Choosing Holiness Over Modern Mediocrity

 Divine Appeal Reflection - 20

Today, consider in Divine Appeal 20: "The inevitable and suffering modernisation has also  upset the stability of the good people. Instead of living the constancy  of grace and sanctity they choose mediocrity.”

Divine Appeal 19 unveils a sorrowful yet luminous diagnosis of the modern soul: “The inevitable and suffering modernisation has also upset the stability of the good people.” Our Adorable Jesus is not condemning progress itself, but mourning the subtle interior erosion that occurs when speed replaces depth and convenience replaces fidelity. Sacred Scripture already shows this struggle when Israel wanted to be “like the other nations,” choosing visible strength and human security over trust in God’s covenant love (cf. 1 Sam 8:4–20; Ex 32:1–8). The Catechism teaches that grace is a real sharing in God’s own life, and that it calls for perseverance and faithful cooperation, not passing enthusiasm or occasional effort (cf. CCC 1996–2001). Yet modern life often forms hearts to live in pieces: prayer is limited to brief moments, virtue becomes a passing feeling, and holiness is admired from a distance rather than truly lived. Saints such as Augustine confessed that restlessness is healed only when the heart remains anchored in God, not when circumstances stabilize (cf. Conf. I). In daily life, this appears when professionals excuse small dishonesty as “how the system works,” when families replace shared prayer with endless screens, when consecrated souls quietly lower their first fervor to survive institutional pressures. Our Adorable Jesus remains unchanged—yesterday, today, and forever (cf. Heb 13:8). While hearts waver and generations drift, He abides in silent Eucharistic fidelity, steadfast in love as the world passes restlessly around Him. Divine Appeal 19 is thus a call back to interior stability: not rigidity, but rootedness. Like Daniel in Babylon or Joseph in Egypt, holiness today requires living grace steadily within unstable systems (cf. Dan 6; Gen 39–41). Constancy becomes prophetic when mediocrity is normalized.

“Instead of living the constancy of grace and sanctity they choose mediocrity.” Mediocrity here is not moral collapse but spiritual settling—choosing what is “enough” rather than what is holy. Our Adorable Jesus warned against this lukewarmness, not because it scandalizes others, but because it anesthetizes love (cf. Rev 3:15–16). The Catechism speaks of the moral life as a dynamic ascent toward beatitude, not a maintenance of minimal standards (cf. CCC 1716–1724). Saints understood this danger acutely. Francis de Sales wrote that devotion suitable to one’s state of life must still be real devotion, not diluted piety adjusted to comfort. Mediocrity often hides behind busyness: parents saying they have no time for silence, priests excusing rushed sacraments, workers abandoning conscience to deadlines. Martha’s anxiety resurfaces in every age, while Mary’s attentive presence remains the “better part” (cf. Lk 10:38–42). Jesus asks for ordinary fidelity lived in exceptional ways rather than extraordinary deeds. When generosity is given even when it is not acknowledged, prayer is maintained even when it is dry, and truth is upheld even when it is expensive, consistency of grace is developed. Holiness in today's unstable world is daily consistency rather than heroic intensity. Like Ruth gleaning patiently in secret fields or Simeon standing guard in the Temple for many years until hope finally rests in his arms, sanctity ripens through persistent fidelity (cf. Ruth 2; cf. Lk 2:25–35). Divine Appeal 19 unmasks mediocrity not to shame, but to awaken desire for fullness.

Modernisation “upsets the stability of the good people” because it reshapes time, attention, and desire. Our Adorable Jesus sees how constant stimulation fractures recollection, making sustained prayer feel unnatural. The Holy Scriptures clearly, though indirectly, point out that God’s favourite working method is through people who are simply loyal over the years. Mary did not comprehend all that was going on but she continued carrying God’s secrets in her heart silently each day (cf. Lk 2:19, 51). Hannah went on coming to the temple year after year with the very same grief and hope (cf. 1 Sam 1:3, 7, 10–18). Noah went on constructing the ark while he was being laughed at and others were doubting (cf. Gen 6:9–22; 7:1–5). None of the mentioned persons were getting carried away by their feelings; they were all relying on their faith (cf. Heb 11:7). The Church teaches that prayer is a two-way process—it requires one’s effort, endurance and a constant return to the Lord whenever one’s attention strays and one’s heart gets weary (cf. CCC 2725–2728). The notch of spiritual mediocrity is not made by sin but through little surrenders to distractions, when we cease to struggle for God’s attention. Love resists distraction not harshly, but faithfully, choosing to return again and again simply because God is worth staying with. 

The saints understood this well. St. Teresa of Ávila frankly expressed her distractions but still maintained that staying in prayer, even when it is not fruitful or spiritual, is already a victory that God loves. This is daily life in which we do not abandon prayer because of tiredness, pick Sunday worship over convenience, and maintain moral integrity even if we are struggling with immorality. Jesus lived under Roman rule, economic hardship, and misinterpretation, but His union with the Father was unbroken (cf. Jn 5:19–30). Divine Appeal 19 beckons to the present-day believers the rediscovery of the interior monasticism: the stable heart in the mobile lives.Constancy of grace does not mean emotional consistency, but fidelity of choice. Like the lamp kept burning in the Temple regardless of night, the soul is called to remain before God even when culture moves on (cf. Ex 27:20–21).

Across all vocations, Divine Appeal 19 becomes painfully concrete. For families, mediocrity appears when faith is postponed “until children grow,” slowly replaced by secular rhythms. For youth, it emerges when holiness is admired online but avoided personally. For clergy and religious, it takes the form of routine without reverence, ministry without contemplation. The Catechism reminds that all are called to the fullness of Christian life and perfection of charity, not an elite few (cf. CCC 2013–2014). Saints across states of life embody this: Monica persevering in prayer within domestic sorrow (cf. Conf. III); Thomas More remaining faithful within political compromise; Thérèse sanctifying the smallest acts with great love. Our Adorable Jesus walks daily in workplaces, kitchens, hospitals, parishes—inviting each soul to choose spiritual depth over drift (cf. Jn 1:14). Constancy of grace is lived when one confesses regularly despite shame, forgives repeatedly despite wounds, works honestly despite loss. Modernisation may destabilize external supports, but grace builds interior pillars. Divine Appeal 19 calls believers to resist becoming spiritually “average” in an extraordinary God’s presence. Holiness today is countercultural stability: standing, like the Cross, unmoved amid passing currents (cf. Jn 19:25).

Ultimately, Divine Appeal 19 is spoken from the wounded Heart of Christ, who suffers not only from sin but from half-love. When the thrill vanishes and prayer becomes demanding, just like in the garden of Gethsemane (cf. Mt 26:36–46), our Adorable Jesus looks for devoted friends who will be close to Him rather than perfect people. As per the Catechism, keeping our faith with grace and the sacraments is both the Divine gift and the burden we must accept (cf. CCC 162; 2849). Loyalty longs for God's closeness; mediocrity opts for ease. The saints and the popes have frequently warned that the greatest danger to faith is not open hostility but rather slow indifference. Practically, this Appeal calls us to small yet serious commitments: setting aside a daily time for prayer, keeping Sunday truly holy (cf. Ex 20:8–11), examining our conscience with honesty (cf. Ps 139:23–24), offering our work to God (cf. Col 3:17), and carrying suffering without resentment (cf. 1 Pet 2:21). Like Paul pressing forward despite weakness, believers are called to “stand firm in the Lord” amid instability (cf. Phil 3:12–14; 4:1). Modernisation may be inevitable, but sanctity is always possible. Divine Appeal 19 restores hope by revealing that grace has not weakened—only our consent has. Jesus remains faithful. The question is whether His people will choose the quiet heroism of constancy over the slow erosion of mediocrity.

Prayer

Our Adorable Jesus, gentle and faithful Heart, rescue us from the quiet surrender to mediocrity. Anchor us in the constancy of Your grace amid restless days. Teach us to choose depth over ease, fidelity over comfort, that our ordinary lives may console You and glorify the Father. Amen.

Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.