The Solemnity of Pentecost, Sunday, May 31, 2020

The following passage from the Book of Revelation helps us to understand what this feast means to us believers: “After these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that they should not blow upon the earth nor upon the sea nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying: Hurt not the earth nor the sea nor the trees, till we seal the servants of our God on their foreheads. And I heard the number of them that were signed. An hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel” (Revelation 7, 1-4).

The “four angels” restraining the four winds is the grace of God which prevents us from being overwhelmed by natural and supernatural forces.  The “earth”, the “sea”, and the “trees” are the people of the world.  The “seal” is the indelible character which each believer receives upon Baptism, and which is strengthened through Confirmation, and is altered with Holy Orders.  The tribes “of the children of Israel” signifies the Church, spread throughout the world.  The number “one hundred and forty-four thousand” means everyone who has true faith in the Lord Jesus.  Thus, we see that through sin, the natural world is subject to disorders which result in famine, earthquakes, fires, disease, terrible storms, and other afflictions, including death.  Likewise, through sin, the original harmony between humans breaks down and so we have quarrels, assaults, riots, and wars.  Similarly, through sin, our fallen human nature is prone to further sin, denial of God, delusions, and the attacks of the devil and his angels.  God is not under any obligation to protect us from the consequences of our actions, and yet he does protect those who give themselves to him as his subjects and who promise to carry out his commandments.  These receive Baptism, and are “signed” in such a way that they are re-created in the Sacrament, making them significantly distinct from all others.  Baptism and the graces that follow from it help protect a person from the consequences of sin, the worst of which is death.  While this seal does not remove the baptized person from this world so that he does not suffer the effects of sin, he is able to overcome them in faith, to see meaning in them, to accept them as the crosses which we must carry after the Lord Jesus, and, in the end, to triumph over death in the Resurrection.  All this is given to the believer who gives himself to God.  It some to him through the power of the Holy Spirit, whose descent of the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary we celebrate today.