1960 and Beyond: The 'New Frontier' of Joseph of Nazareth
According to Lucia, the only surviving of the three shepherd children of Fatima, 1960 was a critical year w/r the so-called "Third secret of Fatima." According to Lucia, it was supposed to be read by the Pope at that time.
Whether it was or not, the contents of it apparently weren't finally made public until May, 2000. Some people have indicated that we've been, for several decades, already living the "Third Secret." In any case, when asked "why 1960??" Lucia reportedly responded something to the effect that it would be more apparent at that time.
There has been much discussion concerning just what would be more apparent at that time.
For the United States, 1960 was an important year also, as it entered the so-called "New Frontier" with the election of JFK.
Although JFK is credited with ushering in this 'frontier,' it is quite probable that the United States and the world would have entered it regardless, although perhaps not exactly in the same manner.
God is the Lord of History, and we were no doubt moving inexorably toward an appointment with something potentially different than anything that had gone before. (cf Gaudium et Spes, elements 5 and 6) We were perhaps beginning to go by a 'way that we knew not, in order to arrive at that which we knew not' (cf John of the Cross)
Just what could this 'way' have been? The advent of the Space Age? The emergence of the Third World? The "New Pentecost in the church," as Pope John XXIII characterized Vatican II?? Any way you look at it, we seemed to be heading into a "frontier" of sorts. We were looking, as always, "westward, into the sunset" (at least figuratively), but also upward (perhaps in more ways than one), into the unknown, with an almost childlike naivete if not curiosity. We were like Magi. We were like Mary and Joseph as they headed "west," with Jesus, and toward "Egypt." (cf Gaudium et Spes, elements 2 and 3)
It was this tentative, but nevertheless curious, journey into the 'frontier' for which Joseph, as the Patron of Pioneers and Those in Doubt, was most suited. The time of Joseph had perhaps arrived.
As it was, John XXIII, in perhaps discerning the need for this kind of risky but potentially rewarding journey, placed, on March 19, 1961, the conduct of the upcoming Second Vatican Council under the protection of Joseph. Shortly after the First Session of Vatican II was convened in October, 1962, John made a most startling move by ordering that Joseph be placed in the Canon of the Roman Mass, a Canon of which had not been altered in any way for centuries. (cf Sacrosanctum Concilium element 1 and 21; John 4:24)
With the wisdom and understanding to know that to do nothing is sometimes the riskiest, Joseph was perhaps best suited for helping us take calculated risks (cf Matthew 1:19-2:23). He dealt with reality without losing sight of the big picture, and thus dealt with a harsh, risky Reality which, by His own nature, held out Opportunity and Hope. Such is the nature of Life in the Manger, Egypt, and Nazareth. Such was the nature of life in 1960, as the world stood on the threshold of a 'frontier' that still remains to be understood if not realized (cf Gaudium et Spes, elements 1 and 4).
Perhaps the best example of how both Promise and Peril shared parallel timelines was the month of October, 1962. The Promise was perhaps the opening of the Council (some insist this was actually the Peril). The Peril, no doubt, was the Cuban Missile Crisis. From this close brush with global suicide, came Promise. Some would say that with the uneasy détente that followed were planted the seeds, and thus the Peril, of a resumed arms race from approximately 1979 to 1987. In any event, the world came face-to-face with the prophetic warning (and ironically at the same time the Second Vatican Council was just beginning its work in attempting to offer to the 'Modern' World the only True and Certain remedy) proposed by MacArthur at the September 2, 1945, 'close of the proceedings' in Tokyo Bay:
BINGO!
The Missile Crisis, nevertheless, perhaps indelibly indicated to the world the need to deal with cold, hard, reality, one which required the kind of merciful, optimistic, prudence that perhaps could in the end come from Heaven. (cf Gaudium et Spes, element 28)
Perhaps the challenging journey into the 'frontier' entered into thereafter could be characterized by JFK's speech given at American University in June, 1963:
"What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the peace of the slave....not merely peace for Americans but peace for all time.....Let us re-examine our attitude toward the Cold War, remembering that we are not engaged in a debate....We must deal with the world as it is."
REALITY. The world of Joseph. The world of Jesus. The world of our Heavenly Father, who washes our feet and otherwise cleans out the "commodes" of our fallen humanity. The world of the Holy Spirit that renews the face of the earth. The world of the 'frontier.' The 'frontier' that can only be traversed with the love that casts out fear (cf 1 John 4:18). The 'frontier' that demands an Authentic Gift of Self (cf Gaudium et Spes, element 24) from everyone.
Man on the one hand seeks true fellowship with other people (cf Gaudium et Spes, elements 6, 24-25). On the other hand he fears surrendering himself in such a way that makes this possible. Similarly, Man desires the One True and Living God. Nevertheless, he fears a true encounter with God, lest he die. Man fears surrender.
Instinctively, Man knows he must surrender his gifts (Gaudium et Spes, element 12; Mark 12:43-44), and ultimately, surrender his life (cf Gaudium et Spes, element 18). In delaying the inevitable task of coming to terms with himself on this issue, he establishes impersonal means for accomplishing that which he knows he must do but he fears to do.. In setting up governments and laws, however, he becomes enslaved to those things created due to his fears. Another form of fear develops. He does not feel good about himself. Deep down, there is 'no peace' (cf Gaudium et Spes, elements 10 and 13; Jeremiah 6:14).
In delaying the inevitable and supposedly unpleasant task of coming to terms with himself, he devises every possible, impersonal, means of making himself feel good. If only the society or community (ie, country) that he belongs to, if not just, is at least successful in something it does (ie, sports, space, war) he will; derive at least some satisfaction, no matter how short-lived or superficial. Forget about our wretched family life or spiritual life, beset as it is with addictions of various types and co-dependent relationships....If the US wins the Gold in Basketball and Ice Hockey, it will be a 'very good year.' Your city wins the NBA Championship and hosts the NCAA Final Four, and gets world-wide exposure. It is therefore a 'very good year.' Forget the droughts and the festering environmental and social impacts of continued suburban sprawl, and the even-more deep-seated personal and spiritual crises.
In our collective moments of triumph, there is still personal grief. The moment of Neil Armstrong's "Giant Leap for Mankind" was probably the moment some nobody of a loser was arrested for robbery, or some poor fool on the road was issued an NOV for speeding. Oh, Happy Day!! Moments to remember 'Living History' by.
In our collective moment of grief, a couple may become the proud parents of a newborn. Perhaps it happens in the same hospital that hosts three other distinguished "guests" (no matter how briefly) over the next three days. Or, perhaps at the hour of collective grief, a "nobody" auto accident victim is DOA at the same hospital, while the body of the more distinguished ER guest is still warm and awaiting a hastily arranged trip to the airport. What situation do you think the local's family will remember the weekend by??
In the moment of collective joy or national tragedy, there may be personal grief or private joy in an apparently unrelated mater. What is important, therefore, is what happens on a truly personal level.
'It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine' (cf REM; 1 Corinthians 7:31; 1 John 2:38; 2 Peter 3:10; Romans 13:11).
Such was the situation in Israel as the people longed for the Messiah, who would set things straight, put the powers that be 'in their place,' and basically "kick-ass" on some long-standing problems. All would be fine and peaceful....Or would it??? Or, would people still have 'no peace' in their hearts, and would their personal lives and personal relationships still be a desolate wasteland? Would anything really change with the coming of their "Great Monarch"? Probably not (cf 1 Samuel Ch. 8; John 19:15; Acts 1:6; Gaudium et Spes, element 39).
People would remain just as they had always been---"islands in a stream," and rarely, if ever, truly giving to others, and God an 'Authentic Gift of Self.' What we have, it is as if we don't really have it, because we don't surrender it, or at least be truly ready to surrender it (cf Luke 8:18; 19:26). We remain poor and weak (cf 1 Corinthians 12:26; Ephesians 4:25).
We live in a City of Gold (which rhymes with 'cold'), with "secure" doors (ie, hearts) and "neat" but sterile streets that conceal the true poverty, starvation, and DEATH. It is a city built in vain (cf Psalm 127), because it was not built by surrendering to and Trusting In God (the only acceptable form of death), and surrendering to Him unconditionally (ie, on His terms). An illusory city, destined otherwise for dismantling (cf, Genesis 11:1-9; Gaudium et Spes, element 13).
Of Words Written But Not Spoken
January 20, 1961, Inauguration Day for the "New Frontier," was snowy but sunny. Because of the heavy snow the day before, traffic is slow, and the swearing ceremony is running 45 minutes late. 'Swearing,' perhaps, is running well ahead of schedule this noon as mishap follows upon mishap, and threatens to make a farce of the proceedings.
Technically, the "New Frontier" has already been underway for the past 45 minutes. Following a song by Marian Anderson, the invocation by Cardinal Richard Cushing is interrupted by smoke from a small fire in the adjustable podium/microphone system. VP-elect LBJ, as do many VP's being sworn in, muffs the Oath (which is easy to do because it is nearly twice as long as the Presidential Oath).
The main event nevertheless nears. But first, however, a poem to be read by Robert Frost, and written specifically for the occasion:
It makes the prophet in us presage
The glory of a next Augustan Age,
Of a power leading from its strength and pride,
Of young ambition eager to be tried
Firm in our free beliefs without dismay,
In any game the nations want to play.
A golden age of poetry and power,
Of which this noonday's [it's already inaccurate for the occasion] the beginning hour.
Such was the original plan by Frost.
Such was not to be.
Of Words Spoken and Meant to Be (by God, perhaps??)
The bright sun, the glare of the whiteness of both the snow and the backdrop of the Capitol Building and Inaugural stand, and finally, perhaps, the failing eyesight of the 86-year-old reader, and we have a problem. He can't see what's on the page. LBJ tries to help by shading the page with his top hat (the last time such Inaugural costumery would be worn).That doesn't work either. In frustration and irritation, the reader concedes to the rest of the world (truly, since 1960 was the first really made-for-TV election) the reality of the situation.
REALITY. If nothing is improvised, and everything is gift, then what follows was meant to actually be, just as Joseph conceded the REALITY, and ultimately the simple beauty (noble simplicity?), of what GOD had apparently ordained when Jesus, the King of Kings, was born in a cave. Our distinguished reader was feeling pretty "naked." In a sense, Mary and Joseph probably felt just as "naked" as the cave was bare. The only thing they could give to each other and to God (Who was in their midst) were themselves (cf Gaudium et Spes, element 24; Mark 12:43-4; John 4:24). They could do no more. They could do no less. Likewise for the shepherds that were nearby, and the Magi that came by later, not knowing for sure just what (or whom) they would find.
Instead of adorning this new journey of mankind with the birth of its King of Kings in a well-furnished palace, the cave in Bethlehem was God's chosen venue.
Likewise, instead of adorning the beginning of the journey of the nation and world into a 'new' and unknown 'frontier' with prose more suitable perhaps for a temporal Great Monarch in a land for which the term "Augustan Age" was first applied (and which had, in its time, its share of 'secure doors,' and deceptively 'neat,' albeit 'sterile streets'), our Heavenly Father apparently ordained that the aged but venerable poet, left "naked" by the situation, recite from memory (and thus possibly from the heart as an 'authentic gift' of himself) the following:
The Gift Outright
The land was ours before we were the land's
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England's, still colonials,
Possessing what we still we unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak.
Until we found out it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.
Such as we were we gave ourselves outright
(the deed of gift was many deeds of war)
To the land vaguely realizing westward,
But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,
Such as we are,
Such as we will become
NOTE: Sensing something deeper for the present moment perhaps, Frost "improvised" even here, because the last two lines as he originally wrote the poem decades earlier said "...such as she was, such as she will become."
The well-done, albeit "improvised" (although God may perhaps beg to differ with this, maybe---I guess we'll never know for sure in this "age") effort was given a standing ovation. The words given by the principal speaker a few minutes later notwithstanding, some people remember the situation and ovation, even if they forget the words by which the situation was remedied.
The words, perhaps, were prophetic, in view of the words spoken a few minutes later, when the "generation," to which the 'torch [had] been passed,' was in effect challenged to given an authentic gift of self, or, in other words, a "Gift Outright." A challenge for this generation. A challenge for the generation that Mary, Joseph, and above all Jesus loves (cf John 21:20). A challenge to the generation, perhaps, of the Father and Mother of the King, and the King of Kings Himself. A summons to the 'frontier' which we know not, and through which we must go, in order to arrive at that which we know not: 'Finding Salvation in Surrender' (cf John 12:24). For help here we must 'Ite ad Joseph' (cf Genesis 41:55)
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