Finding Mercy in Impossible Times (Father Gregory Boyle)
Dec 19, 2024
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Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries, shares his profound insights on love and belonging. He emphasizes that everyone is unshakably good and highlights the distinction between forgiveness and mercy, using the biblical story of the prodigal son. Boyle discusses how to view social issues as signals for deeper concerns rather than moral failings. He also explores the power of human connection in overcoming fear and fostering healing, stressing the importance of community support and believing in the innate goodness of others.
Gregory Boyle emphasizes that genuine progress comes from erasing divisions and fostering community, highlighting everyone's inherent goodness and belonging.
He stresses the importance of addressing mental health as a root cause of hate, advocating for love and compassion to empower individuals and promote healing.
Deep dives
The Essence of Belonging
Everyone is inherently good, and everyone belongs to each other, according to Gregory Boyle. This core belief opposes the tendency to draw lines and separate individuals into opposing groups based on their actions or identities. Boyle emphasizes that real progress happens when we erase these divisions rather than reinforce them, stating that if one's message is framed around being against something, it diverts focus away from the individual's inherent worth. By fostering a sense of community and acceptance, rather than division, individuals can connect meaningfully and discover their place in a supportive environment.
Mental Health as a Social Indicator
Gregory Boyle highlights the current mental health crisis as the defining health issue of our time, particularly evident through a dramatic rise in hate crimes and substance abuse. Rather than viewing hate as stemming from moral failings, he argues that it reflects deeper issues of mental health and disconnection. Boyle suggests that to combat hate, society must address these underlying health problems, affirming that healthy individuals do not engage in hate. This perspective shifts the conversation from mere confrontation of bad behavior to understanding the root causes of distress in individuals.
Compassion Over Intervention
Father Boyle discusses the importance of fostering an environment where individuals can find their own purposes rather than imposing solutions or fixes on them. Instead of framing the work at Homeboy Industries as an intervention or rehabilitation, he sees it as cherishing individuals until they can authentically discover their paths. Boyle emphasizes that loving individuals and providing a nurturing space allows them to heal and regain their footing in a community that values them. This approach counters the societal instinct to rescue or save others, focusing instead on empowering people through compassion and dignity.
Hope versus Optimism
Gregory Boyle distinguishes between hope and optimism, asserting that hope does not rely on seeing favorable outcomes but is instead rooted in the faithful practice of love. He claims that love is what genuinely creates progress and healing in the community, echoing that love never fails, regardless of how circumstances may unfold. Boyle insists that true hope is anchored in the belief that caring for one another leads to meaningful change, despite external uncertainties. By focusing on hope and love, rather than mere optimism tied to outcomes, individuals can foster deeper connections and resilience within their communities.
Gregory Boyle is a beloved Jesuit priest and the founder of Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in Los Angeles. He’s also a New York Times–bestselling author. His new book is called Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times. (It may sound soft and saccharine—but it’s not.) Father Boyle explains why he so deeply believes two things: One, that everyone is unshakably good. And two, that everyone belongs to us. He talks about the difference between hope and optimism, and forgiveness and mercy. And why the moral quest has never kept us moral. It’s just kept us from each other. He also talks about what prohibits us from making progress, how to get underneath a complex issue, and his way of holding a container in which someone else can feel their wholeness.
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