Judith

Judith is one of the most dramatic heroines in all of Scripture — a beautiful, devout, and fiercely courageous widow who single-handedly saved her people from annihilation. When the Assyrian general Holofernes besieged the Israelite city of Bethulia and the elders were ready to surrender, Judith rebuked them for putting God to the test and announced that she would deliver the city by her own hand.

Dressed in her finest garments and armed with nothing but her wits and her faith, Judith entered the enemy camp, charmed Holofernes, and when he fell into a drunken stupor, beheaded him with his own sword. She returned to Bethulia carrying his head in a bag. When the Assyrians discovered their general's fate, they fled in panic, and Israel was saved. The entire episode is a masterclass in courage, faith, and the conviction that God uses the humble to confound the mighty.

The Book of Judith, part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon, has inspired countless works of art — from Caravaggio to Artemisia Gentileschi. In Catholic theology, Judith is a powerful type of Mary: both are women who crush the head of the enemy (cf. Gen 3:15), both act with total trust in God, and both sing canticles of praise after their victories. The Church's liturgy applies Judith's praise — "You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the surpassing joy of Israel, you are the great pride of our nation" — to the Blessed Virgin Mary.