Continued 👇🏾
Her Resurrection and Ascension
And on the third day, Nehase 16, a miracle beyond speech occurred:
By the authority of her Son, the Virgin Mary rose from the dead, as He had on the third day.
As Christ is the firstborn from the dead, the firstfruits of them that sleep, so too His Mother was raised not merely as a token of her holiness, but as a prophecy of the Church’s future glory.
Saint Ephrem bears witness:
“The Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, was resurrected from the dead, like her Son, the Son of God.”
Her resurrection is not like that of Lazarus, to die again. No! Hers is a resurrection of glory and immortality a bodily glorification that does not wait for the general resurrection at the end of time.
Saint Thomas and the Vision of Her Ascension
As with the Lord’s resurrection, so too with His Mother, the Apostle Thomas arrived late. Yet he was blessed beyond the rest, for he saw what others did not.
The Virgin, ascending in heavenly light, turned to him and said:
“Do not be sad! Do not be sad, for you have seen my resurrection, which your fellow apostles did not see, but rejoice!”
This was not rebuke but divine favor. For through Thomas, we too have seen.
The Witness of the Prophets and the Church
A thousand years before this glory, her ancestor David foresaw and declared:
“The Queen stands at Your right hand, arrayed in gold” (Ps. 44:9 LXX).
And Saint Yared, the harp of Ethiopia, lifted his voice in praise:
“Our Lady Virgin Mary ascended from earth to heaven, and in heaven she sat with her Son at the right hand of the Father and the Holy Spirit.”
What the prophets saw afar, what the Apostles testified, what the Church preserves, we proclaim today with joy and trembling.
The Fast of Felseta: A Time of Sacred Devotion
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, in her apostolic wisdom, has appointed one of the Seven Great Fasts to commemorate this mystery: the Fast of Felseta. From Nehase 1 to Nehase 15 , the faithful old and young alike offer prayers, fasting, and tears, uniting with the Apostles in their longing and with the Virgin in her triumph.
This is not mere custom, but a sacred invitation to contemplate heavenly things.
Conclusion: Her Glory, Our Hope
O faithful soul, ponder the lesson hidden in this mystery:
If the Mother has risen, the children shall not be left behind.
If she who bore Christ was not left to rot, then we, who are members of His Body, shall likewise be glorified.
Let us therefore live in holiness. Let us keep this fast with zeal, not in pretense but in true repentance. Let us venerate the Virgin not with idle lips but with hearts aflame with reverence.
May the name of the Holy God be praised forever and ever in every tongue that He has created, today and always.
May the blessings of God's mother, the virgin, and the cross be upon us.
Amen.
© John's Repentance
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