Pope says it is wrong to think we are masters of time

November 26, 2013 - Pope Francis on Tuesday warned Christians against the mistake of regarding themselves as masters of time, saying only Christ is the master of time. Explaining the difference between the two in his homily at Mass Tuesday morning at the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican, the Pope pointed out that prayer and discernment guide us in making wise choices every moment over which man has control. Commenting on the day’s Gospel on the prophecy of Jesus about the end of time, he said, “perhaps we can think ourselves as the master of the moment, but the mistake is that we think ourselves as the master of time.” In fact only the moment is in our hands and in our liberty. But time belongs to God. We can rule over the moment, but regarding time there is only ruler and master - Jesus Christ. Hence a Christian is a man or a woman who knows how to live at the moment and also in time. We cannot allow ourselves to be misled at the moment, because there will be persons who will exploit the confusion to present themselves like Christ. Explaining further the concept of the Christian of the moment, the Pope said the man or woman must have two virtues, two attitudes to live the moment – namely, prayer and discernment. In order to know the true signs, which road to take at the moment, one needs the gifts of discernment and prayer. Instead, to look at time over which only the Lord is master, we have no human virtue. The virtue to look at time is given to us by the Lord – which is called hope, the Pope added.