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by Tom Stella (Author)
The term ""mediocre mystics"" seems a fitting way to refer to those who yearn for the nameless but do not qualify as full-blown mystics. I realize that because there is nothing middling about mystics, ""mediocre mystics"" may appear to be an oxymoron, but the root meaning of ""mediocre"" is not second-rate. From the Latin mediocris, the word means moderate or ordinary and has been used figuratively to refer to one who is halfway up a mountain. Unlike ordinary folks, sainted mystics have reached the mountaintop; they are on a first-name basis with the nameless! But just because we haven't arrived at the heights, just because our lives unfold in the valley of ordinary, everyday life doesn't mean that we cannot or do not experience the desire that has fueled the mystic's climb.
Author Biography
Formerly a priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross, Tom Stella is the cofounder and director of Soul Link, Inc., a nonprofit for spiritual seekers, a spiritual director, and retreat facilitator. Tom has been a campus minister, and a hospital, hospice, and work place chaplain. He is the author of six books--The God Instinct; A Faith Worth Believing; Finding God Beyond Religion; CPR for the Soul; In Sync with the Sacred, Out of Step with the World; and Meditations for Mediocre Mystics--and has earned graduate degrees from the University of Notre Dame MDiv (theology), the University of Michigan MA (counseling), and the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley STM (spirituality).
