders, and breathing difficulties) could often be cured through prayers to cleanse ancestry.

"A mother and her three children were all asthmatic," he wrote. "Her father's asthma began at the age of six when he witnessed the death of his three-year-old sister. A tub of water, which was boiling on an outdoor fire of olive wood, fell on her and he was blamed for the accident. Three generations of the family subsequently had allergic sensitivity to olive plants or oil. The final therapeutic approach was a repeated Eucharistic service for the three-year-old child whose funeral had been conducted in anger."

This goes to a major point of McAll's theory: that unmourned souls -- people who are deceased but have not been adequately prayed for -- may linger instead of going to the Light. When they do, that can cause troubles in the family. We leave it for your discernment!

"A depressed and sleepless sixty-year-old woman  was sensitive to household dust, mold, and plastic," added the psychiatrist. "She had lost one stillborn child, had undergone an abortion, and had disposed of two miscarriages in her house. This was taken to a Eucharistic service. The woman was healed and her allergies disappeared."

The Catholic Church neither accepts nor rejects such reports. We don't know how much to integrate. There certainly seem to be kernels of truth. It is why Catholics pray during Mass that the departed reach the Light of God. But do spirits figure into modern problems as much as Dr. McAll theorized?

"Early in our enquiries we found that a number of anorexic patients had histories of one or more abortions, miscarriages, or other unmourned deaths in their immediate or extended families," said the doctor, who himself died in 2001 and who served as administrator at a hospital in China that employed Eric Liddell of Chariots of Fire Olympic running fame. "They recovered rapidly when the family ritually mourned these deaths. If there were signs of unresolved grief, the patient and the family were helped to look objectively at the relevance of such grief to the symptoms. Thus, they understood that these symptoms correlated with the situation of the unmourned person -- that is, lost, lonely, in darkness, depressed, unloved, nameless, unable to eat or cry out."

In case after case, Dr. McAll detailed instances he felt showed a spiritual-physical link. Although a scientist by training, his research relied on intuition and anecdotal evidence, not laboratory evidence.

But there is a crucial lesson: that praying for deceased members of our families not only may release them but also free those who are living! What is loosed in Heaven....

"The marked frequency of multiple sclerosis, anklylosing spondylitis, and ulcerative colitis in some families suggests a common denominator of unknown origin," he reported. "In the arthritis and rheumatic, spasm and the consequent stagnation of an area may be caused by anger and resentment. If this is replaced by forgiveness and confidence, suddenly the central controlling impulses are released into normal balanced functioning.

"A middle-aged woman in a wheelchair had been very angry with God ever since her only two pregnancies had miscarried. In a church Eucharistic service, she apologized for her anger and prayed for the two children. Suddenly, a hot glow penetrated her whole being, she rose to her feet, and then walked all the way home."

There is nothing more damaging than anger at the Lord.

A person "hunched over" with spondylitis may be "carrying" family burdens, posited the doctor, who was Anglican. In multiple sclerosis, it could be nerves exposed to wound in the immediate family or past generations. A common factor was a backlash of bitterness over traumatic family relationships.

Dr. McAll claimed to have witnessed dozens of cases where spirits haunted locales, causing accidents, disputes, and other negative effects. "When people move to a new house it is a good idea to have it blessed," he urged. "I would go further and include prayers for the whole area in a Eucharist as there may be other lost souls still wandering about and needing help and committal to God."

He said when they searched the family tree (over a thousand names) of a family tormented by the apparition of a repulsive cloaked male figure, they found a case of evil that seemed to put the matter to rest (a nefarious minister who had lived in the 17th century). "He was still living his last memories of misery, loneliness, and error," wrote McAll in Healing the Haunted. "Then we 'saw' some angels come and strip him of his long black cloak and he stood in a shaft of blinding light, unable to shield himself, naked and alone, the truth about him exposed. The family promised to continue to pray for him at Mass and there has been no recurrence of the nightly visitations."

Migraines. Anxiety. Even cancer?

"The subconscious mind acts out on the body the unexpressed areas of conflict, either consciously, verbally, or physically by selecting a target or end organ which can deal with them most appropriately," he added in Healing the Family Tree. "Every thought has a physical outlet. When an organ is so disrupted and demanding of attention from the whole body, the reverse process obtains and a somatopsychic situation develops.

"Anger, resentment, frustration, or a purely materialistic attitude forces the target organ, the blood vessels, to carry the strain. Many people use a medical diagnosis as an escape route, excusing their bad behavior by hiding behind labels such as 'my high blood pressure.' Stress results from resistance to the pressures and challenges of life, so where there is no resistance, there is no stress."

For your consideration.

We can say this: it is important to have balance, which starts with prayer, includes discipline, work, and recreation, necessitates relaxation, and ends with prayer (hopefully a Mass somewhere along the way). We must commit our entire family trees to God. Christmas is an opportune time. Bring forth that gold! The veil thins.

Isn't Christmas a splendid time to ask the Infant to purify our lines as His ancestral line was so totally purified when He was born of a virgin who had been immaculately conceived? At each Mass, we can pray for our entire lineage. It certainly can't hurt. At the least, it frees souls from purgatory.

"Becoming a pure instrument as a channel of God's grace carries with it the gift of a new power," wrote Dr. McAll. "We choose to switch our thoughts to become a candle of the Lord, so that our prayers may rise like incense and change situations in the troubled world around us."

[resources: A Guide to Healing the Family Tree and Healing the Haunted]

{see also: The Other Side]