From the Worshipful Master

One of the first things you learn as a mason is that there is a lot to learn.

Ritual is the heart of masonry: we repeat things for symbolic purposes, and to give them weight. The words we say in lodge, and the things we do, are laid down for us and have been done a certain way for a very long time. And sometimes, we talk about “good ritual” and “bad ritual.”

This doesn’t mean that some ritual is superior, or that we don’t like some ritual, or that there are choices in the ritual, and one is better than the other.
When we refer to “good ritual,” we mean the way in which the ritual is delivered.

No one is perfect, and we expect masons, even masons who have been delivering ritual for years, to make mistakes. It happens. You have an off-night, or get distracted, and forget what comes next, or use the wrong word. But making a habit of it shows that a mason needs to practice ritual more, because good ritual is important.

Bad ritual can affect others.

It can affect other masons, even long-time masons, because when you expect to hear a certain thing, a sort of cue to know when to say what, and you do not hear it, it can throw you, causing your own ritual to be off. This can cause masons to stand around, staring, trying to figure out where they are in the ritual, and bring things to a halt. Or, for people to jump ahead in the ritual, leaving out parts and causing stumbling and rushing to recover.

Bad ritual can affect new masons, too.

I’ve sometimes heard people say “it doesn’t have to be perfect; the candidate won’t know the difference.” I’ve said it, myself. And no, the candidate won’t know the difference. But they will eventually learn the difference, and when they know that it was done wrong when they were a candidate, it can give the feeling that their degree was not so important. After all, if the lodge couldn’t be bothered to get the ritual right for them, why should they be bothered to get it right for someone else?

And if ritual isn’t important, then what is?

Again, few people perform ritual perfectly, but performing it as near-perfect as possible, as near-perfect as you can get, and practicing it on a regular basis, is the key to doing it right. Because good ritual flows, it has a weight to it that helps to reinforce the things it refers to and to drive home to masons both new and old that this is important, that the metaphors and symbolism in the ritual are there to teach us and guide us. When we talk about good ritual, we are talking about the phrases and words that show us how masons try to live their lives, how they perform their ceremonies, and how they teach about masonry.

Bad ritual is one of the first steps on a path that leads to laziness in masonry, to not caring how things should be done, or need to be done. That does not mean that a mason who makes mistakes is lazy or bad, but it does mean he should be practicing to improve. Far worse is the risk that continuous, poor ritual leads to a general lack of concern, thinking that none of it is important, and masonry itself is unimportant.

Good ritual shows a concern for doing things right, for being accurate to the teaching of masonry and passing those teachings on to others. For being precise and correct, not just to show new masons that ritual is important, but for showing older masons that those who come after them care about masonry as much as they did, as much as the masons who taught them, did. Good ritual also drives home to the mason performing it, and the masons listening, that the ritual, and the things connected with it, are important. That they matter.

Do not worry about making a mistake on occasion, because you probably will. Worry when the mistakes don’t matter to you.

I decided that while the lodge was dark, I would spend time going over ritual and practicing. I urge others to do the same, no matter how long they have been a mason.
Good ritual helps make good masons.

Bryan Bullock
Worshipful Master

From the Senior Warden

Central to philosophy and teachings of Freemasonry is the ritual it employs in the three degrees. The Masonic ritual has many purposes and goals. One of the purposes of the ritual is as an initiation ceremony to make men Freemasons. The ritual also acts like a binding link between the generations of men who have become Freemasons. If you were to look at or read the rituals from 1oo years ago, or 200 years ago, you will be able to follow along and even realized you have memorized parts of the same passages. Although you may find certain parts of the ritual to in different placed or rearranged, you will still be able to imagine what is going on. It is a wonderful thing to know that you have made the same obligations and taken the same steps as your father, grandfather, or our found fathers. Even though the wording and verbiage has changed, the meaning has not. In Fact, in some cases the wording has not changed; and we are left to discover the origin of that particular phrase and meaning. Another one of the purposes or goals of the ritual is to impart on the candidate/performing brethren/observing brethren serious moral truths that make us better men. These truths help us to build up personal integrity, become better community participants, take care of each other in times of distress, build fraternal bonds; empower us to change our lives for the better, and to make us leaders and champion for good to those around us.

One of the ways we can serve each other and help uplift each other is to do our best to perform the ritual we are given to perform. This matters regardless of if you are an officer or not. All master masons are eligible assist in performing ritual. When we perform excellent ritual, we can set the tone for a candidate in his personal progression in Freemasonry. I would like to refer to an article written by Past Master Mark Waks of Ocean Lodge No. 31 I Saugus, MA. I will briefly outline his article, and then have a link to its web page where you can also read it. Worshipful Brother Mark mentions 5 steps that will aid in learning and performing ritual work.

1. Figure out the Words: In the ritual, there are many unfamiliar words and phrases, as well as words and phrases that are no longer used in today’s vernacular.
2. Understand the Speech: “Don’t just know the words—know what it’s talking about. Find out who the characters being talked about are. Again, ask questions.”
3a. Small-scale Memorization: This section emphasis repetition of the smaller parts of ritual. It’s no fun, but still has to be done. This involves repeat one or two sentences over and over again.
3b. Large-scale Memorization: This section mentions that once you memorize the sentences, you move on to the whole paragraph. He states “This is where the structural analysis in step 2 gets important. You visualize the speech, and figure out how it hooks together. Use that visualization to connect the paragraphs. Make sure you have some clue why each paragraph follows the one before. “
4. Smoothing it out: “You’re at the point where you’ve got pretty much all the sentences down, and most of the paragraphs, and you’re able to get through the whole thing only looking at the book a few times. Now start ‘saying’ it.
5a. Mindset: “You’re now at the point where you pretty much have the ritual memorized. Now the trick is learning how to perform it well. Very nearly everyone has some amount of stage fright; …the trick to overcoming it is to control the nerves….Now that you’re comfortable reciting the ritual, observe how you do it.
5b. Acting: “Now the final nuance, which separates merely competent ritual from the really good stuff…Think about the ritual again, but don’t think about the words. Think about what it means. What are the important bits? Emphasize those. How could you use your body or hands to illustrate a point? Try talking ‘to’ the person in front of your, not just ‘at’ them—look them in the eye and make them get the point. You are teaching important lessons here, try to capture a little of the emotional intensity of that importance.”

He further states “Think of your ‘performance’ as a melding of two parts. Your mouth is providing the words, your mind and heart the emotion. Again, nothing beats practice. This is what rehearsal should really be fore—taking a dummy candidate in hand, and learning how to really get the point across. “

My brothers, I would encourage you to read Worshipful Master Bryan’s post for this month. I believe he is setting a good example for what we can do during the time we are dark. As he has stated, he is using this time to practice ritual. We have several candidates in line, let us show them what it means to be good Masons and give them excellent ritual.

http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/Essays/mem-ritual.pdf

Christopher Huson
Senior Warden

From the Junior Warden

It can easily be said that the ritual forms one of the principal foundations for lodges. Aside from proper ritual making the lodge run smoothly, it makes the lodge more welcoming to both active members as well as visiting brethren. We can all agree that poor ritual can be a little painful to sit through, and the simple reality is that bored brothers don’t keep coming to lodge.

I believe the most important aspect of good ritual, however, is due to our newest members, particularly those still going through the degrees. There are important lessons to be learned in each degree, and poor ritual can leave candidates focusing on the small interruptions that break flow, rather than the ideas and lessons inherent in the degree.

Additionally, emphasis on solid ritual can be especially important for younger brothers, as it reinforces life lessons useful outside of lodge. Information retention, confidence, and public speaking are qualities useful throughout life, in and outside of the lodge.

Lastly, be not too judgmental of a brother struggling with the ritual. We do change positions by the year, and it’s all too common for brethren to finally get the ritual of their position down, only to transition to a new chair at the end of the year. Counsel and correct with kindness and understanding, and do so with the proper information. We have a reference book for a reason; all too often it’s common for brothers to correct brothers in new positions with ‘the version they did in their year’. This should be carefully avoided, as it’s not proper ritually to begin with, to say nothing of the effect it has on newer brothers when they get twelve versions of the same ritual explained to them, all conflicting.

Cameron Smith
Junior Warden