MERCY FOR OUR NEIGHBOUR AND THE MOVIE "UNPLANNED"

This week in the Gospel, a lawyer tries to test Jesus by asking Him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  He is challenged not only to love God, but to love his neighbour.  He asks, “Who is my neighbour?” in hopes of limiting the love to be shown to only those he knew and loved, but Jesus opens wide the definition of mercy and love to be shown.  Through the parable of the Good Samaritan, He makes it clear that “neighbour” is not just our family and friends and those we like, but those who we may dislike, those who have different opinions as us, those who cause us hardship and those who may hold different values and beliefs.  At the end of the parable, Jesus asks the lawyer which of three was a neighbour to the man who was beaten by the robbers.  The lawyer answers, “The one who showed him mercy.”  Jesus’ response was to “Go and do likewise”.  

We have been given a gift in the Church which helps to show the mercy that Jesus calls us to show.  These are the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.  The Spiritual Works of Mercy reminded me of a movie that I saw this past Friday, as this movie truly showed these works of mercy in action.  The movie, “Unplanned” was a deeply moving movie, based on the true story of the life of former Planned Parenthood Clinic director Abby Johnson who became one of today’s most well-known pro-life speakers and activists when she experienced a profound change of heart while at work.  I highly recommend that you see this movie.  While disturbing, the message of mercy, forgiveness and the true meaning of neighbour is so strong in this movie.  The movie is only being shown for a very limited time at select theatres as there has been much controversy with its showing and many people have tried to prevent it from being shown in Canada.  It will be showing in Ontario only until Wednesday, July 17 or Thursday, July 18 in certain theatres.  A list of theatres showing this movie can be found here (https://www.unplannedfilm.com/canada).  Regardless of what your opinion on abortion is, whether you are on the fence or not, I highly suggest you see this movie.  

As well, you can see a short documentary about the making of the movie called “Unplanned:  Behind the Scenes” on your parish subscription for “Formed”.  If you have already subscribed, you can find this feature in the section “Movies” under “Men and Women of Faith”.  If you have not yet signed up for your free subscription to “Formed”, you can do so at the following link:

stjohntheevanglistwe.formed.org

As an aside, if you have young people in your house (particularly gamers), you may be interested in showing them this clip from YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIhuUup30lw&feature=youtu.be. It is the story of a gamer and his encounter with the story of his mother’s choice on whether to abort him or not.  It also tells the story of 2 other well known celebrities who share the same story.  

Let us always remember to do what Jesus told the lawyer who asked for the key to inherit eternal life  and show mercy to our neighbour, regardless of how we feel about them or who they are.