Gregory Boyle (1)

After reading [b:Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship|34467028|Barking to the Choir The Power of Radical Kinship|Gregory Boyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1510482422s/34467028.jpg|55587073], I felt torn; I wanted more of Father Greg's stories and heart, but I also wanted to pause and postpone the delight. I began reading two or three other titles, but they didn't make the best morning companions. To the library for the first collection of essays by [a:Gregory Boyle|13846417|Gregory Boyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1449549288p2/13846417.jpg].

Honest, humorous, and human in the best sense of the word. If you need a transfusion of hope in the midst of cynicism and despair, here you go!… (more)

Just when I think a life of faith makes no sense, I pick up a book.

This time Greg Boyle gave me pause as he told stories and stitched them together with his own slant on faith. The theology of the original plan—look after the poor, welcome strangers, love each other, laugh and cry together—permeates the pages of this book.

So many lines and whole paragraphs were copied into my journal (because I had a library copy)

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I don't need God to be in charge of my life. I only need Got to be at the center of it. 22

I believe that God protects me in nothing but sustains me in everything. 24

It would seem that quite possibly the ultimate measure of health in any community might well reside in our ability to stand in awe at what folks carry rather than in judgment of how they carry it. 51

We spend so much time asking where our suffering comes from, it leaves us little time to ask where it leads. 56

The discovery that awaits us is that paradise is contained in the here and now. We let go of the desire to expect anything beyond it. The awareness of this keeps us from the suffering generated by resisting life as it is. 74

If love is the answer, community is the context, and tenderness is the methodology. 85

We always seem to be faced with this choice: to save the world or savor it. ...savoring it is better. The good news, of course, is that when you choose to "savor" the world it gets saved. Don't set out to change the world. Set out to wonder how people are doing. 174-175

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Father Greg never hints at the possibility of too much grace. Not a word is offered about tough love. I found this a thrilling relief as I've heard christian writers, speakers, and acquaintances (who do not work with gang members) tout both.

If you like to be reminded of what really matters, possibly (re)consider a life of faith, AND laugh out loud, keep company with Greg Boyle in the pages of this book.… (more)