The deluge ceaseth. Noe goeth out of the ark, and offereth a sacrifice. God’s covenant to him.
God shows his characteristic love for the good man by the “breath” and power of the Holy Spirit, out of his regard for him.
“See how God did everything out of his esteem for the human being. As in the case of the destruction of human beings in the flood he destroyed also along with them the whole range of brute beasts, so in this case too, when he intends to show his characteristic love for the good man out of his regard for him, he extends his goodness to the animal kingdom as well, the wild beasts, the birds and the reptiles. “God was mindful of Noah,” the text says, “and of all the wild beasts, all the cattle and all the reptiles that were with him in the ark. God sent a wind upon the earth, and the water subsided.” Being mindful of Noah, the text says, and of those with him in the ark, he directed the flood of water to halt so that little by little he might show his characteristic love and now give the good man a breath of fresh air, free him from the turmoil of his thoughts and restore him to a state of tranquility by granting him the enjoyment of daylight and a breath of fresh air. “God sent a wind upon the earth, and the water subsided. The torrents of the depths and the sluice gates of heaven were shut off.’”(4) -St. John Chrysostom
The olive branch with green leaves symbolizes the grace of the Holy Spirit being rich in the words of life: the fullness of which rests upon Christ.
“After [the raven] he sent a dove, and it came to him in the evening, carrying in its mouth an olive branch with green leaves. You are paying attention, I believe, and with your intellect you anticipate me as I speak. The olive branch with green leaves is the grace of the Holy Spirit, rich in the words of life, the fullness of which rests upon Christ, [as] the psalm says, ‘God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.’ Concerning this gift given to Christ’s fellows, John speaks: ‘You have the anointing from the holy one, and you know all things.’ And by a most beautiful conjunction the figure is in agreement with the fulfillment—a corporeal dove brought the olive branch to the ark which was washed by the waters of the flood; the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a corporeal dove upon the Lord when he was baptized in the waters of the Jordan. Not only the human beings but also the living things which the ark contained, and also the very wood from which the ark was made, prefigure us members of Christ and of the church after our reception of the washing of the waters of regeneration. Through the anointing of the sacred chrism may we be signed with the grace of the Holy Spirit, and may he deign to keep it inviolate in us who himself gave it [to us], Jesus Christ our Lord who with the almighty Father in the unity of the same Holy Spirit lives and reigns for all ages. Amen.”(4) -St. Bede
The dove symbolizes the reception of the Holy Spirit in the sacraments, in particular: baptism.
“Christ is a dove because he commands his holy ones to be as doves when he says, ‘Be simple as doves.’ But the prophet speaks of what Christ the dove is when, in his person, he describes his return to heaven after his suffering: ‘Who will give me wings like a dove, and I shall fly away and be at rest?’ When Christ the Lord, therefore, initiated the sacraments of the church a dove came down from heaven. I understand the mystery, and I recognize the sacrament. For the very dove that once hastened to Noah’s ark in the flood now comes to Christ’s church in baptism.”(4) -St. Maximus of Turin
The hearts of holy men suffer with Christ unto the end of the world due to the sins of men.
“The secular powers often and for a long time spare the wicked from corporal punishment and relieve some of them from their harassments, but the hearts of holy men never have any respite until the end of the world from the sinful conduct of men. It is thus we have the fulfillment of what the apostle said, as I cited it, that ‘all who will live godly in Christ suffer persecution.’ Their suffering is more bitter in proportion to its inwardness. This is so until a man passes over the deluge where the ark shelters the raven and the dove.”(4) -St. Augustine
Therefore God punished so that we might fear and forgave so that we might be preserved.
“Let us examine with greater attention the meaning of the words ‘the Lord said in his heart, I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.’ He will not add that he intends to destroy again, as he had already done, every living creature for the entire duration of earth. Even though he had punished the whole of mankind, he knew that the punishment of the law is more suitable to raise fear and to teach the doctrine than to change the nature that can be corrected in some people but not changed in everybody. Therefore God punished so that we might fear and forgave so that we might be preserved. He punished once in order to give an example that would have raised fear, but he forgave for the future, so that the bitterness of sin would have not prevailed. One who is intent upon punishing sins too often is considered to be more obstinate than strict. Therefore God says, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of man,’ that is, he punishes a few, forgives many, because he intended to show his mercy for the whole of mankind without the necessity of producing in human hearts a false security mixed with a kind of neglect.”(4) -St. Ambrose
Women's Prayer Group In Christ 