A man can never hurt or help natural forces. He can spread his sail, but that does not affect the wind. He can overturn the sod with his plough, but the sod does not scream back at him with pain. He can send his wireless messages through space, but that does not change the structure [...]
Read Morethe Meaning of Initiation and of Secrecy Many a man has left the Masonic lodge room after the last night of his initiation with the feeling that what he has seen and heard has all been very interesting and impressive but also very queer: it has been so entirely different from the other experiences of [...]
Read MoreWhy Masonry Employs Ritual and Symbolism Repetition is of the essence of ritualism; and since nothing can sooner grow stale or inept than repetition we find that many persons think of ritual as meaningless stage play. To go through the same performance over and over, to say the same words in the same way, and [...]
Read MoreWhat is it all about? What is this all about? That was a question I asked myself many times during my initiation experiences. It is a question which you doubtless asked yourself, and so has every other man who has forged on to the end of the Third Degree. The language of the ritual, stately [...]
Read MoreGrand Lodges and the Internet The Internet and Masonic websites within the jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge can be an invaluable resource for brothers, and can do a great deal to correct misinformation about Freemasonry. In this digital age, Websites should be the primary educational resource for Grand Lodges and their subordinate lodges and should [...]
Read MoreThe Internet and Clandestine Masonry The dark side of the Internet as it relates to Freemasonry is that it allows irregular or clandestine masons a wide audience. In fact, such masonry has latched onto the Internet with a vengeance. Google the word “Freemasonry†and more often than not at least half of the initial hits [...]
Read MoreEvery generation of Freemasons has faced the issue of the state of the Craft, as it exists in its day and as it will exist in the future. So it is for us today. In this first decade of the 21st century, Freemasonry faces yet another century of challenges, but within those challenges are also [...]
Read MoreOUR Ancient Brethren were Pilgrims as well as Builders; and so are we. The idea of life as a journey runs all through the symbolism of Freemasonry, and to forget that truth is to lose half its beauty. Initiation itself is a journey from the West to the East in quest of that which was [...]
Read MoreNOTHING in Freemasonry is more beautiful in form or more eloquent in meaning than the First Degree. Its simplicity and dignity, its blend of solemnity and surprise, as well as its beauty of moral truth, mark it as a little masterpiece. Nowhere may one hope to find a nobler appeal to the native nobilities of [...]
Read MoreIN the olden time it was no easy matter for a man to become a Freemason. He had to win the right by hard work, technical skill, and personal worth. Then, as now, he had to prove himself a freeman of lawful age and legitimate birth, of sound body and good repute, to be eligible [...]
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