Tattoos on the Heart ....

The Power of Boundless Compassion

By Gregory Boyle

I JUST finished reading this book and I had to share it with you!

I would consider this a must read for anybody. Adult that is.

Caution: This is a compilation of real stories about gang members and their lives.

The language is real and rough. If you are easily offended, this book is not for 

you. But if you interested in hearing how one man is making a big difference

in a real way, this book is for you! 

Father Gregory will make you re-think and re-define your definitions of

 success, failure, forgiveness, compassion, and hope.  He reminds us that

these are all deep wells that God wants us to draw from when we are 

internally (as well as externally) judging the worth of another Soul on this planet. 

Further, Father Doyle reminds us that whether you are a nurse in an ER or a homie from the hood,

 He will use you right where you are and just as you are!

But don't think this is all heavy spiritual reading... It is not.

I laughed as much as I cried. Humor abounds in his skilled story telling. 

The same, but different: I would compare this to Ann Voskamp's 

Best Seller "One Thousand Gifts" , only much grittier. 

From the Back of the book:

“Destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality” ( Los Angeles Times )— Tattoos on the Heart is a series of parables about kinship and redemption from pastor, activist, and renowned speaker, Father Gregory Boyle—now in paperback.

For twenty years, Father Gregory Boyle has run Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles—also known as the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart, he has distilled his experience working in the ghetto into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith.

From giant, tattooed Cesar, shopping at JC Penney fresh out of prison, we learn how to feel worthy of God’s love. From ten-year-old Pipi we learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Lulu we understand the kind of patience necessary to rescue someone from the dark—as Father Boyle phrases it, we can only shine a flashlight on a light switch in a darkened room.

This is a motivating look at how to stay faithful in spite of failure, how to meet the world with a loving heart, and how to conquer shame with boundless, restorative love.

Winner of the 2011 PEN Center USA Literary Award for Creative Nonfiction

 This was a GOOD book! 

You should read it!