Radical Compassion: Finding Christ in the Heart of the Poor [Paperback]

Gary Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2002

Loving the Unloved of Society

 

“I realize that God brought me into this world, blessed with skills and talents. The only thing that makes sense to me is to use them in the service of the poor. It is at their feet that I find myself.”

For almost ten years, Gary Smith, S.J., lived and worked among the poor of Portland, Oregon. With this memoir, he invites us to walk with him and meet some of the abandoned, over-looked, and forgotten members of our society with whom he has shared his life. Just as Smith found a deeper, truer understanding of himself and of the heart of God through his work, these people and their stories stand to transform us.

 

“Although its subject matter is bleak, the book is not. Smith has found love amid the despair. His book is touching, at times hopeful, and the kind of book that is hard to put down, that fascinates, horrifies, and rivets one’s attention.”
—Booklist

 

“Smith takes us where we would rather not go, the heart of the poor, the lonely, and the abandoned. In true Ignatian fashion, he finds God there. An unforgettable experience for those who have the courage to walk with him.”
—Michael L. Cook, S.J.
Professor of theology
Gonzaga University

 

“Smith performs modern-day miracles of compassion, and his book sets a new standard for writing about the rich faith of those who are materially poor. His stirring prose and utter honesty will change the hearts and minds of many readers.”
—Gerald T. Cobb, S.J.
Chair, department of English
Seattle University

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Smith, a Jesuit priest and a fine writer, takes us to the darkworld of mental illness and homelessness and its denizens in dirtySROs and dreary hospital wards, on park benches and underneathbridges. The specific setting of the tales Smith tells is Portland,Oregon, but it could be any moderately large or larger Americancity. Smith has walked such city streets as a priest, and he feelsashamed of and outraged by the culture that leaves these ill andsuffering outcasts to fend for themselves. Yet although its subjectmatter is bleak, the book is not. Smith has found love amid thedespair, discovered alcoholics who have given up booze, and uncoveredaddicts who have foresworn the needle. So his book is touching, attimes hopeful, and the kind of book that is hard to put down, thatfascinates, horrifies, and rivets one's attention. Anyone withexperience of mental illness, theirs or a loved one's, will also findcomforting companionship in Radical Compassion. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Back Cover

loving the unloved of society

“I realize that God brought me into this world, blessed with skills
and talents. The only thing that makes sense to me is to use them in the
service of the poor. It is at their feet that I find myself.”


or almost ten years, Gary Smith, S.J., lived and worked among the poor of Portland, Oregon. With this memoir, he invites us to walk with him and meet some of the abandoned, over-looked, and forgotten members of our society with whom he has shared his life. Just as Smith found a deeper, truer understanding of himself and of the heart of God through his work, these people and their stories stand to transform us.

“Although its subject matter is bleak, the book is not. Smith has found love amid the despair. His book is touching, at times hopeful, and the kind of book that is hard to put down, that fascinates, horrifies, and rivets one’s attention.”
—Booklist

“Smith takes us where we would rather not go, the heart of the poor, the lonely, and the abandoned. In true Ignatian fashion, he finds God there. An unforgettable experience for those who have the courage to walk with him.”
—Michael L. Cook, S.J.
Professor of theology
Gonzaga University

“Smith performs modern-day miracles of compassion, and his book sets a
new standard for writing about the rich faith of those who are materially
poor. His stirring prose and utter honesty will change the
hearts and minds of many readers.”
—Gerald T. Cobb, S.J.
Chair, department of English
Seattle University

 

 

loving the unloved of society

“I realize that God brought me into this world, blessed with skills
and talents. The only thing that makes sense to me is to use them in the
service of the poor. It is at their feet that I find myself.”


or almost ten years, Gary Smith, S.J., lived and worked among the poor of Portland, Oregon. With this memoir, he invites us to walk with him and meet some of the abandoned, over-looked, and forgotten members of our society with whom he has shared his life. Just as Smith found a deeper, truer understanding of himself and of the heart of God through his work, these people and their stories stand to transform us.

“Although its subject matter is bleak, the book is not. Smith has found love amid the despair. His book is touching, at times hopeful, and the kind of book that is hard to put down, that fascinates, horrifies, and rivets one’s attention.”
—Booklist

“Smith takes us where we would rather not go, the heart of the poor, the lonely, and the abandoned. In true Ignatian fashion, he finds God there. An unforgettable experience for those who have the courage to walk with him.”
—Michael L. Cook, S.J.
Professor of theology
Gonzaga University

“Smith performs modern-day miracles of compassion, and his book sets a
new standard for writing about the rich faith of those who are materially
poor. His stirring prose and utter honesty will change the
hearts and minds of many readers.”
—Gerald T. Cobb, S.J.
Chair, department of English
Seattle University

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Loyola Press; First Edition, First edition (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829420002
• ISBN-13: 978-0829420005
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,483 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read the book & then find a way to serve!, January 2, 2004

By 

Kerry Walters (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Radical Compassion: Finding Christ in the Heart of the Poor (Paperback)

Halfway through his book, Jesuit priest Gary Smith describes a 2 a.m. street scene he once witnessed. A couple of guys, both probably drunk, were having a shouting and shoving match. Tempers escalated until one of the two pulled a knife. The other guy shouted: "You can't kill me, motherf***er! I'm already dead!"

This haunting scene serves as a metaphor for the book's message. The people with whom Smith lives and ministers--the street people, the abandoned, the unstable, the addicted, the hopeless--too frequently see themselves as the walking dead. Why wouldn't they? "Respectable" society dismisses them as the dark, dirty secret it would like to sweep under the rug. It doesn't take too much exposure to our success-oriented culture to internalize its standards of social condemnation. If you're told often enough that you're garbage, you begin to believe it.

The stories that Smith tells about these people are heartrending. But they also sometimes shine with a certain dignity and hope that helps readers break through the stereotypical way we've been trained to think about the homeless. In listening to Smith's stories, those of us who are fortunate to live on the right side of the tracks just might be able to recognize that we're also among the living dead. Our pocketbooks may be healthy, but our hearts are dead because we tolerate the suffering of our fellow humans and do nothing about it. Radical compassion--to which all of us are called--quickens us back to life. The poor's very existence is a challenge to our lifestyles and a gift to us of the possibility of conversion.

Smith refuses to be a zombie. As he says (p. 98): "I take it all [the suffering of others] personally. If a woman or a man is abused, then I am abused, and if I don't feel that way, then I want to feel that way. If your flesh is lacerated, so is mine."

To which I say: "Amen!"

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeing the heart of the poor, August 2, 2003

By 

A. Kilpatrick - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Radical Compassion: Finding Christ in the Heart of the Poor (Paperback)

What a great book! A great balance of compassion and indignation at the way we treat the poor. It gave a me a wonderful insight into the heart of the poor and challnegened me to look at each person as a precious individual

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars heartbreaking and hopeful, June 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Radical Compassion: Finding Christ in the Heart of the Poor (Paperback)

Gary Smith shows a view of the poor that I never thought of before. Ultimately, that they are human beings and have feelings. Smith helps people without wanting to receive anything in return. It's a fascinating book and very touching.