The Master Mason

"But ceremony and ritual, no matter how superbly executed, are not enough to really make a man a Master Mason." (Master Mason, The Short Talk Bulletin, vol. XI, No. 5, May, 1962, page 9)

"A Speculative Master . . . must . . . demonstrate in his own life the qualities and experiences which alone can make him a symbolic Master of the Builders of the Brotherhood. Ritual and ceremony can help him to define and to recognize those spiritual skills. The important question, therefore, is not 'Are you a Master Mason?' It is the more searching and difficult query, 'What is a Master Mason'?" ((Master Mason, The Short Talk Bulletin, vol. XI, No. 5, May, 1962, page 10)

"Reverence for the Great Architect of the Universe is a first characteristic. . . . It must be a way of thinking and acting, which manifests itself at a man's place of business, in his home, at the club, -- in his activities to promote and encourage the work of a church or synagogue." (Master Mason, The Short Talk Bulletin, vol. XI, No. 5, May, 1962, page 10)

"Benevolence is the next significat quality . . ." (Master Mason, The Short Talk Bulletin, vol. XI, No. 5, May, 1962, page 10)

"Tolerance also characterizes the true Master Mason . . ." (Master Mason, The Short Talk Bulletin, vol. XI, No. 5, May, 1962, page 11)

"Respect for knowledge . . . he reverences all knowledge and experience which have helped men everywhere to achieve excellence. The true Master Mason is not satisfied with the 'average'; he dares to be better than that." (Master Mason, The Short Talk Bulletin, vol. XI, No. 5, May, 1962, page 11)

"The Speculative Master Mason must also be trained individually to be a master of the moral and spiritual skills of the Builders of Brotherhood. His excellence must make him a man of worth and dignity." (Master Mason, The Short Talk Bulletin, vol. XI, No. 5, May, 1962, page 11)

"You have now had conferred upon you the First and Second Degrees of Craft Masonry, and while you have yet to reach the climax of your journey in the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason, already you have discovered that Freemasonry has a certain teaching of its own, and to expound upon it one of the principle functions of the Ritual.
You have likewise discovered that Masonry's method of teaching is unlike that of the schools. Instead of employing teachers and textbooks and lessons in didactic form, expounding its teachings in words, Freemasonry uses ritual, symbol, and allegory. This is not as easy to follow as the schoolroom method, but it has this great advantage: it makes a mason study and learn for himself, forces him to search out the truth, compels him to take the initiative, so that the very act of learning is of educational value. The purpose of secrecy is not to keep a candidate in the dark, but to stimulate him to seek the light; the symbols and emblems do not conceal the teaching, they reveal it, but in such a manner that a man must find it for himself. Only when a man finds truth for himself is it likely to remain a permanent possession.
A few interpretations of Masonic teachings can only suggest what you will find by your own efforts, how you will find it, and where. Necessarily, there can be no exhaustive exposition of Masonic truth because, in it's nature, it is something each man must discover for himself.
Freemasonry is devoted to Brotherhood, exists to furnish opportunities to its members to enjoy it not only for it's own sake, but as a means to something beyond. Brotherhood rests on a religious basis; we are all Brothers because God is the Father of us all; therefore a religious basis is one of the foundations of Masonry.
Masonry is dedicated to God, the Great Architect of the Universe. An Altar at the center of every Lodge room bears the Holy Bible open upon it. Lodges begin and end their meetings with prayer. Applicants must believe in a Supreme Being. All this is genuine religion, not a formal religiousness; it is sincerely held and scrupulously upheld and, without this basis, the Craft would wither and die like a tree with roots destroyed.
Masonry teaches the necessity of Morality, requiring its members to be good men and true, righteous when tried by the Square, upright when tried by the Plumb, their passions kept in due bounds by the Compass; just in their dealings with their fellows, patient with the erring, charitable and honorable. A candidate must possess such a character as indicated to be qualified for admittance, and a Mason must persevere in it to retain his right to membership.
Through the agency of the Lodge and of the Grand Lodge, each of us give support to the charities maintained by both. Also, each of us should privately extend a helping hand in relief of an unfortunate Brother, or of his dependents. Masonry does not advocate a charity carried to the limits of fanaticism; it is limited by the extent of ability and opportunity, and we are not asked to give relief injurious to ourselves, or hardship to our families.
Another of Masonry's great teachings is Equality symbolized by the Level. This does not represent that impossible doctrine which would erase all distinctions, and holds that in all respects, all men are the same. There are no duplicates in Nature. Men are unequal physically, intellectually, morally, and spiritually. Heredity and environment are constant forces. It is, rather, the principle that we owe good will, charity, tolerance, and truthfulness equally to all, and that, within our Fraternity, all men travel the same road of initiation, take the same obligations, pay the same dues, and have the same duties, rights, and privileges.
The Mason is a good citizen, loyal to his government and just to his country, conducting himself as a wise and moral man, remembering in all things that he has in his keeping the good name of his Fraternity.
These teachings are bound together in an organic unity by the nature and needs ofthat Brotherhood for the sake of which the whole system of the Craft exists. To endure through all vicissitudes, and to satisfy our natures, Brotherhood must have a spiritual basis, hence the importance of our conception of religion. Brotherhood requires that men must be held together by unbreakable ties, hence the necessity for morality, which is a name for the forces that bind us together in ethical relations. Differences in beliefs and opinions must not rupture these bonds, hence the need for tolerance. Men cannot easily come together except they have the same rights and privileges, hence the necessity of equality. They cannot work together except all understand the work to be done, hence the need of enlightenment. They will not be drawn together except they are filled with that spirit of good will which necessarily expresses itself in charity and relief. And Brotherhood cannot exist, except in a nation which admits of it, hence the need for Masons to be good citizens. Through all the teachings of Masonry run these principles which lead back to the conception and practice of Brotherhood; form that conception all teachings emerge, to it all come in the end. Gain a clear understanding of that, and you will have that secret by which all else is made plain."
(Excerpted from "The Masonic Scholar: A Manual of Masonic Education for Candidates" Printed by the Grand Lodge F.&A.M. of California)

"Master Mason; An Interpretation of the Ritual of the Third Degree You have been raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason. It is indeed a "sublime" Degree, which a man may study for years without exhausting. Any interpretation must necessarily be a hint only; yet a hint may stimulate a man to reflect upon it for himself and to study it more thoroughly in the future.
In the First and Second Degrees you were surrounded by the symbols and emblems of architecture; in the Third degree you found a different order of symbolism, cast in the language of the soul – its life, its tragedy and its triumph. To recognize this is the first step in interpretation.
The second step is to recognize that the Third Degree has many meanings; it is not intended to be a lesson complete within itself, but rather a pointing out of paths, a new departure, a series of inspirations, like a great symphony, drama or picture to which one may evermore return to find new meanings, new beauties, and new truths.
There are many interpretations of the Degree, but essentially it is a drama of the immortality of the soul, setting forth the truth that, while a man's body withers away and perishes, the man himself perishes not.
That this is the meaning most generally adopted by the Craft, is shown by our habits of language; we say that a man is "initiated" an Entered Apprentice, "passed" to a Fellowcraft, and "raised" a Master Mason; by this it appears that it is the raising that most Masons have found at the center of the Master Mason's Degree.
Evil in the form of tragedy is set forth in the drama of the Third Degree. Here is a good and wise man, a builder, working for others and giving others work, the highest we know, as it is dedicated wholly to God; a man who through no fault of his own experiences tragedy form friends and fellow Masons. Here is evil pure and unalloyed, a complete picture of human tragedy.
How did the Craft meet this tragedy? The first step was to impose the supreme penalty on those who had possessed the will to destroy and therefore had to be destroyed lest another tragedy follow. The greatest enemy man has makes war upon the good; to it no quarter can be given.
The second step was to discipline and to pardon those who acted not out of an evil will, but were misled through weakness. Forgiveness is possible if a man himself condemns the evil he has done, since in spite of his weakness, he retains his faith in the good.
The third step was to recover from the wreckage caused by the tragedy, whatever of value it has left undestroyed. Confusion had come upon the Craft, order was restored, and loyal Craftsmen took up the burdens dropped by the traitors. It is in the nature of such a tragedy that the good suffer for the evil of others and it is one of the prime duties of life that a man shall toil to undo the harm wrought by sin and crime, else in time the world would be destroyed by the evils that are done it in it.
But what of the victims of the Tragedy? Here is the profoundest and most difficult lesson of the drama – difficult to understand, difficult to believe if one has not been truly initiated into the realities of the spiritual life. Because the victim was a good man, his goodness rooted in an unvarying faith in God, that which destroyed him in one sense could not destroy him in another. The spirit in him rose above the reach of evil; by virtue of it he was raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular.
Let us imagine a genuinely good man who has been the victim of the most terrible of tragedies, one caused by the treachery of friends. This treachery has brought destruction upon the foundations of his life, his home, his reputation, and his ability to earn a livelihood. How can he be raised above the clutch of such circumstances? How can he emerge a happier man than before? By his spirit rising to the level of forgiveness, of resignation, of self-sacrifice, refusing to stoop to retaliation or to harbor bitterness. In such a spirit the truest happiness is found.
The secret of such a power is in the Third degree, symbolized by the Word. If that Word is lost, a man must search for it; if a man possesses that Word, he has the secret of the Masonic Art. To rise to the height of spiritual life is to stand on a level above the reach of tragedy or the powers of evil. To have the spirit rest in God, to have a sincere and unvarying faith in truth and goodness, is the inner secret of a Master Mason, and to teach this is the purpose of the Third Degree."
(Excerpted from "The Masonic Scholar: A Manual of Masonic Education for Candidates" Printed by the Grand Lodge F.&A.M. of California)

"Master Mason; Symbols and Allegories of the Third Degree. In your experience with the Ritual and your meetings with us, you have learned that every phrase, event and other detail in the ceremonies of initiation is full of meaning. No item is merely for effect or ornament. In the Third Degree are the deepest secrets and profoundest teachings of our Fraternity. At this time we can give you but a few hints, in the hope that they might inspire you to study the degree for yourself.
The symbolism of the First and Second Degree centers around the art of architecture; their purpose is to teach you, in the First to be a builder of yourself; in the second, a builder of society. In the Third Degree, the symbolism takes another form. Although its background continues to be architecture, and its action takes place in and about a Temple, it is a spiritual symbolism of life and death. Its principle teaching is immortality.
Frequent references are made to King Solomon's Temple. This great temple, reflecting majesty, magnitude and magnificence, after standing for 420 years, was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of the Chaldees Its successor, erected by Zerubbabel, stood nearly 500 years, when it was reconstructed by Herod – The Temple of Herod – which was destroyed by the Romans under Titus. The Mosque of Omar, occupying the original site, has stood for twelve centuries. These thirty centuries have produced great changes but the foundations remain unmoved. Each stone, immense and artistic, may be identified by the private mark of the quarryman and still defies the ravages of time.
So with Masonry, its foundation, composed of the grandest principles ever communicated from God to man, stand unmoved. The temple of Freemasonry symbolizes the Temple of the Soul. Just as the Temple of King Solomon was then considered the finest ever erected by the hand of man, so the Great Architect intends that we shall develop the finest and most nearly perfect characters. As certain working tools were employed to erect that greatest of temporal buildings, so in Speculative Masonry we must choose as our working tools in life those moral lessons that build character. S may the rough ashlar, become in time, the perfect ashlar.
The working tools of the degree are all the implements of Masonry, but more especially the Trowel, by which we spread the cement of Brotherly Love. But Brotherly Love itself has its source and seat in the soul. To love a man above his sins, to cherish him in spite of his faults, to forgive him in all sincerity, to bear with him and to forbear, is possible only as we feel the influence of the spiritual, and have divested ourselves of selfishness.
The tragedy of Hiram Abiff is the climax of the degree. Next in importance, and in many ways equal in interest, is the allegorical Search For That Which Was Lost. This has a historical background. To the early Jewish people, a name was something peculiarly identified with a person, and held in reverence. Sometime it was secret, and substitute name was used in daily life.
All this appears in our ritual in the form of an allegory. A Word was possessed; a Word was lost. Like all symbols, this means many things. One of its more profound meanings is that if a man has lost the ideals and standards of his youth, his character, his faith in truth and goodness, he must, if he is to live the Masonic life, go in search of that which was lost, and continue searching until he finds it.
You may wonder why the Ritual does not explain fully and clearly the meaning of this symbolism, why it leaves the candidate to find the meanings for himself. There are at east three reasons for this silence, apparently so strange. First, lack of sufficient time. Second, the Masonic life grows by what we do for ourselves. Third, the method of the Ritual is to bring us into the presence of the greater truths of life knowing that their mere presence will have a deep influence over us; each man is left to work them out in detail according to his own needs.
Of the Emblems of the Third Degree, one after another is set before us, apparently in no given order, and each with only a hint of what it signifies. Yet each of them stands for some great idea or ideal. Each of them is a master truth.
In the Three Pillars we have the three great ideas – wisdom, strength, and beauty. The three steps remind us of how Youth, Manhood, and Old Age is each a unity in itself, each possessing its own duties and problems, each calling for its own philosophy. The Pot of Incense teaches that, of all forms of worship, to be pure and blameless in our inner lives is more acceptable to God than anything else, because that which a man really is, is of vastly greater importance that that which he appears to be. The book of Constitutions is the emblem of law, and that our moral and spiritual character is grounded in law and order as much as is government and nature. It teaches that no man can live a satisfactory life who lives lawlessly.
The Sword pointing to the Naked Heart discovers that one of the most rigorous of these laws is justice, and that if a man be unjust in his heart, the inevitable results of injustice will find him out. The All-Seeing Eye shows that we live and move and have our being in God; that we are constantly in His Presence, wherever or whatever we are doing. The Anchor and Ark stand for that sense of security and stability of life grounded in truth and faith, without which sense there can be no happiness. The Forty-Seventh Problem of Euclid is an emblem of the arts and sciences; by them we are reminded that next to sinfulness, the most dangerous enemy of life is ignorance. In the Hour Glass we have the emblem of the fleeting quality of life. The Scythe reminds us that passing time will end our lives as well as our work, and if ever we are to become what we ought to be, we must not delay."
(Excerpted from "The Masonic Scholar: A Manual of Masonic Education for Candidates" Printed by the Grand Lodge F.&A.M. of California)


July 27, 2007