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The Spirit of Freemasonry & Poems

by MasterMason

You may wonder WHY I am attracted to papers written by optimists who also happen to be realists.

Hopefully the answer will come quickly, as, for those who know me, I passionately believe that “Universal Freemasonry” holds many of the answers the World is seeking today.

The writer of the following article most also have been of a similar mind when he wrote it in 1972.    ENJOY

THE SPIRIT OF FREEMASONRY

Written by Gordon W. Sutherland P.M. Evergreen Lodge No. 148 Grand Lodge of British Columbia.

The Spirit of Freemasonry is not found only in what we see and hear – it lies in what we sense or feel. It does not belong in our tools and ritual alone but in something much less obvious and definable.

Perhaps too often we depend upon our eyes and ears and lose the power of our other senses through disuse. But our eyes may not necessarily tell us the truth and our ears could be equally misleading. So it seems that we never catch the real “Spirit of Freemasonry” because the most important part of it is neither seen nor heard but is intangible, indefinable and indescribable.

Yet it unifies us all, gives us a sense of belonging and pervades all life.

The “Spirit of Freemasonry” is the cornerstone of your life my brother, as it is the cornerstone of mine. It is the ‘take-off” point from which we view the social, political and economic environment of our world yet it is an integral and essential part of that environment. It is the ashlar on which masons build their edifice of personal experience and knowledge, and, whether the cowan knows it or not, it contains the seeds of Universal Truth and a part of his world as well.

Look at these current quotations and see how closely the writers echo the spirit of our great Order:-

“I wou1d not judge a man by the presupposition of his life but by the Fruits of his life. And the fruits – the relevant fruits – are, I would say, a sense of charity, a sense of proportion, a sense of justice. Whether the man is an atheist or a Christian, I judge him by his fruits, and I therefore have many agnostic friends. ”

–    Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian.

“The persistence in just being human could unite us all, intellectuals., non-intellectuals, people of every nation, race, ideology, religion, all who believe that mankind has no right to liquidate itself.“

–    Arnold Toynbee, historian.

But to understand this spirit, to understand any spirit or motivating force, it seems that we must constantly have before our eyes some practical evidence of its existence.

We need a happy blend of the concrete and the abstract, for anything too abstract for us leads to gaps in our understanding and to strain our credulity, and anything that is too concrete, precise or scientific, makes us suspicious because we do not trust science as we used to.

It doesn’t seem to be so popular – it is too inhuman, too uncontrollable, too full of danger for us, – too full of fear.

The spirit of Freemasonry arises from that perfect fusion of the abstract and the practical. Its morality and allegory represent the abstract, its landmarks are founded upon geometry, (the purest science of all), and on the instruments of technology, the tools of mason and architect. The result is perfect because it gives rise to no dogma or doctrinaire attitude to life, yet it contains all dogma. It is practical, and reasonable, because it asks of us the possible,

To “guide our reflections to that most important of all human studies, the knowledge of yourself”

It does not expect us, you see, to actually know ourselves or even to become the ideal of a Freemason but it does expect us to make an effort or strive to that end.

It is practical also, because, knowing the difficulties involved in this search for knowledge, it offers us the conditions necessary for doing what it advocates and protects them by its secrets and landmarks.

So the spirit found in Freemasonry is one of universal unity. It fuses science and art; it unites technology and humanity. It is a total spirit common to all but it doesn’t reduce everyone to some common denominator.

As in the perfection of Geometry, which finds itself perfect in every other symmetrical creation as well as in the theorem of Pythagoras, it implies that perfection can be seen in countless ways.

It exemplifies this in a great brotherhood of many different individuals, united in a common search for Truth, and bound by a common and sympathetic understanding.

Let us try to catch a glimpse of this spirit. Let us pause for a moment so that we can try to see what it means.

As we look around, before our eyes, our Lodge ceases to be a room or building made of plaster, metals, wood and wire.

It is made of people and by people, – made by many hands and yet by no hand. We begin to realize that whatever Lodge we enter we can feel at home because we can conjure up identical imagery and we can feel the same things.

The altar is not a piece of furniture, or a block of wood, it is a living dynamic thing and part of each one of us. It is the focus of every meeting we have ever attended in any lodge.  It may not be in the same place every time but it is still there!   So it is with the chair of King Solomon, the apron, the ashlar, the Tracing Board.

When we look at the floor it is never bare and empty, it comes alive with people, and it sparkles with movement and ritual.

Therein lies the “Spirit of Freemasonry”, the things which it conjures up in our minds are pleasant things, human things, irreplaceable memories of the past, understandings of the present, and hopes for the future all bound together by the abstraction of and the discipline of ritual.

Therein lies the reason why our ritual must be carefully adhered to and our landmarks carefully guarded.

Common ground must lead to common effort so that peace and harmony may reign and man in brotherhood may find personal purpose.

Our rituals and our tools symbolize Freemasonry’s means of sensitizing each one of us, they reinforce the spirit of every lodge and are the means to a common end, but they are not ends in themselves.

Let us think about this for a moment because we spend a great deal of time during sessions of Masonic Education in examining and dissecting our words and other symbols.

Though it is a fascinating, interesting and necessary pastime because it heightens the spiritual drama of our order and sustains its underlying purpose, we should always remember that the examination, definition and contemplation of these things should be stated in such a way that we are constantly aware of their purpose and their place in the whole “Spirit of Freemasonry”

This seems to me to be the responsibility we assume when we undertake the duty of Masonic Education. For if we make these things or the history of our Craft ends in themselves, we are discrediting the important place of Freemasonry in modern society, we are binding ourselves to the past, we are emphasizing the archaic, and we are internalizing the Masonic experience to such an extent that we forget that the spirit of our order does not belong to Freemasons alone but it is a spirit which is common to all mankind.

We love the past because there is a mystery about it that seems to sustain and attract much of our reverence.      We delight in contemplating pyramids, temples, operative masonry, craft guilds and so on, but we should be careful not to shut our eyes to the future by closing out the present.

We remember the great historical associations of Freemasonry and the work of famous individual Freemasons like Ben Franklin, Voltaire, Michael Ramsay, Garibaldi and George Washington, but we must not forget that the ancient craft guild was formed in consideration of the individual, the common man seeking craft perfection, and looking for some way to reconcile his personal place in the society of his day.

When we remember this we will remember that one of Freemasonry’s main tasks is still to help fit each of its brethren into that increasingly complicated society which continues to grow up all around him.

As I came to this point I realized how close I had come to paralleling Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol”.     Perhaps you remember that miserly, old Scrooge is visited in his dreams by the three Spirits of Christmas, the Spirit of Christmas Past, The Spirit of Christmas Present and the Spirit of Christmas Future.

The Spirit of Christmas Past shows Scrooge the happiness of the Christmases he has had in the past; the Spirit of Christmas present shows him Bob Cratchit and his family getting ready for Christmas, poor as it is for them; and the Spirit of Christmas Future shows him what is to happen to poor, little Tiny Tim – an empty stool and a friendless hearth

It was in the offering of the Spirit of Christmas Present that Scrooge recognized the error of his ways for he had a great empathy for Tiny Tim and saw that it was in the present that lay most of the answer to the future.

So it must be in Freemasonry!!

Problems may not be solved – Tiny Tim will still die, and the hearth may grow cold and friendless, but the important thing to us is the idea of the future in the present.

“Let the emblems of mortality which lie before you lead you to contemplate your inevitable destiny, and guide your reflections to that most important of all human studies, the knowledge of yourself.”

All of Freemasonry contains this present spirit which is going to be the essence of future man. All of Freemasonry offers hope, and makes no promise, asks for continuous present effort, and guarantees no reward. All the comfort we have is that we must still hunt for our own reward.

We remember that the Word has been lost but glean only the hope that it will return, – never the promise of its return. We do know that in Speculative Freemasonry it is never found. We also recall the Ideal of a Freemason found in the charge to the Brethren: –

“… let me endeavor to portray to you the ideal of a Freemason. If you see a man who quietly and modestly moves in the sphere of his life; — you will have found the ideal of a Freemason.”

No one has yet found such a brother, but the “Spirit of Freemasonry” lies in the search and not in the attainment. It stretches on and on into future infinity just as it roots dwell far back in the past.

You and I are its present and thus at the same time we are its future.

It is nothing if it does not suffuse the whole being of the individual, sight, sound and feeling; similarly it is nothing it we look at it in isolation and as belonging only to Freemasons.

Our spirit is shared with all men. It is as relevant in the outside world as it is in this hallowed sanctuary. Many have found those eternal truths that Freemasonry teaches but they have found them in different ways.

None are led to them so easily and so directly as we who are guided and protected by our land marks.

None can find them so easily as those who set out purposefully and actively to look for them in the true Masonic spirit. It seems obvious, however, that what we do here must be related and applied in our experience of the world outside, for without this relevance Freemasonry would remain an anachronism in the midst of an advanced technological society and it would have a future without a present.

We may talk platitudinously and self-righteously about truth and honesty in a world of Credibility Gaps,       ‘Buyer-beware’, Accident-chasing lawyers, and political double-talk, but by this we are not getting very far.

There is nothing platitudinous or self-righteous in the “Spirit of Freemasonry”. It is a spirit which unifies the old and the new but in it we find challenge without platitude.

It is practical and not just theoretical. By it we are motivated to carry ourselves out into modern society to do fearlessly those things we feel ought to be done, and to face with equanimity the complications and perplexities that there exist.

As Freemasons we should be secure in the knowledge that so long as we carry with us the eternal spirit and basic tenets of our order we cannot be wrong.

As Shakespeare put it:     “This above all, – to thine own self by true; And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

But this does not mean that we should rush off as a Masonic body and involve ourselves in rehabilitation of criminals, or drug users, the resettlement of  refugees, or the protection of Native Indian rights, for in so doing we could easily destroy the dominant spirit and mystic tie of Freemasonry.

For that spirit is great because it inspires us with the primacy of the individual -the uncommitted individual, – the independence and personalness of his effort, and the freedom of his associations.

The central “Spirit of Freemasonry” is found in brotherhood to all, yet to none but a brother committed; love for all, and yet to no faction bound; faith in all things and in all men, yet with bias towards none.

For this is the necessary spirit which cultivates the individual self and restrains personal choice by no bonds save those of moral rectitude

What you and I may do of our own free-will, or who we may support, is our personal responsibility.

But any support we may offer, or any personal stand we may take on current social problems, must not, while we are in the free spirit of lodge brotherhood, compromise any other Masonic brother.

It must not inhibit or restrict his freedom of decision or his freedom of association in any way.

For the “Spirit of Freemasonry” is that, we search and work towards understanding ourselves and our place in society, and that we share our personal experiences with our brother recognizing his fundamental right of personal association and freedom of choice in every sense.

It reminds us to impose no clandestine experience upon him but by using the all embracing spirit of lodge brotherhood, its allegory, its landmarks and its security, to help cradle his own effort to seek his own answers.

Just as each brother must want to join Freemasonry he must want to strive, to search and to know. So let us make sure of one thing. Let us exert our Lodge efforts in education towards making the landmarks and principles of Freemasonry relevant to our brethren, for in lodges where there are few candidates today, the latent                  “Spirit of Freemasonry” can so easily get lost and be replaced by the artificial and materialistic trappings of the service organization. (And in this statement I mean no disrespect at all.)

We must be careful that the lasting and all embracing spirit found in Masonic brotherhood is not replaced by the more transient and expedient principles found in temporary friendships and companionships.

We must think positively about the present and not be overwhelmed by the negativism of declining membership and failing attendance.

For the “Spirit of Freemasonry’ has taught us the important aim- “-to please each other and unite in the grand design of being happy and communicating happiness.”

Other problems will fall into place, brethren. The “Spirit of Freemasonry” is practical, perfect, and positive.

Let us steep ourselves in its truths and realize that when it is around to inspire us, the most oppressive and despairing problems of life, including membership and attendance, fade into insignificance.

I AM FREEMASONRY

I was born in antiquity, in the ancient days when men first dreamed of God. I have been tried through the ages, and found true.

The crossroads of the world bear the imprint of my feet, and the cathedrals of all nations mark the skills of my hands. I strive for symmetry.

In my heart is wisdom and strength and the courage of those who ask.

Upon my altars is the Book of Holy Writ, and my prayers are to the One Omnipotent God, my sons work and pray together, without rank or discord, the public market and in the inner chamber. By signs and symbols I teach the lessons of life and of death and the relationship of man with God and of man with man.

My arms are widespread to receive those of lawful age and good report who seek me of their own free will. I accept them and teach them to use my tools in the building of men, and thereafter, find direction in their own quest for perfection so much desired and yet so difficult to attain.

I hark to the orphans’ cry, the widows’ tears and the pain of the old and destitute. I am not church; nor political party; nor school; yet my sons bear a full responsibility to God, to country, to their neighbours and to themselves.

They are freemen, tenacious of their liberties and alert to lurking danger.

At the end, I commit them as each one undertakes the journey beyond the vale into the glory of everlasting life. I ponder the sand within the hourglass and think how small is a single life in the eternal universe.

Always have I taught immortality, and even as I raise men from darkness into light, I am a way of life.    I am Freemasonry.                           Written by- Ray. V. Denslow (date unknown)

SOMETIME

Sometime when you’re feeling important.  Sometime when your ego’s in bloom

Sometime when you take it for granted, you’re the best qualified in the room

Sometime when you feel that your going, would leave an unfillable hole

Just follow these simple instructions and see how it humbles your soul

Take a bucket and fill it with water. Put your hand in up to your wrist

Pull it out & the hole that’s remaining is the measure of how much you’ll be missed

You may splash all you wish as you enter. You may stir up the water galore

But stop & you’ll find in a minute that it looks just the same as before

The moral of this quaint example is to do the best that you can

Be proud of yourself, but remember, there is no INDISPENSABLE man.

 

 

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The Holy Saints John and Masonry

by MasterMason

THE HOLY SAINTS JOHN AND MASONRY

By Laurence Healey, Past Grand Master, British Columbia (1956)

The question as to why our Lodges are dedicated to the Holy Saints’ John is one that often puzzles the Masonic student. It becomes even more involved when it is realized that in the Grand Lodge of England the Lodges are dedicated to King Solomon, and Grand Lodge is opened and closed “in the name of the “Royal Solomon;” who is described as, “an eminent Patron of the Craft.”

The Biblical record of the lives of the two Saints named John does not throw much light on the subject, nor produce any evidence of Masonic connection.

St. John the Baptist was the son of Zacharius and his wife, Elizabeth, who was a cousin of the Virgin Mary. He was a Priest of the Order of the Temple Service at Jerusalem, and no doubt his son was trained to follow his father’s hereditary calling, and given the benefit of such educational advantages as were available at that time.

When John was thirty years old he began preaching in a section of the Jordan valley Just north of the Dead Sea, not as the wild fanatic which he is sometimes depicted, but rather as an inspired messenger with a background of education and culture going forth to proclaim the coming of the Messiah of Israel, the Prince of Peace, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah some three hundred years before. His stern denunciation of the evil character and immoral conduct of Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee, led to his imprisonment and untimely death. By a strange parallel this was brought about as the result of an evil conspiracy involving three ruffianly characters, Herodias the Queen, her daughter Salome, and Herod.

St. John the Evangelist was the younger son of Zebedee who operated a commercial fishing business on the Sea of Galilee in partnership with two other men, Andrew and Peter, who were destined later to play a very important role in the events of that time. His mother, Salome by name, was a sister of the Virgin Mary. Thus the two Saints’ John were not only related to one another by close maternal ties, but also to the Master, Whom they loved and served. The youthful John became the most courageous and faithful, as well as the most beloved, of the Master’s disciples. It was he who went in with Him to the trial in the palace of Caiaphas, the High Priest, and in Pilate’s court, while Peter stood outside and denied Him, after all the rest had fled. He was the only one of the Apostles present at the Crucifixion, where at the last he received from the dying one the charge to act the part of a son to the bereaved mother. This was a clear indication that Joseph her husband was deceased, and that Mary was then a widow. Thus John was the one apostolic witness to the final act in that Great Cosmic Drama of the Ages, “The Tragedy of the Widows Son.” His inspired writings, up to the time of his death on the rocky Isle of Patmos, contain, above all else, the predominating evangel of Brotherly Love (the first great principle of Masonry), as taught in the words of the Master Himself, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another”. But nowhere, in the record of the two Saints’ John, is there anything to indicate even a remote connection with the operations of the building craft of Masonry of that day. There is, however, a well-established legend, to which some credence may be given, that the Master and the majority of his disciples were members of the “Order of the Essenes”, a secret society which existed at that time, and, it is said, had many rites and ceremonies similar to those of our present day Freemasonry. But even though the Bible contains no references there are other sources from which information on the subject may be obtained. It was the custom among the early mediaeval trade Guilds in England to adopt Patron Saints, usually chosen on account of some affinity, often more or less remote, with the trades or callings of the members. The early Guilds of Operative Masons adopted St. Thomas as the “Patron of Architects and Builders.” Their choice was, no doubt, influenced by the ancient legend that St. Thomas was an architect and operative craftsman, and that the Lord appeared to him in a vision and directed him “to go to the King of the Indies, Gonaoforus and build for him a palace finer than that of the Emperor of Rome.” In this connection it may be noted that in all representations of St. Thomas prior to the 12th century he is depicted as holding a “T” Square and Builders Rule. It may be recalled that of all the Apostles he was the most difficult to convince as to the reality of supernatural things. His mind trained in the practical application of geometrical principles, apparently could not accept as reality that which he could not measure or handle. Thus, it may be his background education and training which gave to history the well known term “doubting Thomas,” During the 13th century St. Thomas appears to have been superseded as the Patron Saint of Masonry by the “Four Crowned Martyrs”, or in the Latin term “Quatuor Coronati”, from which the famous Lodge of Research, No. 2076, in London derives its title. This gradual change was, no doubt, influenced to some extent by the number of Masons who came over from the Continent of Europe during that period to work on the great ecclesiastical structures then under erection, such as York Minster, Fountain’s Abbey at Ripon, and the early Gothic Cathedrals. These traveling workmen, in all probability, were familiar with the historical legend of the four skilled craftsmen: Clauaius, Castorius, Sempronianus, and Nicostratus, who were converts to Christianity and by their refusal to make a statue to the heathen god Aesculpius incurred the wrath of the Emperor Diocletian, who ordered them to be entombed alive in leaden coffins and cast into the river Tiber. The Church of the Quatuor Coronati on the Caelian Hill in Rome, which still exists, though rebuilt, was erected and dedicated to their memory about twenty years after their martyrdom which occurred in A.D. 302. Both in England and on the Continent of Europe the Four Crowned Martyrs were widely recognized as the “Patron Saints of the Masons’ Craft,” and were generally depicted as carrying the usual emblems of their calling, The simple story of how these Christian workmen, labouring in their Master’s Name, were faithful unto death carried a profound appeal to workmen of all classes, and especially to those who practiced the same craft. There are no authentic records available to fix with any certainty the time when St. John the Baptist was adopted by the Operative Lodges, but an old Latin document in the archives of a Lodge in Namur, Belgium, purporting to be a proclamation by the Masons of Europe in annual Assembly at Cologne in 1535, states that “Masons are called Brethren dedicated to St; John, first among the Martyr Stars of the Morning; “It states further that prior to 1440 “The Fraternite was called the Joannite Brethren,” but about that time “it became known by the name of Freemasons”. Though Masonic scholars doubt that it is genuine, in the 16th century in England St. John the Baptist, alone, was regarded as the particular Patron Saint of Masonry. Amongst the reasons advanced for this change of patrons are some which have their roots back in Druid and pre-Christian times. In those days the Sun, the “Amen Ra” of the Egyptians of an earlier era, was the object of veneration. Measurements of time were taken from the solstices, and these turning points were occasions for great festivals of rejoicing, the summer solstice for growth and the fruits of early harvest, the winter solstice for the return of light and the rebirth of life in the earth.

The pagan peoples were unwilling to part with these festivals, and so to facilitate their conversion to Christianity the fathers of the early church instituted festivals to the saints and martyrs to coincide with the popular ceremonies. Thus St. John the Baptist Day (June 24th), replaced the great festival of “Beltane” which commenced at the summer solstice (June 21st). This old festival is, even still observed in parts of Scotland and Ireland with bonfires, dancing and general celebration. It is especially observed in the Scandinavian countries as the festival of “Mid-Summer” or the “Midnight Sun” likewise “Yule-tide”, literally the festival of “Yule” (the Sun), became Christmas, replacing the great “Feast of Saturnalia” an occasion for rejoicing at “Natalus Invicti Solus” or, the “Rebirth of  the unconquerable Sun”, which commenced at the winter solstice (December 21st). This is the time which, according to students of nature and biology, marks the beginning of the germination of life and growth in the earth in northern latitudes.  It may be readily understood that, when building operations of the Middle Ages necessarily involved close relationship between the clergy and the craftsmen in ecclesiastical work, the adoption of St John the Baptist as the Patron Saint of the summer festival as “St John’s Day in Harvest,” and later of St. John the Evangelist for the festival of “St. John’s Day in Winter”, should follow as a natural consequence. The allusion to the two parallels of the Holy Saints’ John in the old English rituals, and in the present Monitor of the American work, as illustrated by the two parallel lines, between which is a circle sometimes marked with a central, point representing Divinity” can be easily recognized as a later interpretation of the ancient symbol depicting the “Sun” between the lines of the two solstices, as marked on the map by the Tropic Cancer to the north, and The Tropic of Capricorn to the south, of the Equator.

Have a wonderful day & God Bless You and Yours                     Norm

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Crack Pots

by MasterMason

Fraternal Greetings Brethren.

Frequently, when I am searching for something to communicate, I receive a GEM from one of my fellow Brothers of associates.

The same has happened once again and I have recorded below a beautiful “VIEW ON LIFE AND THE EFFECTS WE COULD HAVE ON OTHERS” A huge thank you to Bro. Doug McDougall for sharing this with us.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CRACK POTS A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of a long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and one half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of it’s accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of it’s own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer on day by the stream. The Pot said “ I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and don’t get full value for your efforts” The Bearer said to the pot “ Did you notice that there were flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side”? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. “Without you being just the what you are, there would not be this beauty to grace my home.”

MORAL Each of us has our own unique FLAWS. We’re all cracked pots, but it is the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so interesting and rewarding. You’ve got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall be bent out of shape. Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life ==

including all your CRACK POT  FRIENDS.

A Living Proverb Determination to be wise, is the first step toward becoming wise! and with your wisdom develop common sense and good judgment. If you exalt wisdom, she will exalt you. Hold her fast and she will lead you to great honour, she will place a beautiful crown on your head. Listen and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life.

Sincerely & Fraternally Norman McEvoy

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