For seventeen semesters from the autumn of 2006, I had the privilege of teaching one course a semester at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, a Jesuit school founded in 1910. It was a rewarding experience for me, and I grew in appreciation for the Jesuits, whose Order was formed in 1534.
I regret that I did not know about Father Gregory Boyle back then in order to introduce him to my students. He has now been a Jesuit for 50+ years and has had a remarkable ministry in Los Angeles for 35+ years. Let me share with you some highlights about this amazing man.
Gregory Joseph Boyle was born in Los
Angeles in 1954. Upon graduating
from a Jesuit high school, he joined the Society of Jesus (S.J., the Jesuits). Following his
graduation from Gonzaga University,
he then earned master’s degrees from three other Jesuit schools.
After being ordained as a priest in
1984, Boyle lived/served for a year in Bolivia. He then returned to LA, where he was appointed pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, then the poorest
Catholic parish in LA and with the highest concentration of gang activity in
the city.
In 1988, Boyle began what grew into Homeboy Industries,
which, according to their website “is the largest gang rehabilitation and
re-entry program in the world.” They go on to say,
For over 30 years, we have stood as a beacon of hope in Los Angeles to provide training and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of our community.
Fr. Boyle has written
three major books that
I highly recommend. His first book, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of
Boundless Compassion (2010) became a “New York Times Bestseller.” It is a
delight to read—as is his second book, Barking to the Choir: The Power of
Radical Kinship (2017).*
The
third of Boyle’s Power trilogy doesn’t have such a catchy title, but it is an
equally engaging book. It is The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant
Tenderness (2021). Like the two predecessors, this book is also a
delightful blend of theological reflections and conversations with “homies.”
Consider
these key quotes from Boyle’s books:
**
“Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have
to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.” (Tattoos)
** “Compassion isn't just about feeling the pain of others; it's
about bringing them in toward yourself. If we love what God loves, then, in
compassion, margins get erased. 'Be compassionate as God is compassionate,'
means the dismantling of barriers that exclude.” (Tattoos)
** “God,
of course, is unchanging and immutable. But our sense of who God is changes as
we grow and experience God, and God is constantly nudging us toward that
evolution.” (Barking)
** Kinship
asks us to move from blame to understanding.” (Barking)
** “It
is our lifelong task … to refine our view of God. We won’t be able to speak the
whole language until we know the wholeness of God” (The Whole Language, p.
12)
And then there is this quote (which is directly related to my Feb. 16 blog post):
 |
| This is one of more than 50 Boyle quotes found at Top 50 Gregory Boyle Quotes |
I am
deeply grateful to Fr. Boyle for what I
have learned from him about compassion, kinship, and tenderness. But most of
all I am grateful for how he has expanded my understanding of God.
The
first chapter of my book Thirty True Things Everyone Needs to Know Now (2018)
is “God is Greater than We Think, or Even Can Think.” Reading Fr. Boyle’s books
has increased my awareness of the greatness of God and God’s unconditional love
(grace).
That
unconditional love is personified in the life and work of Father Gregory Boyle,
an amazing man, indeed.
_____
* In reading Barking, I learned that G-Dog, a nicely done documentary of Fr. Boyle, was produced in 2012, and last month June and I really
enjoyed watching it (on Amazon Prime; it is also available on other streaming
services.)
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Thanks, Leroy, for the introduction to the Rev. Boyle.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and responding, Anton. My guess is that the "critics of religion" that you have written about and that you will be teaching about in your upcoming course would have far less negative criticism of religion if there were more people who had a religious faith and the resultant "works" of Fr. Boyle.
DeleteIndeed! —Anton
DeleteIn a similar vein, Thinking Friend Glenn Hinson in Kentucky wrote,
ReplyDelete"Thanks. Leroy. I’m glad to become acquainted with Fr. Boyle."
Thank you, Dr. Hinson, for responding to this morning's new blog post. -- I am still reading "The Whole Language," Boyle's third volume, but I am finding what he writes about mysticism to be quite interesting and helpful. I think you would enjoy reading the very positive things Boyle, as a man deeply involved in the lives of drug addicts, criminals, and other people with serious problems, says about mysticism.
ReplyDeleteBro. Leroy, after a long hiatus I hope to once again make my rare appearance as a borderline fundamentalist. Like those above I share my appreciation for your introduction to Fr. Boyle. Knowing there are people like him out there putting their theology of compassion into practice without worrying about denominational labels is so refreshing! His books will be on my to-do reading list.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting your comments, Tom. It was good to hear from you again. Yes, Fr. Boyle is refreshing in many ways, and I hope you will be able to read one (or more) of his books. They are very enjoyable, and thought-provoking, books to read.
DeleteLeroy and I started reading Fr. Boyle's first book aloud together quite some time ago. His stories of the Homies are very interesting. A unique quality about G-Dog, as the Homies affectionately call him, is his keen sense of humor, which must have been part of what has kept him in this tough ministry for so long. I think you will enjoy his stories, too.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that Boyle's sense of humor is one of his outstanding character traits, and he tells so many humorous things that he has heard the "homies" say. The title of his second book comes from a homie conflating the expressions "barking up the wrong tree" and "preaching to the choir."
DeleteHere are comments from Marilyn Peot, a local, and treasured, Thinking Friend, who is a lifelong Roman Catholic:
ReplyDelete"Thank you for putting Gregory in the spotlight.
"I share with others his way of life and deep spirituality. I've only read his first book but it's all there. Now he is traveling throughout the country sharing his life and ministry and message.
"I treasure your sharing this morning. His life definitely holds up the teachings of Jesus and is truly a challenge to all of us who are called to bring compassion and justice as Jesus preached it. ....
"He is Real!"
If only the Catholic Church would follow its many good members, instead of pursuing reproductive injustice and end-of-life misery. As long as the current Catholic six-member super majority of the US Supreme Court is the public face of institutional Catholicism in America, I must remain defiantly Protestant. The Catholic Church is helping to create the very problems its members are trying to solve. So I salute Fr. Boyle, but not his wayward denomination. Of course, my analysis of Catholicism equally applies to Christian Nationalism and other wildly unchristian manifestations of conservative Evangelicalism.
ReplyDeleteCraig, thanks for your comments, and I basically agree with what you wrote. However, I think we have to realize that there are many different kinds of Catholics, just as there are many different kinds of Baptists--and even Southern Baptists. There are many Catholics, such as Marilyn Peot whose comments appear above, who champion people such as Fr. Boyle more than traditional/conservative Catholicism.
DeleteThere is a Q & A section at the end of "Tattoos on the Heart," and Boyle was asked, "How do your superiors in the Church feel about your work?" At the end of his response, he said, "I suppose it is something of a cliché that 'Superiors,' initially, didn't know what to make of such a venture as Homeboy Industries. I'm happy to say that, currently, it is a ministry hugely welcomed and valued."
Amen, Craig! —Anton
ReplyDeleteYesterday, a local Thinking Friend wrote in an email, Gregory Boyle's "word on God is instructive, but the wonder of his writing is that it comes from someone that gave his energy to ‘gang rehabilitation.’ That is so foreign to my comfortable pursuit of serving God."
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that is true for most of us: we want to be comfortable in our pursuit of serving God rather than to face the uncomfortable challenges that more faithful service might well entail.
DeleteI have read Fr Boyle's books and he has some of his speeches on youtube. His story, his view on kinship and inclusion, and his work at Homeboy is an inspiration to me. Thank you for sharing this Leroy.
ReplyDelete