Great White Fleet

Speaking softly in imitation of Jesus

04/10/2017

Isaiah 42:1-7 Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, Until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

          President Theodore Roosevelt popularized the phrase, “speak softly and carry a big stick.” That phrase described his foreign policy, where he backed diplomacy with military might. In fact, as a show of power (the big stick), he ordered the U.S. Navy to circumnavigate the globe, so everyone could see how big “the big stick” really was. The armada of ships was called the “Great White Fleet” because the hulls of the ships were painted stark white. Roosevelt first used the phrase while he was still governor of New York, stating in a letter: “I have always been fond of the West African proverb, ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far’.” In reality, however, there is no record of that phrase being used in West Africa, and I even asked Fr. Pius, who is from West Africa, if he’s ever used that phrase.  And he hasn’t. Although, on second thought, Fr. Pius does speak very softly…I better check under his bed for a big stick.

          I have personally experienced how speaking softly works better than yelling. At Mass sometimes babies cry, and a priest’s natural tendency is to raise his voice over the baby’s crying. But have you noticed what happens? The baby only cries louder.  However, I’ve learned that if I lower my voice instead as I pray, the baby tends to get quieter. And if that doesn’t work, I will excommunicate the baby. Speak softly and carry a big stick. They told us in the seminary that the most common confession is, “I yelled at my kids.” Have you ever confessed that? We all wish we could speak more softly.

          In the first reading today, Isaiah prophesies that this phrase will characterize the future Christ. Isaiah writes: “He shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street.” Indeed, as we heard yesterday during the Passion reading, often Jesus said nothing in response to Pilate and the Pharisees queries. And when one of his followers used a sword to cut off someone’s ear, Jesus reprimanded him saying, “Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father and he will not provide me at this moment with more than twelve legions of angels?”  That angelic armada would have made Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet look like toy boats in a child’s bathtub. But Jesus believed that speaking softly makes you more successful in fulfilling the Father’s will.

          May I suggest three ways you, too, can employ the foreign policy of speaking softly instead of using the big stick? Remember three words that start with the letter “p,” namely, prayer, penance and patience. First, prayer. Pray for those you feel like yelling at. I simply say one “Hail Mary” when someone gets under my skin, and that prayer helps me to speak more softly to people. So, if you see me stop and pray before talking to you, now you know why. Second, penance. Back in the old days, Catholics were taught to “offer it up.” That is, we were encouraged to offer our pains and problems to God on behalf of others. Penance is a powerful kind of prayer, and you should offer that for those you would like to yell at. After all, they probably need those graces more than you do. And third, patience. We often get mad and shout when people don’t do what we want right away. Hence the common confession, “I yelled at my kids.” But when you speak softly, you plant seeds of goodness in people’s hearts and it takes time to those seeds to sprout and bear fruit. Be patient: people are changing, but just not as fast as you would like.

          Put into practice the three “p’s” of prayer, penance and patience and you, too, will speak more softly. And you’ll rarely have to use the big stick, or have to excommunicate any babies.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!