With Several Copies in Use

I have always been very talkative. In the morning, I liked to tell my mother what I had dreamed (and I dreamed almost every day), even though she was not someone who enjoyed morning conversations. If I went to the movies, she had to listen to the entire film—and how detailed I was!

My mother was very witty. One day, when I finished my remake of a movie, she came over to where I was and put $1.00 in my hand. I was perplexed; I did not understand. “Why are you putting this peso in my hand?” I asked. “You’ve told me the whole movie,” she replied. “I don’t need to go see it now, so I’m paying you the price of a movie ticket.”

These days I have had to counsel a young man who has lost his way, and one of the things that came to mind was the story I have just told you. Why? Because if we listened to the movies of other people’s lives, we could spare ourselves from seeing them played out in our own. Let no one think this message is only for the young. Even when old age is closing in on us, we make mistakes, and the saddest thing is realizing that our past experiences have taught us nothing: we have not been good students.

Our Lord says again and again in his Word, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear,” and this is not repeated so often for no reason. I searched a digital library for the word “oíd” (“hear”) and got 511 results in the 1960 Reina-Valera Bible. That is a high count, so hearing must be important. But I believe it is even more important to put what we hear into practice in our lives and hold on to what is good, so that there will be no obstacles in our paths.

God warns us in the Bible, and our brothers and sisters warn us out of love, and yet we want to see the movie! Even though others have told us it was neither good nor edifying? How complex a creature is a human being, refusing to be guided by the one who knows the path and falling into the impassable abysses of a life without direction. Yet those of us who have lived through unpleasant experiences are responsible for warning those who have not had experiences of this kind, for God will hold us accountable for this one day.

Young people, and brothers and sisters in general, if you have been warned of the dangers along the road, stay alert, for the signs have already been given. If you ignore them, a collision is inevitable: you will lose your peace and come to know suffering. Listen to the Master’s voice: “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”