Adapted by V.W. Bro Norman McEvoy from a paper By: R.W.Bro. R. L. Shaw; Published in THE TRACING BOARD, G.R.S.; May 1975
Masonry is a sinuous stairway to the stars. From the very moment I entered the fraternity,
I was urged to: “Climb high, climb far, Your goal the sky, your aim the stars.”
My winding way was clearly charted for me.
I had simply, as is often quoted, stepped out into the darkness and put my hand in that of the Great Architect of the Universe.
So I walked, although somewhat mystified, toward those great lights which pointed the path to perfection. My journey became a venture of Spirituality & Faith
The Altar is a symbol of God’s way down to man. By passing close to it in all my wanderings, and hearing what the messages about the Square, Compasses and the V.O.S.L teach has been my feeble aim. Too often have I trod the fruitful fields of Freemasonry, seeing & feeling only the objects and hearing only the words through which she speaks of truth eternal and unchanging.
I am aware, as was the Bard of Avon, that in our meanderings through this wonderful world of Devine delight we may see a pearl in hearing a parable, and hear a sermon on seeing a ladder.
“Seek and ye shall find” is a well-known exhortation.
There is no limit to my excursion through the Masonic ideal of real living.
One life is far and too short to discover all her glorious precepts.
With no great effort, I have not found her decadent, asleep or dead as so many decry.
In my travels, I have found many, like myself, too apathetic and frustrated to be the progressive, wide awake and lively searchers seeking the treasures of the spirit which is what our Fraternity is all about.
Robert Frost in his poem, “The Road Not Taken”, tells of his coming to a place in the wood where two roads converged. He took the one less travelled which he says made all the difference.
Many bemoan the fact that all too few men are choosing the Masonic route to higher goals and say that this is evidenced by a decline in applicants for membership.
Yet, I feel, that too few of those who came into our Order were faithfully and diligently seeking those good gifts which come down from the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variableness or shadow of tuning.
Before we can ascend the ladder of faith, hope and love, we must first find the ladder.
I find much satisfaction in taking a trip in the ship of memory and basking in the fellowship of the past. Surely there is assurance and aspiration in looking backward with pride to past achievements.
Thus encouraged , I, for one, can look forward with hope. Truly there is a need for a new look at our personal way of doing things and instituting such personal changes as will improve our acts without impairing our art.
Comment
I am always amazed when I uncover a piece of sharing which is 42 years old and could have been written about today.
It is my belief that during the past 100 years, many men were attracted to Freemasonry in an attempt to rub shoulders with men of influence and possibly get an economic leg forward. My findings also show that, due to the large inflow, education as to who, what & WHY we do what we do got bypassed and put on the back burner.
Today, I feel the Fraternity is stabilizing all over the World & Masonic Education in Lodges is growing daily, to me this means that our new & newer Brethren are having a chance to get off on the right foot and in many cases providing further growth to our aging Brethren.
“The Journey is Unending”
Have a wonderful Day & God Bless
Norm