Tattoos on the Heart: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis

As a young man, Boyle has a memorable encounter with his good friend and spiritual director, Bill Cain. Bill’s father has become very sick with cancer, and Bill spends all his time caring for his father. At night, Bill’s father refuses to sleep—he just wants to look at his child while he’s alive. Boyle often thinks that God is like Bill’s father—he’s always watching his children, loving them and supporting them.

In 1990, reporters come to Boyle’s church to report on his work in the community. Mike Wallace, the famous newscaster, tells Boyle, “I cam here expecting monsters. But that’s not what I found.” Wallace realizes that many of the people in Boyle’s classrooms are criminals, whom Boyle refuses to turn in to the police. The students trust Boyle to protect them, and when Wallace asks one student why this is, the student shrugs and says, “God … I guess.” In this chapter, Boyle will talk about how God has inspired him to help others.

Boyle wholeheartedly believes that God is greater and more compassionate than any mortal could imagine. One night, Boyle gets a visit from one of his students, a young man named Willy, who asks Boyle for money and food. Boyle doesn’t have much money, but he drives Willy to get a meal. He parks the car and walks to an ATM, telling Willy to pray in the meantime. When he returns to his car with a little cash, Boyle finds that Willy seems humbler. He’s prayed to God—and God has told Willy that Willy is “firme,” meaning that he is loved and respected.

Boyle has been raised to believe in God’s love and mercy. As a priest, he tries to fill his congregants with the same love of God he’s felt his entire life. To accept that God is greater than any human being can be a humbling, but also an inspiring, experience.

Boyle goes to visit a teenager named Rigo, who’s living in a detention facility. Rigo’s father is a drug addict, and he beat Rigo for years. Rigo loves his mother, however—he’s grateful to her for visiting him in his detention center every Sunday. Boyle argues that God’s love for humanity is even greater than Rigo’s love for his mother. It’s hard for people to understand that there’s a being capable of total love.

One day, Boyle gets a call from a man named Cesar, whom he’s known since Cesar was a child. Cesar has just gotten out of prison, and he’s hoping that Boyle can help him out. Boyle agrees to pick up Cesar and help him. Cesar is a large, menacing man, but when Boyle picks him up, Cesar is overjoyed. Later on, Cesar admits to Boyle that he’s always thought of Boyle as his father. Shyly, he asks Boyle if Boyle thinks of him as a son. Without hesitation, Boyle says that he does.

In 2004, Boyle reunites with a man named Scrappy. Boyle has known this man since 1984, when Scrappy was a teenager. In 1989, Boyle sees Scrappy while he’s leading a funeral for one of Scrappy’s friends. Scrappy gives Boyle an intense look, and then walks out. Three years later, Boyle breaks up a fight between Scrappy and other gang members. Scrappy pulls a gun on Boyle. Onlookers, who respect Boyle, yell for Scrappy to put away his gun and show some respect for Boyle.

When Boyle reunites with Scrappy in 2004, Scrappy is a calmer man. He sits down in Boyle’s office and tells Boyle, “I’ve never disrespected you.” He explains that he’s spent the last twenty years trying to undo the things he did as a teenager. He begins to weep. Boyle hires Scrappy.

Shortly after being ordained as a priest, Boyle works in Bolivia, tending to poor, uneducated congregants. His Spanish is atrocious, so he finds it difficult to communicate with them. He also preaches among the native Quechua Indians of Bolivia, many of whom have never seen a Christian priest before. During his time among the Quechua, Boyle crosses paths with an old Quechua man who calls Boyle “tatai,” a word that connotes respect, love, and intimacy. God’s love for humanity is greater than any that Boyle has ever experienced from another person. He often thinks about this in the course of his nonprofit work.