“In the selfsame day Noe, and Sem, and Cham, and Japheth his sons: his wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, went into the ark: they and every beast according to its kind, and all the cattle in their kind, and every thing that moveth upon the earth according to its kind, and every fowl according to its kind, all birds, and all that fly, went in to Noe into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein was the breath of life. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the Lord shut him in on the outside. And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the waters increased, and lifted up the ark on high from the earth. For they overflowed exceedingly: and filled all on the face of the earth: and the ark was carried upon the waters.”
Noah and his family then enter the ark, eight souls going into the ark, which are the same number of days for an octave celebration. These celebrations are seen at Christmas and Easter, days of incredible rejoicing, for they are days for celebrating the fact that God descended to mankind’s helplessness in the Incarnation: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people” (Luke 2:10), and rose again that love may conquer sin and death: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). In this it can be seen that the ark can also be representative of your own heart, wrapped up in rejoicing: “This is the day which the Lord hath made: let us be glad and rejoice therein” (Psalm 117:24); “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4), and bringing into your affections all of created being, for you are not called to push anything out of your heart, but to let all things bring your mind to your Beloved, who fills your heart with delight: “Who is this that cometh up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?” (Canticle 8:5); “I remembered God, and was delighted” (Psalm 76:4). Because all things are embodied love, all can bring your heart to a Trinitarian place, as you look on the object of affection and let this same affection rise in you, thereby making this interaction an image of God. Thus, there is a call to bring all people and nature into your heart, that you may never be distant from love, living in the harmony of love with all things: “Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds, which fulfil his word: mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars: beasts and all cattle, serpents and feathered fowls: kings of the earth and all people… praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is exalted” (Psalm 148:8-13). When God closes the ark, it shows two mysteries: The first is that God provides what cannot be attained by one’s own efforts, yet is necessary: “Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33), the second is that God did not want Noah to see the destruction of man and beasts that was to take place through the flood. This second point is a call to pull your mind away from Hell and Purgatory and instead think on the Divine Bridegroom, for those who love do not go to either of these places: “Every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God” (1 John 4:7), and you will save souls from Hell and free those in Purgatory by being drawn further into the love of your Beloved: “Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments” (Canticle 1:3). To have pleasure at the thought of souls in Hell is contrary to love, for “As I live, saith the Lord God, I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live” (Ezechiel 33:11), and thoughts of these places can easily disrupt your peace: “Let not your heart be troubled” (John 14:1); “When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest, and comfort him in the departing of his spirit” (Ecclesiasticus 38:24). Indulgenced prayers for the souls in Purgatory is a marvelous act of merciful love, but needs not deep reflection, and it is better to desire that other souls know the infinite love of God than worry about them going to Hell. Now, there is great importance attached to the number forty, for it is a mark of completion throughout the Scriptures. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus all fasted for forty days, but there is a detail in this period that shows what good fasting is. God is not calling you to afflict yourself, for He says in Isaiah: “Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are broken go free, and break asunder every burden. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the harbourless into thy house: when thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh” (Isaias 58:6-7). It is rather a putting down of all that is not love, “For all that is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23), and picking up rejoicing in God and talking about Him: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise always to God” (Hebrews 13:15); “The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by which I will shew him the salvation of God” (Psalm 49:23) and feasting on mercy and love. This is the mystery of the intertwining of the forty days, which marks a period of fasting, with the image of water, which denotes merciful love. Thus, in fasting on things of earth, which is represented by the destruction of all life, and drinking of God’s infinite mercy and love: “To him that thirsteth, I will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely” (Apocalypse 21:6), your heart and mind are lifted up on high, and are carried through life by this same love.