👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾The Feast of the #Ascension of Our #Lady (Nehase 16)
Beloved brethren in Christ, children of the Holy Church, today we gather to contemplate with awe and reverence the radiant mystery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, whom the Orthodox Tewahedo Church solemnly commemorates on the 16th of Nehase. With holy fear and joy let us ascend in thought and devotion, that we may stand mystically among the apostles, the angels, and all the heavenly hosts who witnessed her translation into glory.
The Life of the Theotokos
The days of her earthly sojourn were sixty-four years.
She dwelt in her mother’s house for three years.
She consecrated her youth in the Temple for twelve years.
In Joseph’s house she conceived the Lord for nine months and five days.
She remained with her divine Son for thirty-three years and three months.
When the hour of the Cross came, the Lord, our Redeemer, entrusted His most pure Mother to His beloved disciple John, saying: “Behold, your mother” (Jn. 19:26–27). At that hour He made us all her children, granting her as our Mother and advocate forever.
Her Union with the Apostles and the Descent of the Holy Spirit
After the Ascension of Christ, she remained with the apostles in prayer (Acts 1:14). the Holy Spirit descended and filled the Apostols with tongues of fire and the gift of seventy-two languages. For fifteen years John cherished her as his mother, as the Lord Himself had commanded.
The Call to Glory
When she reached the age of sixty-four, her Son appeared and said to her: “I will take you from this world to the heavenly dwelling that shall not pass away.”the apostles, who wept, saying: Our Lady, where are you going?” She replied: “ My Son has called me.”
She told them that the time had come for her to depart to that eternal world. When the apostles heard this, they were deeply grieved and wept bitterly.
At that moment, holy angels appeared and comforted the apostles, saying to them, “Do not grieve and do not weep, but rejoice and accompany her with joy.”
The Promise of Her Son
The Lord said to His Mother, “Blessed are the breasts that nourished Me, for I am the Provider of all creation. I will take you to the heavenly heights and feed you with the good things of My Father.
,you placed Me upon your lap, O Virgin Mother Mary, and I will take you with Me to heaven and to My good Father, setting you upon the chariot of the cherubim.”
Thus He prepared to receive His Mother as the Queen arrayed in splendor.
Her Dormition
On a Sunday, her soul, pure as snow, was taken into the hands of her Son amid the company of angels. Christ Himself received her soul and entrusted it to the Archangel Michael. Saint Yared, the Ethiopian melodist, sang: “Your love is pure, O Mother of God; your Son has called you to eternal life.”
The apostles reverently honored her body, wrapping it in a shroud and burying it with hymns and praises, while angels filled the air with fragrance.
The Envy of the Jews
But the adversary stirred envy among the Jews. As they sought to profane her body, the angel Gabriel struck down Taufania, who dared to touch her bier. Saint John, unwilling to be separated from her, declared: “I will not abandon my trust; I will die with her.” Then, in glory, Michael and Gabriel took her body and John in a cloud and placed them in Paradise under the Tree of Life.
Continues 👇🏾