The article is authored by António Salvado Morgado, from the Diocese of Guarda, and addresses the relationship between the "Time of Creation" and the "Height of Time." The "Time of Creation" is an ecumenical liturgical period that runs from September 1, World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, to October 4, the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, during which Christian communities are called to prayer, reflection, and action in favor of the work of the Creator.
The author explores the concept of "height of time" through philosophical perspectives. José Ortega y Gasset, in the work "The Rebellion of the Masses" from 1930, gave the expression an ethical-political normative dimension, arguing that each era possesses a level of historical, technical, and cultural development that requires new behavioral orientations. Xavier Zubiri, a disciple of Ortega y Gasset and exponent of the School of Madrid, elevated the concept to a metaphysical category, seeing it as the point of elevation of reality from which the human being must create new tools to respond to emerging challenges.
The article also establishes connections with the Social Doctrine of the Church, noting that the underlying idea of the "height of times" is present from Leo XIII's encyclical "Rerum Novarum" (1891) to Leo XIV's "Magnifica humanitas," including the "signs of the times" in conciliar theology. Pope Francis, in "Evangelii Gaudium" (2013), introduced the principle that "time is superior to space," valuing processes over the possession of territories. The author concludes that there is a bidirectional relationship between the "Time of Creation" and the "Height of Time," appealing for a careful reading of the signs that time presents in order to enhance the possibilities that reality offers.
