In this Friendly Word, Friar Alfonso Dávila invites us to stop for a moment and ask ourselves what moments, faces or words we have “framed” in our lives. Inspired by the Christmas Lottery ad, he reminds us that the real prize is not in chance, but in what remains in the heart.
The story of a tenth that concealed a life
On November 12, the Spanish National Lottery launched its spot for the Christmas campaign. Today we are not going to talk about the lottery, or maybe we are, but not in the usual way. We are going to talk about the story behind it.
We are at the Rastro. A young couple finds a framed lottery ticket and buys it, bargaining, of course. It is a lottery ticket from thirty years ago. The girl, intrigued, searches the internet and discovers that this number was a fifth prize. Then the question arises: who would frame a lottery ticket? Why didn’t she cash it?
Moved by curiosity, they begin to investigate. They go back to Rome with Santiago until they find the owner: an elderly man who thought he had lost the bill. When they meet, a precious image is revealed: the grandfather, the grandson, the story that unites generations.
The old man takes the frame, opens it and, on the back, finds a note: “Congratulations, you are going to be a grandfather”.
At that moment everything fits. The grandson – that baby in the message – looks at the old man and understands. The grandfather smiles and says:
“Those who bought this ticket won the fifth prize; I, with your birth, won the Gordo”.
And he closes by sharing another ticket with the young people. A simple story, but deeply human.
What do we really frame?
As I watched it, I kept thinking: what is the last thing I have framed in my life?
I think it was a photo with my mother, on the day of my ordination as a deacon. I have it on the shelf in my office, leaning among books and souvenirs.
And it is true, I have many more things to frame: the Compostela of the Camino, the degree in Theology or Communication, even the testimonium of the Jubilee. Maybe I should do it, not out of nostalgia, but out of gratitude.
To frame is to say: this is valid, this remains, this I want to remember.
And then I ask myself: do you have something important enough in your life to frame it?
When we treat God as a lottery
And yes, let’s talk about the lottery for a second. The Christmas lottery in Spain is almost a ritual: we buy it out of illusion, out of habit or to help.
But many times we do the same with God: we ask for luck, we expect miracles… but we don’t “buy the ticket”. We don’t get involved, we don’t bet our life. Every lottery ticket is a story. Every thing we frame, too.
What deserves to be framed
Maybe this year we could think less about what we want to gain and more about what deserves to be framed in our liveswhat moments, what faces, what words.
And who knows:
maybe the real prize is not the one that changes your account, but the one that changes your heart.
✍️ Fray Alfonso Dávila