Michele

“The principle suffering of the poor is shame and disgrace. It is a toxic shame -- a global sense of failure of the whole self. This shame can seep so deep down... To this end, one hopes (against all human inclination) to model not the "one false move" God but the "no matter whatness" of God. You seek to imitate the kind of God you believe in, where disappointment is, well, Greek to Him. You strive to live the black spiritual that says, "God looks beyond our fault and sees our need.”
― Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

“Terror melting into wonder, then slipping into peace.”
― Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

“It's my first day teaching," I say to her, "Give me some advice."

"Two things," she says, "One: know all their names by tomorrow. Two: It's more important that they know you than that they know what you know.”
― Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

“Kinship– not serving the other, but being one with the other. Jesus was not “a man for others”; he was one with them. There is a world of difference in that.”
― Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion