👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾When is the #Tsige #Fast?
(Part 1)
Beloved children of the Orthodox faith, let the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the intercession of His Mother, and the blessings of the saints rest upon your hearts. Hear, then, a word concerning the Tsege Fast a season radiant with the light of repentance and adorned with the fragrance of obedience.
The Time and Meaning of the Tsige Fast
From the 26th day of Meskerem to the 5th day of Hidar, the Church calls these forty days the month of Tsige .
This fast commemorates the journey of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus into Egypt, as revealed to Joseph in a dream:
"The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, saying, ‘Arise, take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, for they seek the young child’s life.’" (Matthew 2:13)
And so, during these days, the faithful remember the exile and return of the Holy Family, and share in the sorrows and triumphs of that sacred pilgrimage.
The Nature and Purpose of Fasting
The Fetha Negest declares:
“Fasting is abstinence from food on a certain day and at a certain time, for the forgiveness of sins, obedience to divine command, the weakening of carnal desire, and the subjection of the flesh to the soul.”
Fasting, therefore, is not a burden but a weapon of the spirit, a bridle upon the flesh, and a discipline that grants freedom. The holy Father Isaac writes:
“Fasting is the healing of the soul, the strengthening of the spirit, the mother of prayer, the fountain of tears, the beginning of all virtues, the helper of humility, and the crown of purity.”
Through fasting, the soul learns obedience; the heart softens, and the mind becomes as clear water before the face of God. It is through the hunger of the body that the soul begins to feast upon divine grace.
The Two Great Orders of Fasting
There are, according to the sacred canon, two kinds of fasting: public and private.
Public Fasting
Public fasting is decreed for all the faithful. There are seven such fasts:
1. The Great Fast (Abiy tsom )
2. The Fast of the Apostles ( Tsome Hawaryat )
3. The Fast of the Assumption (St. Mary’s Fast) Tsome Felseta
4. The Fast of the Prophets (Tsome Nebiyat)
5. The Fast of Gehad or gad )
6. The Fast of Nineveh( Tsome Nenewe)
7. Tsome Dihnet :-The Weekly Fast (Wednesdays and Fridays)
Fasting, though appointed for certain months and seasons, is far more than a ritual observance. It is the very foundation of righteousness, the gate that opens toward heaven, and the daily breath of Christian life. For this reason, there are monks and hermits who dwell in monasteries and deserts, fasting not only during the prescribed fasts but throughout the entire year, offering their hunger as a sacrifice of love to God.
Continues 👇🏾