Continued 👇🏾
The Nature of the Tsige Fast
The Tsige Fast is voluntary, not obligatory. It is a fast observed out of devotion and love, in remembrance of the Virgin’s suffering and exile. No one is required to keep it by commandment; rather, it is embraced by those who are moved by faith.
Those who fast must not judge those who do not, for fasting is a personal offering. The one who fasts does so unto God; the one who cannot fast should still honor the Virgin in thanksgiving, remembering her pilgrimage and singing her praises.
Whether by fasting or by thanksgiving, every believer is called to remember the Virgin’s faith, her endurance, and the divine mystery revealed in her life.
The Fast of Yodit (Pagume tsom)
The second voluntary fast, kept in the month of Pagumen, is the Fast of Yodit (Judith). This fast recalls the righteous Judith who, through fasting and prayer, received strength from God to conquer her enemies (Judith 8:2–7). So the faithful fast in this final month of the year, that they too might receive power over sin and Satan, preparing for the transition from this world to the next just as Pagumen marks the transition of years.
Conclusion
Fasting without humility is an empty shadow. The true fast is not of the lips or stomach alone, but of the heart. The believer must fast with compassion, give alms to the poor, restrain anger, forgive offenses, and keep the tongue from deceit. Let fasting be united with mercy, prayer, and repentance, that it may ascend as sweet incense before the throne of God.
As the fathers teach: “When you fast, do not fast for vain praise, but that your fasting may be a fasting of mercy, wherein you find help, blessing, and the grace of God.”
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.
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