Last Thursday evening, upon the invitation of Ms. Cherry Pie Picache, I watched the first screening of the documentary film entitled RADICAL LOVE, produced by ABS CBN. The film, which was shown in the Dolphy Theatre of ABS CBN to a limited audience of around 300 people, left me stunned and speechless after it ended. I could hear people around me sniffling and heaving deep sighs as they viewed the final scene of Cherry Pie and her son walking out of the Bilibid hand in hand, getting out of the symbolic prison of hatred.
That final scene was a most dramatic encounter with the man who had brutally murdered her mother. The murderer himself broke into tears when he stood face to face with Cherry Pie, who looked into his eyes and wept silently before him. Repeatedly, he begged her forgiveness for the violence and cruelty he had inflicted on her mom while under the influence of drugs, as well as the unspeakable pain that he now realized he had caused on her and the rest of her family.
At some point, Cherry Pie made the stunning gesture of stepping forward to embrace her mother’s murderer and witnessing to the radical love that her Christian faith is about, by forgiving him. After that tight embrace, she remembered to take out a bag of gifts that she wanted to give him, including a rosary. She asked if there was anything he needed that she could bring him; his reply was, “I need nothing more than your forgiveness, Madam.”
The scene made me think of one of my favorite texts from Psalm 85:11-12: “Mercy and faithfulness have kissed; justice and peace will embrace. Truth will spring from the earth;justice will look down from heaven.”
The documentary is set to be telecast on ABS-CBN Sunday’s Big Event (July7) @ 1030pm.
Bishop Joel Baylon of the CBCP Commission on Prison Pastoral Care wrote,
“FRIENDS PLEASE DONT MISS THIS POWERFUL STORY OF MS. CHERRY PIE PICACHE’S CONTINUING JOURNEY TOWARDS HEALING AND FORGIVENESS.
HERE WE WILL UNDERSTAND THAT TRUE INNER PEACE IS GAINED THRU LOVE AND FORGIVENESS AND NEVER BY REVENGE.
CATCH IT ON SUNDAY, JULY 7, 2019 OVER SUNDAY’S BEST, ABS-CBN 2 AROUND 10:30pm.
#RadicalLove
#JusticeThatHeals
#RestorativeJustice