Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

Such a heart touching, mind opening, and well written true story! I can't recommend this book and the cause enough!

What an unbelievable story! I remember visiting Father Boyle about 20 years ago with a class. He seemed kind and gentle but he also seemed tired. So I after that visit, I didn't think about his ministry much. I came across the book when I saw it featured in a bookstore and decided to give it a try. I had stopped reading for the past decade or two. It has been mostly Netflix and Kdrama. I would start books and then never get past page 30. This wasn't just a book you coudln't put down. It's a book that grabbed a hold of you and shook you to your core. What a hero! What a man of God! What guts! What complete abandon! No wonder he looked exhausted (when I saw him 20 years ago). I was reminded of apostle Paul's paradoxical statement about his life and ministry 2 Cor 6 "We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything." Another reason why I feel such a deep sense of respect and admiration for Father G is that after my senior year in college, I went and worked in the inner city of Camden, New Jersey for 6 weeks and it was one of the toughest times of my life. We worked with kids and teenagers in one of the most gang/crime/drug infested parts of the country. I felt so overwhelmed and helpless. It was affecting me emotionally and physically. Such a ministry is not done casually - it doesn't happen unless you give yourself completely to the community and put your life on the line. And it's not something you do in your own strength and wisdom. Father Greg is often on the news and he does get some publicity - but not enough. Compare what he does to the billions of dollars spent on the war against drugs, against gangs, against crime. He is a one man war on gang/crime/drugs. And he's winning because his weapon is the love of Christ incarnated daily in his life.

TLDR; Read this book now. We all need it (I have never said this about a book) In this time of hate and division, here’s a book that shows how real compassion can change the world. Hold up –I feel your cringe. Compassion has been doused in so much saccharine by performative Western Buddhism, it’s become cringe-worthy. If that upsets you, return to the breath, focus on your inner self, and let it go. Feel better? Namaste. But what this book delivers is operative compassion — the kind that shows up, gets its hands dirty, not the Lululemon-clad brand of performative compassion. I’ve heard countless hours Dharma talks filled with stories of gentle, world-changing figures. Beautiful, yes — but I’ve always wondered if they were real. Father G is the real deal. In 1988, he became pastor of Dolores Mission, a church buried deep in the barrio of Los Angeles. Caught between two housing projects and the crossfire of multiple gangs, the suffering he witnessed was staggering. So he and a few like-minded locals did what needed doing. They built support systems, job training programs, and in 1992 they launched Homeboy Industries — now a global force for good. This book brought me many eye-moistening moments. Some of joy, many of sorrow, but the tragedy described led not to hopelessness but, ultimately, to strengthened resolve. The subject matter is heavy, but Father G’s voice is light, sincere, vulnerable — even laugh-out-loud funny at times. One of the hardest books I’ve ever read is Jerzy Kosiński’s The Painted Bird, about a six-year-old boy surviving WWII. Just opening it summoned storm clouds in my psyche. Tattoos on the Heart portrays similar depths of suffering — but here, those clouds part, and what breaks through is sunlight. Hope. Real, grounded, earned hope.

Enjoyable and inspiring... I find myself shedding tears of joy, sobbing in grief (for yet another death), laughing for all the simple moments… This is a book I definitely will go back to time and again.

It work very well 👍my son reading this book every week he loved it👍

I read it and then gave it to a friend to read. Inspiring and thought provoking.

Very good book they stores are heart breaking but true.

I first heard Fr. Greg Boyle speaking in Krista Tippet's On Being radio show / podcast short time ago, and immediately bought his book from Amazon. The decision of purchase was even faster when I found out that all of the proceeds from the book are donated to Homeboy Industries. If you haven't heard him speaking, I highly recommend listening to the YouTube recording of this conversation (or audio version from onbeing.org). I was fascinated by his total dedication, deep, living faith, unstoppable energy and a sense of humor of a man, who is completely free of the weight of his own ego. This sense of humor constrasts with innumerable tragic stories he was involved in, including close to 200 funerals of young people. He is also very good, engaging speaker. I recommend this book especially because it's not only about external adventures -- although there're lots of stories here, both tragic and hillarious -- it's also about spiritual journey. It is written by Gregory Boyle himself, a man called by more and more people a proper saint (the kind of saint who can rush between two gangs ready to fight with all the f* words he can remind of -- a story from "G-Dog and the Homeboys"). In buddhist terms he ticks all the checkboxes to be called a boddhisattva -- a being who descends to hell to liberate all others before he liberates himeself). And this is a really good deal -- you can get a book filled with interesting stories which can change something in you and at the same time support a little a case which this book is about. I mentioned "G-Dog and the Homeboys" above -- a book by Celeste Fremon. It provides a different, more journalist-like view of early years around 1990. You can get some more historical background from it -- initial rejection by almost anyone, beginning with local people, conflicts with LAPD (with their operation "Hammer" and brutal attitude towards youth in the projects), building a supporting community, midnight alarms because of shootings, balancing on the edge-thin line in cases when "his" kids were involved in acts of violence, bullets missing his head by inches -- and a lot more.

This book was originally given to me by a friend, and I loved it. If you want to delve into understanding the real work behind caring, the ups and downs, the tears and the joys, this book is for you. I recently gave it to my very empathetic grandson to help him understand that empathy is a good thing, but too much can hurt you, and others too. My daughter read it too, she is a councelling therapist, as am I, and she loved it too. It goes right to the heart in real form.

good

This book is purely encouraging. Full of hope, strength, compassion, laughter & tears. It changes the heart of its readers. Highly recommended!

If I picked any religion it would be Buddhism ,so I'm far from a fan of religious books .BUT ...this book isn't ramming God, the church or any religion down your throat, infact it references all kinds of people . It's sort of more one mans philosophy, in that it's how he interprets his job, beliefs ,concepts like compassion and how they translate into the life around him. I saw the documentary a few years ago and liked him, I found him not just an inspiration but a breath of fresh air. He has a genuiness that makes him so real unlike characters like mother Teresa . I did however cry many times, and laugh , and smile and just love the way it read. It's lots of short stories and incidents so really easy to pick up and put down. When it ended I felt pretty sad, like he was a good friend who I would miss gabbing to. I've bought it for several people I know, I plan to re read it in the winter as I might remember more of the stories if I do ! But my overall best thing was it didn't preach, leave me feeling drained or wrung out. Instead I feel lifted, my hearts fuller, I'm still laughing about some stuff and somehow Greg is now in my head when I'm faced with crazy situations at work...not in a jimmney cricket way, in a smiling ...' how would he handle this ? ' Ill always think about the 'smelly feet ' story and change my view on lots of things. ! I'm glad he's sharing himself with the world , the world needs him and more like him. An inspiration to us all.

Wow, just wow! Tattoos on the Heart is a brilliant book that shares story after story of the life of a Jesuit Priest who spent the majority of his adult life working with gangs in the gang capital of L.A. The author has the ability to plant little truth bombs that explode in your heart and mind and cause you to see people and situations in a different light. The story is also a real inspiration for anyone who wants to do something daring but feels discouraged. This is a story of faith and little steps that amount over 20 years to a miraculous ministry. Thousands of lives have been impacted, yet you get the sense that Gregory Boyle just turned up day in day out and related to the people who came across his path. I don't want to spoil the book for you, but do yourself a favour and read it. I love too how all the proceeds from the book are going to Homeboy Industries - one of the great stories that runs through most of the pages. A real inspiration, a real eye opener, a really good read!