👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾The Mystery of #Pagume, the Fast of #Yodit
Beloved in Christ, children of the Holy Church, grace and peace be multiplied to you from the Lord who renews the times and seasons, who gathers the years into His hand, and who makes the sun to rise over the righteous and the wicked alike. Today let us lift our minds to the holy mystery of Pagume, the voluntary fast of Judith, and the spiritual meaning hidden in this blessed season at the threshold of the New Year.
Pagume: The Increase of Days
The word Pagume means increase. It comes at the end of the Ethiopian year, and it is appointed for five days, or, once every four years in the leap year, for six days. Thus Ethiopia, in the providence of God, has earned the name: “The Land of Thirteen Months of Sunshine.”
When Pagume extends to six days, it aligns with the reckoning of the ancients, and in that year the fast of the Prophets, also called the fast of the Nativity, is broken on Nehase, with the celebration of the birth of Christ our Savior following thereafter.
The Voluntary Fast of (Yodit)
Among the two voluntary fasts preserved in the Holy Church, one belongs to this month of Pagume. It is called the Fast of (Yodit). Yet,beloved, many are unaware of this fast.
But let none confuse this holy Yodit with the infamous Yodit Gudit, the one remembered in church history for her destructive deeds. No, the Yodit whom we honor is she whom Scripture praises: a widow of Israel, a woman of courage, chastity, and fasting.
The Story of Yodit Victory
Hear the account, as the Holy Book records it:
When the mighty king Nebuchadnezzar had subdued his enemies, he sent forth his general Holofernes with twelve thousand foot soldiers and twelve thousand horsemen, saying, “Go, enlarge my dominion, receive tribute from the submissive, and crush those who resist” (Judith 2:7). With this command, Holofernes swept through many nations, destroying and subduing them, until he came to the land of Judah. There he inflicted great suffering, and the children of Israel cried out in anguish.
At that time, Judith(Yodit), whose husband had died, lived in holy widowhood. She dwelt apart, clothed herself in sackcloth, humbled her soul with fasting, and wept continually before God on behalf of her people. On the third day, as she entered the temple, the Lord who does not desire the ruin of His creation revealed to her the path of deliverance (Judith 8:2).
she Strengthened by prayer and fasting. Because of her, the Israelites rose up, pursued their enemies, and drove them as far as the Jordan. Thus was shame turned into victory, weakness into strength, mourning into triumph.
The Meaning of the Fast
Beloved, the Church therefore appoints this fast in the month of Pagume, so that we may imitate Judith’s holy zeal. For just as she conquered by fasting and prayer, so also must we, the children of the New Covenant, overcome our enemies: not flesh and blood, but Satan and the passions of the flesh.
Through voluntary fasting, we humble our bodies that our spirits may be exalted; we discipline our desires that we may receive power from the Creator; we arm ourselves with prayer that we may overcome the adversary.
Continues 👇🏾