You and Your Ritual

Brethren, have you hard the saying...      It takes a village to raise a child Well, it takes a LODGE to raise a new Brother. Your input and participation is vital! Death of a Lodge      Brethren, Posting is this Sunday, at 9am, please come out; its our last chance to practise before we are to greet our DDGM this Tuesday on his official visit.... Will you please put that evening aside and come out for good night of fellowship. You have been missed....Consider this......      A certain G.M. was called to a certain lodge. He was warned that the lodge was dead, but nevertheless, he regarded the visit as a challenge and went. He soon discovered that the lodge was dead. No planning, no toil, no encouragement, no spark of life. So the G.M. told the lodge that they were indeed dead; and that he proposed to carry out the last rites of the lodge. So plans were made. Into the lodge room was brought a coffin. The time for the last rites came. The lodge was crowded as it hadn't been for years. The G.M. carried out the burial service, and then at the end, as a last token of respect, he asked all present to file past the coffin and gaze on the face of the corps.As they did so they each received a shock. The bottom of the coffin was not wood, it was a mirror. As each man looked into the coffin he saw is own face!!!      THE FACT IS; WE ARE THE LODGE. If the lodge is dead or dying, we have caused its death! our own indifference to attend our lodge meeting will contribute to the death of Masonry in any lodge. Our lodge comes second in priority only to our family, religion and our job. We must ask..... How important is Masonry ... TO ME. Am I part of the problem or part of the solution??? The "Art" of Masonry      Masonry is an Art, useful and extensive. In every art there is a Mystery, which requires a progress of study and application to arrive at any degree of perfection. Without much instruction and study, no man can be skillful in any art; in like manner, without serious application to the various subjects treated in the different Lectures of masonry, no person can be sufficiently acquainted with the true value of the Institution.This was written in the 1700's by a Great Mason, William Preston, and is still true and relevant today. Many of our Lectures and parts of the Ritual can be attributed to that Most Worthy Brother.      Do you know your Art? Do you make that daily advancement in Masonry that is so important for your personnel growth?      The following is, in part, from a masonic publication called the,Texas Freemason..."The very first duty that an E.A. acknowledges is to improve himself in Masonry. How many truly and sincerely attempt to discharge that duty? What would be the success of a lawyer who never again looked into a law book after his admission to the bar; the minister of the Gospel who never read the Bible after his ordination; the doctor who never took up medical work after securing his sheepskin, or that of any other profession who does not take up post-graduate studies? And yet you find Freemasons all about you pretending to be Masonic lights who never read a Grand Lodge proceeding, report of a Fraternal Correspondent, or a Masonic periodical. some of them perhaps, can glibly report certain portions of the ritual, but could not give an intelligent interpretation of the same to save their life. Masonic reading is an essential part of the education of a Mason, and it is NEVER too late to begin, but always better to begin early....."      Brethren it is Our Duty to make a daily advancement in Masonry. A good place to start is to take a trip to the G.L. library. There you will find enough books, both old and new, to answer all your questions.      With out doubt brethren, we live in a very busy world.      Busy, Busy, busy! If you are unable to fulfill this Masonic Duty by studying a little each day, please join us, if you are able, at our Sunday Morning Posting Programme where we do a variety of things, from Ritual work to all manner of Masonic general topics, history, literature, tradition, legend, or anything YOU may wish to throw into the mix. We meet at the Stoney Creek Masonic Temple each Sunday morning at 9 am; the dress is very casual (be comfortable). The aim is to learn in an informal manner, and in a friendly way. Most Sundays we end in fellowship, and breakfast.          Your friend and brother,           Larry H.