An Enemy Called Mediocrity

“Mediocrity refers to the quality of being average, ordinary, or not very good, often implying that something or someone could be better. It signifies a state of being merely passable or mediocre rather than outstanding, often indicating a lack of excellence.” (Cambridge Dictionary)

What is mediocrity?

Are you seeking excellence or a comfortable, mediocre life? Or, worse still, do you indulge in wrongdoing (calumny, corruption, violence, partiality, etc.) to gain something?

This magazine, run by the Conference of Religious of India, caters to members of religious orders. We, religious, are not criminals! We do not need to commit murder or violent crimes to get what we need. We are well provided. I don’t need to steal or rob to get my food, clothes, medicines or whatever. I do not know what crimes I may have committed if I were, say, a married man, lost my job and struggled to feed my wife and children.

The commonest weakness we, priests and religious, need to guard against is not murder or adultery or robbery or physical violence.

It is mediocrity.

What do I mean?

I do not mean that none of us commits any crime. I don’t at all imply that we are all saints. No! But those who commit crimes among us are very few.

A study on sexual abuse of children conducted by an independent agency in the US  found that there were accusations against … percentage of priests. Can you fill in the dots? Do you know the number? Can you guess it? When I do this in seminars for priests and religious, I am shocked to hear the numbers people shout out – 50, 60, and 70 per cent. Then I tell them to write down the actual figures that investigating agencies in the US have found. There are accusations—not all of them proved—against three per cent of the diocesan clergy and two-and-a-half per cent of religious priests. But the media have made it look like a HUGE proportion.

Sexual abuse of minors, murder or adultery are not the main failures of clergy and religious. Mediocrity is.

I have everything, whether I work hard or not. If sick, my religious order will get me the best possible medical treatment. I have better living conditions and more expensive food than most Indians have. Once my initial formation is over, who will make sure I work hard or do my best? Who will prevent me from neglecting my spiritual life? Who can make me love and relate to all members of my diocese or religious order, and not just to those of my ethnic group (language, caste, tribe, rite, etc.)? Now that all of us have cell phones, don’t many of us spend a lot of time watching videos and other non-productive activities? (Pornography is also an issue we need to address, although the majority are not watching porn)

Lay people need to work hard to pay rent, clear debts, educate their children, and pay medical bills. So, they get up early, spend hours travelling to and from work every day, and take loans for urgent expenses. Many work overtime or even hold two jobs to earn more money. We do not have these burdens or pressures. So, we can dedicate much more time than they do to the service of the poor, to prayer, to the care of the sick, etc. But—here comes the big BUT—a lot depends on our personal convictions, on our motives for becoming priests and religious, on the example of our superiors and formators, and on the values instilled in us by our family. 

If my heart is not gripped by a love greater than self-pursuit, if I tend to imitate the bad example I have seen rather than the good, if comfort and love of ease motivate me rather than compassion or care of the needy, I can easily sink into barren bachelorhood or spinsterhood. My likes and dislikes, my comfort and position, my titles and privileges—all these can grip my mind and heart more than the faith I profess or the urgent needs of the poor and suffering.

Amazing, extraordinary, even heroic service has been rendered by hundreds, or even thousands, of priests and religious. That is true even today. So, I am not at all implying that all or most of us are self-seeking egoists or crooks hiding behind a cassock or religious habit.

But each of us needs to take personal responsibility for the kind of person we become. Others cannot make me saintly, self-sacrificing, heroic, or genuinely loving. If I am not careful, my ego may take over and turn me into a comfort-seeking or power-hungry, mediocre man or woman.

Let me end with a question that may surprise you. Do you have a relative or friend who is genuine, straightforward, and deeply loving? Someone who knows you well. You are deeply blessed if you have. Do they find you inspiring? What does someone who knows you deeply think of you?

I hope such a person will find you genuine and loving, honest and simple, eager to be good and do good. What a gift you will be for the world!

Resist and fight not just evil-doing, but also mediocrity. Whatever you are engaged in, may you do it to the best of your ability, and with as much love as you can. We need not outshine others in talent, or fame, or visible achievements. But we need to give our best, our very best.

Blurb

Sexual abuse of minors, murder or adultery are not the main failures of clergy and religious. But many of them are marked by mediocrity.

Others cannot make me saintly, self-sacrificing, heroic, or genuinely loving. If I am not careful, my ego may take over and turn me into a comfort-seeking, power-hungry, mediocre man or woman.