Hearing the readings at the Vigil Mass made me think how much the Church's cycle of readings adds to my understanding of the Bible. I had never before thought of the Tower of Babel in connection with Pentecost. It was interesting to realize the parallels. In Babel, God introduced confusion of languages to prevent people from understanding one another. On Pentecost, He used a variety of languages to enable people to understand one another. In Babel, man tried to ascend to God; on Pentecost, God descended to man. In Babel, God foils man's attempt to build an earthly city; on Pentecost, God enables man to take an active role in building up the New Jerusalem.
