"Nobody wants to be mediocre"

A fourth letter from a "Called to be More" high school student and pilgrim.

We are spending today on retreat and then heading up north to begin walking tomorrow. Please pray for us!

Dear Friend in Christ,
What does it mean when we say we are “called to be more?” Is it just some simple religious quip or mindless suggestion? Is it some sort of conceited illusion that we are better than everyone else? I think not. Rather, dear friend, I believe that it is a divine calling reiterated time and again by Christ’s holy Church that we are called to more than this world has to offer. Surrounded by the minimalism and utilitarianism of our modern secular society, we are often bombarded with false answers to life’s most fundamental questions. All of us desire greatness, but too many of us settle for the cheap version of happiness that seems to be so popular in our world today. Nobody wants to be mediocre, but oftentimes we find ourselves falling short of our full potential and simply doing as little as possible to get by. We seek happiness, but lack the discipline and motivation to achieve it. Truly I tell you, dear friends, that the authentic life Christ calls us to offers more joy and happiness than you could possible even begin to imagine. If we are willing to pick up your crosses and follow our risen Lord, we can avoid the lives of complacency and dead virtue that too often divert us from our final goal. This is Christ’s call. Join me as I pray for our world, that Jesus might stir in all of us “the will to follow an ideal, [and] the refusal to allow [our]selves to be ground down by mediocrity” (Bl. Pope John Paul II).
In Christ,
John