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Selected Extracts from the First Series… Volumes One - Five |
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"Finally, only a Freemason can understand the more solemn expression of Brotherhood which may come to him as he visits the bedside of a dying Brother, who in his feeble, speechless condition responds to sympathetic ministrations with a certain pressure of the hand, as if they were about to say to each other "It is about time to say farewell my Brother". That my dear and
precious Brethren - is what The Mystic Tie is all about!" |
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Short Talk No. 7 - What I Have Learned From Freemasonry "Over the years and through the many happy experiences that I have had in Freemasonry I find that a conviction has grown in my mind that the warm heart of Freemasonry, the source of its great power, is friendship and brotherly love. Here we have something that is unique, something that exists between men of goodwill. This is friendship without any mercenary motive - we use the strange phrase "disinterested friendship"- friendship that has no motive, other than friendship for its own sake. The shared experiences that unite men from all walks of life and every age. These things do indeed form a silver cord running from heart to heart that unites us into one sacred band or society of friends and brothers. To fill every human
relation with the spirit of friendship! Is there anything better that the
wisest and best of men can do?" |
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Short Talk No. 24 - Globes "The Celestial and Terrestrial Globes atop of the Pillars as depicted on the Second Degree Tracing Board, frequently arouse the curiosity of new Fellowcrafts It is true that their existence is described in Tracing Board explanation. We are informed that the Pillars in the porch of King Solomon's Temple are further adorned with two spherical balls on which were delineated maps of the celestial and terrestrial globes. What is quite extraordinary is of course the fact that in the time of King Solomon when his Temple was completed in about 960 BC - there was no such thing as a terrestrial globe - all the experts on this subject considered the world to be flat! Most Masonic researchers over the ages are now agreed that there were no such globes atop the Pillars in the Porchway or entrance of King Solomon's Temple. This naturally raises a few important
questions!"
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"In every Craft Lodge there are three Lesser Lights symbolized by three candles. To many it seems regrettable that some Lodges are willing to use electric light bulbs as a substitute for the real thing - the old fashioned burning tapers. True, the electric light is clean and convenient. It is very easy to turn on or off. But the electric light is but a symbol of a symbol. Sadly symbols grow thin when they in turn are symbolized. Editors Note:
Can you imagine the setting? - A "candlelight supper" at your favourite
restaurant. To be escorted to the table to find that situated between the
place settings is a table lamp without its shade! Upon being asked for an
explanation the Head Waiter - sniffs and replies, "Well you see Sir - in
this day and age it saves us the trouble of having to buy and then light a
candle!" |
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Short Talk No. 50 - A Layman Looks at Freemasonry "I have told you of but a few things we laymen think about you, there are probably many more points that could have been mentioned. Time is fleeting however, so I will package some of them together, in six general observations:
A popular Hymn exclaims
: From one man to
another, from me to you, who observe the principals and the ancient ideals
I think Masons observe - I say: |
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Selected Extracts from the Second Series… Volumes Six - Ten
Short Talk No. 72 - Sublime - The
Master Mason
"In the third ceremony in Craft masonry, a brother is raised to the
'Sublime Degree of a Master Mason'.
It is indeed a 'Sublime' Degree, which, as a full member of the
Craft, a Mason may study for years without exhausting it.
Any interpretation in this article must necessarily be a hint only.
Yet a hint may stimulate a Mason to reflect upon it himself, and to
study it more thoroughly in the future. In the First and Second Degrees, the candidate was surrounded by the symbols of architecture, nature and science. In the Third Degree a different order of symbolism is found, cast in the language of the soul - it is life, tragedy and triumph. To recognise this is the first step in interpretation."
Short Talk No. 76 - A White Table
Meeting
"The objective of a
'white table' is to stimulate an interest in
Freemasonry from wives, family and friends and to dispel fears and
misconceptions that prevent suitable candidates from seeking membership of
the Order.
Short Talk No. 79 - The Entered
Apprentice
"The builders of the Middle Ages we call
'Operative Masons' because they
were builders in the literal sense, hewing stone from the quarries,
dressing to shape, and laying into walls and creating some of the most
remarkable structures the world has ever seen. As a modern Entered Apprentice Freemason you are a beginner in what we call 'Speculative Masonry'. This means that we do not build in stone - we build in the hearts and minds of men 'a system of morality'."
Short Talk No. 92 - The Fellowcraft "When the 'Operative Mason' came to the end of his Apprenticeship, and his record was good and had proved his proficiency under test, he was formally released from his bond and became known as 'A Fellow of the Craft'. The term that Freemasons, as 'Speculative Masons' use of 'Fellowcraft' is actually a shortening of the expression, and a Freemason is termed a Fellowcraft after having passed to the Second Degree.
During the ceremony the Fellowcraft assumes its Obligations and is
subsequently registered in the records of the Lodge as such, and can now
sit in either a Lodge of Entered Apprentices or a Fellowcraft Lodge. Because the Fellowcraft lies between the Entered Apprentice and the Master Mason Degree, he must not fall into the error of considering it a halfway station, a mere transition from one to the other. On the contrary, it has the same completeness, the same importance and definite purpose as each of the others. Unless the Fellowcraft clearly understand its teachings, he will not obtain a full understand of the secrets and mysteries of the Craft."
"Own free will and accord" is a phrase that every Freemason knows.
It is one of a number of expressions used in ritual that is to all
intent and purposes, universal throughout the English-speaking Masonic
world. When this phrase is
thoughtfully considered, immediate questions arise: |
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