It has long been recognized amongst the Christian faithful that the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit effectively reversed the human tragedy - the willful rebellion against the Divine - that was the Tower of Babel incident.

HOLY GHOST vs. Holy Spirit – Library of Rickandria

 

Dr. Michael M. Canaris has written about it most perceptively for the Catholic Star Herald:

On Pentecost, the ‘reversal’ of Babel takes place – Catholic Star Herald

 

 

The feast of Pentecost was not originally a Christian feast, but rather a Jewish one marking 50 days since Passover and the first fruits of the wheat harvest.

Yet, in the fullness of time, Christians came to remember the Lord’s sending of the Spirit on that day, and so it is sometimes referred to as the “birthday” of the church (though other sources, like Saint John Chrysostom, identify the piercing of Christ’s side as the moment in which the church formally came to exist).

THE DARK FATE of the SOLDIER Who CRUCIFIED JESUS​​ on the CROSS – Library of Rickandria

 

On the Vigil of Pentecost, the Old Testament reading is of Babel, the mythical tale of humanity’s hubris and the aetiology of the myriad of languages — and resulting confusion — existing throughout the world.

Anyone who has ever fumblingly studied foreign languages can aim his or her frustration at those arrogant ancient citizens clamoring,

 

But in its wisdom, the church points out through the connection of the readings that the havoc wrought by human selfishness can be rectified by the always-greater power of God.

If You Notice These 5 Signs, God Is Warning You! – Library of Rickandria

For on Pentecost, the “reversal” of Babel takes place.

Instead of humanity remaining confounded by the din of voices seeking to talk over one another in pride, the Spirit’s arrival as tongues (lingua) of fire at Pentecost enables each to hear the Word of God proclaimed in his or her native vernacular.

 

Language is then closely associated with Pentecost.

Scholars since Wittgenstein and Heidegger have been quick to point out that thoughts do not occur in some “chemically pure” form and then subsequently come to be articulated in language.

Rather, language forms and makes possible conscious thought.

 

Christians of various types, especially charismatics and Pentecostals, believe the Spirit can endow them with a gift regarding “speaking in tongues,” or glossolalia.

The second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles is often cited as evidence that this mysterious and effusive verbal outpouring is an authentic fruit of the Spirit.

Catholics have historically been cautiously open toward this phenomenon, though it is, to be sure, not a very usual occurrence in suburban parishes on Sundays.

While the charismatic wing of the church has fostered a greater willingness to explore the genuine spiritual riches of this reality, and the pope himself has prayerfully engaged in groups where it is practiced, Catholic teaching makes clear that it is not necessary for salvation, somehow evidence of greater holiness than in those who do not experience it, or an integral part of formalized liturgical prayer life for most believers.

Miles Williams Mathis: The Latest Jewish Pope – Library of Rickandria

 

Images of fire and wind and breath remind us that the Spirit

Sometimes this is in entirely unexpected places.

Popes:

Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take the pontifical name "John".

Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005.

Pope Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as pope occurred in the 2005 papal conclave that followed the death of Pope John Paul II. Upon his resignation, Benedict chose to be known as "pope emeritus", a title he held until his death on 31 December 2022.

all employed language of a “new Pentecost” when describing the Second Vatican Council.

THE VATICAN: THE DARK HISTORY OF THE DIVINING SERPENTS – Library of Rickandria

The spiritual common ground being sought both within the Catholic Church and across denominational boundaries reminded the participants (which all three popes were in various capacities) of that day when the Spirit enables the Apostles to proclaim anew what they had witnessed, experienced, touched with their hands and accepted in their hearts:

The victorious Word of God spoken finally, definitively, and irrevocably to human hearers.

Collingswood native Michael M. Canaris, Ph.D., teaches at Loyola University Chicago.

Miles Williams Mathis: The Jesuits – Library of Rickandria

Pentecost a reversal of Babel – Part Two: Zephaniah “intertextual link between Babel and Pentecost” – Library of Rickandria

The First Pentecost Brought People Together Thus Reversing the Tower of Babel

Pentecost a reversal of Babel. Part One: A long-held Christian tradition

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THE VATICAN: THE DARK HISTORY OF THE DIVINING SERPENTS – Library of Rickandria

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Pentecost a reversal of Babel - Part One: A long-held Christian tradition

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Pentecost a reversal of Babel – Part One: A long-held Christian tradition – Library of Rickandria