The Sacred Weight of Time

Divine Appeal Reflection - 254

Today, consider in Divine Appeal 254: "Do not lose time, it is precious, pray and atone before it is too late because the heavy darkness is surrounding the whole Earth." 

In the divine economy, time is not a mere succession of seconds, but a sacred offering—the stage upon which the drama of salvation unfolds for each individual soul. Heaven sees time differently than man. What we consider ordinary moments are, in truth, pregnant with eternal consequence. Each second pulses with the possibility of grace or rejection, light or darkness. In this sense, time is a battleground. To live it well is to align our will with God’s, to consecrate even the smallest acts of our daily life into offerings of love, reparation, and intercession. The Divine Appeal does not exaggerate; it pierces the veil to show us that the battle for souls happens now—in how we pray, how we forgive, how we spend our unseen hours.

In a world cascading toward moral disintegration and spiritual apathy, time becomes either a sacred remedy or a squandered remedy. The “heavy darkness” enveloping the earth is not merely poetic—it is experiential: increasing confusion, doctrinal rupture, and the silencing of conscience. Many live as if time were endless, postponing repentance, neglecting prayer, and ignoring the interior voice of God. But the Catechism reminds us that this life is the decisive time to accept divine grace (cf. CCC 1021). Once the veil falls, the soul enters judgment with nothing but the choices it made in time. Therefore, to delay is dangerous. The last opportunity for grace will arrive, and when it does, may it not find us sleeping.

Yet, the message is not one of despair, but of mercy’s final call. The fact that we still draw breath means grace still knocks. The Eternal Clock has not yet struck the final hour. That alone is reason for hope. Every Rosary prayed in faith, every hidden sacrifice, every act of forgiveness is like oil filling the lamps of the wise virgins (cf. Mt 25:1–13). These acts pierce the gloom of sin like starlight, forming a constellation of intercession in a world that has forgotten how to look up. In a time that exalts distraction, holiness becomes radical. And a soul attentive to time becomes a co-worker with Christ in His redemptive mission.

Let us then live not as owners of time, but as stewards of a divine inheritance. We do not possess the next hour; we are only entrusted with this one. Each moment must become a tabernacle, a hidden altar where our will is offered to God’s. To pray is to sanctify time. To atone is to transfigure it. When we live this way, we become like living sacraments—icons of divine mercy etched in flesh. The faithful soul does not fear the coming darkness, because it knows that every moment rightly lived becomes a lantern for others, a shelter for the lost, a hymn to the God who still waits for His children to come home.

Prayer

O Our Adorable Jesus, Eternal Lord of time and mercy, teach us to redeem each moment with love. Awaken our souls from slumber, that we may pray, atone, and live with urgency. Let not a single heartbeat be wasted, but consecrated to Your glory and the salvation of souls. Amen.

Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.