2023 Illumination Book Awards Gold Medalist, Keepsake/Gift/Specality Bible 2023 Independent Press Awards Winner, Hispanic 2023 Independent Press Awards Distinguished Favorite, Gift Books 2023 Independent Press Awards Distinguished Favorite, Religion Nonfiction 2023 Association of Catholic Publishers Excellence in Publishing Awards, First Place (Tie), Prayer 2023 Catholic Media Association Book Awards, Second Place, Inclusion in the Church Gregory Boyle, SJ, spends his days at Homeboy Industries accompanying ex-gang members as they rebuild their lives. Forgive Everyone Everything is a powerful collection of his most poignant writings based on decades of experiences of loss and pain, redemption and renewal. All 50 reflections are accompanied by stunning street art from acclaimed artist and ex-gang member Fabian Debora, making this book a modern-day devotional that will provoke and inspire readers. “There’s no denying how difficult things can be. But the way out to the place of resilience, the place of restoration, the place of not allowing your heart to be hardened by resentment, relies on one thing: forgive everyone everything.”–Gregory Boyle

In a moving example of unconditional love in dif­ficult times, Gregory Boyle, the Jesuit priest and New York Times bestselling author of Tattoos on the Heart, shares what working with gang members in Los Angeles has taught him about faith, compassion, and the enduring power of kinship. In his first book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, Gregory Boyle introduced us to Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention program in the world. Critics hailed that book as an “astounding literary and spiritual feat” (Publishers Weekly) that is “destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality” (Los Angeles Times). Now, after the suc­cessful expansion of Homeboy Industries, Boyle returns with Barking to the Choir to reveal how com­passion is transforming the lives of gang members. In a nation deeply divided and plagued by poverty and violence, Barking to the Choir offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life on the margins. Sergio, arrested at age nine, in a gang by age twelve, and serving time shortly thereafter, now works with the substance-abuse team at Homeboy to help others find sobriety. Jamal, abandoned by his family when he tried to attend school at age seven, gradually finds forgive­ness for his schizophrenic mother. New father Cuco, who never knew his own dad, thinks of a daily adventure on which to take his four-year-old son. These former gang members uplift the soul and reveal how bright life can be when filled with unconditional love and kindness. This book is guaranteed to shake up our ideas about God and about people with a glimpse at a world defined by more compassion and fewer barriers. Gently and humorously, Barking to the Choir invites us to find kinship with one another and re-convinces us all of our own goodness.

"The founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest and most successful gang-intervention program in the world--through a series of stories that bear witness to the transformative power of tenderness--challenges ideas about God and about people."--Provided by publisher.

“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. 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, you learn how to feel worthy of God’s love. From ten-year-old Pipi you learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Lulu you come to 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.

At a time when society is more fractured than ever before, beloved Jesuit priest Gregory Boyle invites us to see the world through a new lens of connection and build the loving community that we long to live in—a perfect message for readers of Anne Lamott, Mary Oliver, and Richard Rohr. Over the past thirty years, Gregory Boyle has transformed tens of thousands of lives through his work as the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang-intervention program in the world. The program runs on two unwavering principles: 1) We are all unshakably good (no exceptions), and 2) we belong to each other (no exceptions). Boyle believes that these two ideas allow all of us to cultivate a new way of seeing. Rather than the tribalism that excludes and punishes, this new narrative proposes a village that cherishes. Pooka, a former gang member who now oversees the program’s housing division, puts it plainly: “Here, love is our lens. It is how we see things.” In Cherished Belonging, Boyle calls back to Christianity’s origins as a subversive spiritual movement of equality, emancipation, and peace. Early Christianity was a way of life—not a set of beliefs. Boyle’s vision of community is a space for people to join together and heal one another in a new collective living, a world dedicated to kindness as a constant and radical act of defiance. As one homie, Marcus, told a classroom filled with inner-city teenagers, “If love was a place, it would be Homeboy.” Cherished Belonging invites us to nurture the connections that are all around us and live with radical kindness. Boyle believes that “the answer to every question is, indeed, compassion.” Through colorful and profound stories brimming with wisdom, humor, and inspiration, we understand that love is the light inside everything.

Dios, en su infinita misericordia, nos ama tal y como somos. Este libro es una invitación a encontrar esa misma chispa en nuestros corazones. A partir de los testimonios de pandilleros rehabilitados o en proceso de rehabilitación, Gregory Boyle nos ofrece un retrato de los sectores marginados de la sociedad y los retos y alegrías que enfrentan. Perdón y superación personal son los hilos que nos muestran lo luminosa que es la vida cuando se asume desde el amor incondicional. En estas páginas, Boyle se adentra en el corazón de quienes son el alma del programa Homeboy en Los Ángeles, y de manera cuidadosa y divertida nos recuerda que, en un mundo cada vez más violento y dividido, la solidaridad y la piedad son una manera única de acercarnos a Dios. También nos muestra cómo, en cada uno de nosotros e independientemente de nuestro pasado, hay un destello de bondad. Amor incondicional: El poder de la hermandad es un canto a la compasión, a la inclusión y al poder de las segundas oportunidades. #Este es un libro hermoso, importante y que transporta almas. Está escrito por Gregory Boyle, un sacerdote jesuita en Los Ángeles que ha trabajado con (y amado) miembros de pandillas durante décadas. Este libro trata sobre cómo amar a las personas. Cómo amar realmente a las personas. Y cómo conocer a Dios cuando lo ves. . . . Este es un libro fantástico. Por favor léelo. # #Elizabeth Gilbert "Si buscas inspiración genuina en el mercado, te insto a que leas Amor incondicional (Barking to the Choir) de Gregory Boyle, un libro que muestra cómo son los lugares comunes de la fe cuando se ponen en acción". #Ann Patchett

¿Cómo luchar contra la desesperanza e interactuar con el mundo con un corazón bondadoso? ¿Cómo superar la vergüenza y tener fe a pesar del fracaso? Sin importar en dónde vivamos o cuáles sean nuestras circunstancias, todos necesitamos un amor ilimitado y restaurador. Magnífico y reconfortante, Tatuajes en el corazón demuestra ampliamente el impacto que puede tener el amor incondicional en nuestras vidas. En su condición de párroco que trabaja en el vecindario con la mayor concentración de actividad pandillera y criminal en Los Ángeles, Gregory Boyle ha creado una organización para ofrecer empleos, capacitación laboral y estímulos para que los jóvenes puedan trabajar juntos y aprender el respeto mutuo proveniente de la colaboración. Tatuajes en el corazón es una impresionante serie de parábolas producto de sus experiencias con personas del barrio durante las dos últimas décadas. Clasificados por temas y llenos de humor fresco y generosidad abundante, estos ensayos nos ofrecen una visión conmovedora sobre la forma tan plena en que podemos vivir nuestras vidas si encontramos la alegría en amar a los demás y en ser amados incondicionalmente. De César, el joven enorme y lleno de tatuajes haciendo compras en JCPenney recién salido de la prisión, aprendemos a sentirnos dignos del amor de Dios. De Lula, el chico de diez años, aprendemos la importancia de ser conocidos y aceptados. De Pedro, entendemos el tipo de paciencia necesaria para rescatar a alguien de la oscuridad. En cada capítulo recibimos el regalo de la sabiduría maravillosa y duramente lograda por Boyle. Estos ensayos eruditos, realistas y completamente alentadores que discurren sobre la hermandad y la redención, son ejemplos reconfortantes del poder que tiene el amor incondicional en los tiempos difíciles y de la importancia absoluta de luchar contra la desesperanza. Gracias a la orientación de Gregory Boyle, podemos reconocer nuestras propias heridas en las vidas fracturadas y en las luchas descomunales de los hombres y las mujeres que figuran en estas parábolas, para aprender a encontrar la alegría en todas las personas que hay a nuestro alrededor. Tatuajes en el corazón nos hace recordar que ninguna vida vale menos que otra.

Een motiverend en hoopvol boek dat je uitdaagt altijd te blijven geloven in het goede. In Tattoos op mijn hart vertelt Jezuïet Gregory Boyle over zijn ervaringen met het werken met rivaliserende bendes in Los Angeles. Het zijn verhalen van vriendschap en vergeving, maar ook van rouw en verdriet. Boyles geloof inspireert hem om verder te kijken dan de tattoos en het stoere uiterlijk van de gangleden. Van de zwaar getatoeëerde Cesar kun je leren hoe diep Gods liefde gaat. De jonge Pipi laat zien hoe belangrijk het is dat je gezien en erkend wordt en Lulu leert dat geduld belangrijk is om je doelen te bereiken.

SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. This 35-page guide for "Tattoos on the Heart" is a memoir written by Catholic priest Greg Boyle. The memoir relays Boyle's experiences serving as the leader of the Dolores Mission Church in the gang capital of the world, Los Angeles. Boyle, a Jesuit, performed his earliest missionary work in an impoverished Bolivian village. There, Boyle gained two lifelong attributes: an unyielding desire to help the poor and the ability to speak Spanish, both of which would define his later ministry efforts.