In need I reach for heaven’s door,
To concede, in spirit, I am forever
poor.
I find Him waiting and knowing all,
No reprimand,
Just grateful I heard His call.
He took my heart into His hands,
The sacred balm, like honey,
soothed my aches.
- Cathryne Allen
I am passionate about
words. They are an expression of the soulful nature of our being, our
experiences, our attitudes and our cumulative growth. I love words that feed my
soul, like poetry. Consider what the Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran said about this
genre of literature: “Poetry is not an opinion expressed. It is a song that
rises from a bleeding wound or a smiling mouth.” Never a greater truth has been spoken. When I
write poetry, I write what I feel, from all my wounds and all my happy moments
of the heart.
Words of poems that touch
me are like seeds that had been sown in my heart. I believe the experiences of
the poets that write them. American poet Sara Teasdale’s poems of love touch
the very nerves of my heart. When I read
her poem about the ‘sensitive, shy years, that strove to sing with voices
drowned in tears’ years before ‘she saw his face’ I tend to believe in love
even though all I know of it is pain but I also know the years drowned in tears
and so I can believe in love too (see her poem “The Years”)
Another poet of my heart
is American poet Emily Dickinson. Her words of life and death and all that’s in
between bring to me the reality of mortal life and the memories of it we will
take with us when we cross the bar. Her poem “Retrospect” dissolves me into
tears just by simple awakening of memories of my childhood. When she says “It
was just this time last year I died. I know I heard the corn, when I was
carried by the farms – it had the tassels on”, I remember the fields of corn of
my childhood.
And who could not be
touched by the lyrical poetry of the Irish W.B. Yeats who wished he had ‘the
heaven’s embroidered cloths’ so he could spread them under “your feet: but I,
being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread
softly because you tread on my dreams.” (Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven).
I believe in the beauty
of words and I also believe in their power. They evoke emotion, memory, innermost
beliefs, spiritual awakening, hope and faith. I am enthralled when I read the
scriptures and see examples of words of faith that bring the impossible into
possible. Such is the power of words.
Consider
Enoch who was called to his holy calling when he was ‘slow of speech’ (Moses
6:31). The Lord promised him that He will give him ‘utterance’ and He will
‘justify’ all his words (Moses:32-34). So because Enoch trusted this promise,
given to him by God himself, his weakness turned into his greatest strength,
and he became so powerful that when he spoke the people trembled and could not
stand in his presence (Moses 6:47). That my friends is turning the impossible
into possible.
Worthy spoken words have the power to resonate with the spirit of
God and empower us to achieve things we could not ordinarily do on our own.
An example of this is calling upon the power of the Atonement to enable
us to overcome a certain weakness or to receive a healing. I have had
experience to this end and can testify that the power of the Atonement, when
prayed for, can heal you, as does hearing His word which ‘heals the wounded soul’ (Jacob 2:8). The vibration of words carries with it power that creates
a pathway for manifestation of that which we pray for. Admonition to pray is prolific in scriptures
for exactly this reason.
Spoken word
and faith are inter-related. The great exemplar of this is the
Saviour himself, who created the world by the power of His word (Jacob 4:9;
Mormon 9:17; Genesis 1; John 1:1). I believe when the Saviour spoke the words
of creation, He spoke by the power of faith. This is obvious to me through a
small incident in His mortal life when He came upon a fig tree that had no
fruit to feed His hunger. He cursed the tree and the tree withered the moment
He spoke (Matthew 21:18-21). When His
disciples marvelled at what they saw, Jesus told them that if they had faith
and doubted not, if they said the word for mountains to move, it would be so
(v21).
I have to speak of Enoch
again. During
his interlude with God, Enoch pleaded with Him that God would have ‘mercy upon
Noah and his seed’ (Moses 7:50) but he did so in the most powerful way that a
prayerful plea should ever be uttered. He said: “I ask Thee, O Lord, in the
name of thine Only Begotten, even Jesus Christ, that thou wilt….”(v50). In
other words, he did not use Jesus' name as an ending afterthought, like we are
accustomed to do so at the end of our prayers. He began with the Saviour’s name
as an acknowledgement of his faith in the source of power through which his
petition can be granted.
As a result of his faith in the
Saviour and the power of His name, God could not withhold from covenanting with
Enoch that He would grant his petition (v 51). So powerful did Enoch become in
speaking ‘the word of the Lord’ that the earth trembled and the mountains fled
(v13). Without a doubt, he commanded the mountains to flee in the name of Jesus
Christ. Likewise, the mountains of our lives can crumble at the mention of His
name. Believe in the power of your faith in Him at whose appearing the
mountains will flow down at His presence, the elements will melt with fervent
heat, the waters will boil and the sun will hide its face in shame (Hebrews
12:29; D&C 133:40-44, 49). Is this not power greater than any mountain on
your path?
Dare to create the life
that God would want you to have by becoming your best self. Aim higher than you
have ever aimed before. The Saviour wants you to be like Him, in every way. He
would have you learn to harness the power of faith that you might rise to
godhood through your power of manifestation. That power is already in you……He made sure of
it. So speak the power…..
Some days You
seem so near
And some days
so far.
I long to see
Your face,
To walk the
clouds with You
With poise and
godly grace.
I know You are
there keeping at bay
The darkness
of despair,
And gifting me
memories of You
To fill the
loneliness that I tearfully bear.
-
CATHRYNE ALLEN
“If
thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy
day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and
shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor
speaking thine own words:
“Then
shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the
high places of the earth and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
(Isaiah 58:13,14)
“Keeping
of the sabbath as a day of surcease from ordinary toil was a national
characteristic, by which the Israelites were distinguished from pagan peoples,
and rightly so, for the holiness of the Sabbath was made a mark of the covenant
between the chosen people and their God. (James Talmage, Jesus the Christ,
p 203).
This
characteristic of Sabbath observance lives with us still as a commandment within
the House of Israel to be a standard and an ensign to the world. In Hebrew the
term Sabbath means ‘rest’. This rest constitutes quiet tranquillity,
peace of mind and spirit, however, the main benefits promised by Isaiah
regarding the Sabbath are three-fold:
·
Sanctification:
It is called a holy day because ‘holy’ means set apart or sanctified for the
work of God (see also Exodus 31:13);
·
Revelation
and communion with God (I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the
earth);
·
Exaltation
(I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father)
Other
promises are ones of temporal plenty, divine protection and spiritual power.
The
most important of these three is sanctification. So important was this
sanctification that violation of the Sabbath was a capital crime punishable by
death under the Mosaic dispensation and this is why….. it impressed upon
ancient Israel the seriousness of spiritual death (see Numbers 15:32-36).
Without sanctification you cannot have eternal life but instead suffer
spiritual death. Whereas eternal life means a life with God, spiritual death
means to be cut off from His presence (Alma 42:1-9; D&C 29:41).
“Alma
taught that certain early Saints entered the “rest of the Lord” after being made
pure through a process of sanctification (Alma 13:12). In other words, God’s
work is the sanctification of His children to the point where they can enter
into the ultimate rest, which is the fulness of His glory.
“Once
each week man is commanded to cease his own labours and allow God to perform
His work of sanctification on him. Resting on the Sabbath, then, implies far
more than taking a nap or stopping normal activities. Mankind must enter into
the Lord’s work on that day. This work involves making themselves and others
more godlike, another way to speak of sanctification.
“Doing
the work of the Lord (sanctification) often involves great activity on the
Sabbath day, and the day may not be restful in the usual sense. One can assume
that if doing good to an animal on the Sabbath is approved by the Lord (see
Matthew 12:11; Luke 13:15), then doing good to men is an even higher good. The
two commandments for the Sabbath are rest and worship (see D&C 59:10). The
Hebrew verb la-avodh, “to worship”, means also “to work” and “to serve”.
This holy work then creates a new and holy man;
so the Sabbath is tied into the work of creation.” (Old Testament Student Manual Book 1, p 130)
Sometimes
I fear that we have lost the holiness of the Sabbath in our day and age. When I
was growing up in Croatia, our Catholic community was very observant of the Sabbath.
Nobody worked, nobody partied. We usually made the best meal on Sunday with the
only dessert of the week, usually a cake or a slice that could be shared in
case any guests should come by. My mother would not allow us girls to even knit
on Sunday. It was a peaceful, calm day of the week when we went to Church and sometimes
met with extended family or friends but it was a meeting devoid of any
entertainment. I always felt a special
spirit on Sunday. I felt it was God’s day. This is the Europe I remember of
some 50 years ago.
The
Australia of today where I live now is vastly different. Consumerism has
destroyed a lot of values we once used to have, children’s parties are rampant
on Sundays as are sporting events and competitions. Sometimes I feel like we
observe the Sabbath day if there isn’t anything else going.
We,
modern-day Israel have a higher obligation than just abstaining from work and
frivolity. We are to turn away our foot (the symbol of following or obeying)
from doing our own pleasure on the Sabbath and to remember the Lord’s work
which is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses
1:39). If we did so we would be drawn to God in the greatest way possible (see
The Old Testament Student Manual Book 1, p 181). It would be the beginning of
our path to eternal life. And when we came to it, we would hear God say: “Well
done thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
Angels are you near me
To catch me if I fall?
Do you stand guard at the entrance
Of my heart
On God’s errand and sentinel’s call?
Do you pave the way
And steady my feet,
And ensure my enemy’s defeat?
You are unsung heroes
Of every journey’s flight
You are phantoms of love
Concealed from mortal sight.
- Cathryne Allen
“Is
not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo
the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free….is it not to deal thy
bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy
house?
“Then
shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health hall spring forth
speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord
shall be thy rereward. “ (Isaiah 58:6-8)
“Rereward
is an older word meaning “rear guard”. The Hebrew word asaph has the
root meaning of “to gather” and, as used
in Isaiah 58:8, “it is applied to the gathering up of the scattered rear of an
army, or the keeping it from straggling, and defending it from the attacks of
an enemy” (William Wilson, Old Testament Word Studies, s.v. “rereward”.)
“A
better translation would be “the glory of Jehovah will gather thee, or keep
thee together, i.e. be thy rear-guard” (C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary
on the Old Testament, 7:2:390)
“When
Israel is diligent in the performance of works of compassionate love, it is
like an army on the march or travelling caravan, for which righteousness clears
and shows the way as being the most appropriate gift of God, and whose rear is
closed by the glory of God, which so conducts it to its goal that not one is
left behind” (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 7:2:390)
PROMISES
OF FASTING (Isaiah 58:8-12):
·
You
shall have light within, physical health, righteousness and the Lord will
answer you and His glory will gather you;
·
God’s
providence in time of lack (satisfy thy soul in draught);
·
Physical
health (Make fat thy bones – as in marrow in the bones that manufactures
blood);
·
Inspiration
and wisdom (like a spring of water whose waters fail not);
·
Strength
and foundation for posterity and restoration of others (raise up the
foundations of many generations and be a restorer of paths to dwell in)
When
fasting has genuine spiritual purpose, its power breaks the bands of
wickedness, sets free the spiritually oppressed, and provides bread for the
hungry and covering for the naked Isaiah 58:6,7). Fasting without spiritual motivation only
engenders discomfort and irritability (Isaiah 58:4b – footnote)
“Fasting cures disease, dries up bodily tumours, puts demons to flight, gets rid of impure thoughts, makes the mind clearer, the heart purer, and the body sanctified, and raises man to the throne of God.” (Athenaeus, Greek Physician)
Jesus fasted 40 days: Matthew 4:2
Moses fasted 40 days twice: Deuteronomy
9:9,18,25
Elijah fasted 40 days: 1 Kings 19:8
Esther fasted 3 days: Esther 4:16
Paul fasted 3 days: Acts 9:9
Alma Senior fasted 2 days and two
nights: Mosiah 27:23
Alma the Son of Alma fasted 3 days: Alma 36:16
“Mortals
can never attain the unity with Deity that it is their privilege to gain
without fasting and prayer.” ( Bruce R. McConkie, Mortal Messiah Book 2, p
59)
“Then
shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say,
Here I am….” (Isaiah 58:6-8)
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
As I watched from heaven
Your slowly climb to that fateful hill,
I flew on angel’s wings
To gather the blood that You would
spill.
I remembered Your godly suffering
In lonely Gethsemane
So I flew there too to search for tears
Scattered amongst the flowers in sacred
agony.
I saw the empty bitter cup
I saw Your will all swallowed up
I saw the man, the God of love
The testament of grace divine.
- Cathryne Allen
