MasonicMinute.com
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Posted at: 11:22 pm It took years. The great schism has been avoided. The separation of Freemasonry and the Shrine is a thing of the past. We can all breathe a heavy sigh of relief. Years ago, a little Lodge in a remote Arizona town came under scrutiny. The historical details were distrubuted in a letter from the current Grand Master at a Special Communication yesterday. As requested, I will not go into details, nor will I opine personally regarding the exercise. Much was discussed, and parts of the discussion clearly struck nerves. It is enough for me to say that this catharsis was necessary…just like taking two twelve-year-old boys out behind the school gymnasium and letting them go at it. Sometimes you just gotta do it. Rules were established and followed. A vote was taken. The Grand Lodge - Past Masters, Masters and Wardens of Arizona Lodges - have spoken. The results are in. Again, I will not discuss any detail out of respect for those who attended and spoke. The bottom line is the same thing it’s always been. Masons are Masons first; Shriners, Yorkies, Eastern Star (etc. etc.) second. When in doubt, go to the Blue Lodge, which is the foundation for the Grand Lodge. The Grand Master is the supreme Masonic authority, and for a second time this year, the Craft has re-established this rule. (We continue to understand, however, that the Grand Lodge is the easiest target for criticizm due to the fact that they are omnipresent…and although they are usually to blame for everything, we must consider the slight possibilities that certain brethren who do not wear purple might bear at least a sliver of responsibility for the ills of our Craft…including you and me.) Now, this may be considered “spin” by some. It may be considered “brown-nosing” by others, but that’s ok. Masons invented the deliberative body back when we worshiped that Greek wine guy (read Morals and Dogma if you don’t get that reference). We are the purveyors of punditry…the sultans of speaking…the promoters of pomp and circumstance…the deacons of dialog. We -the Fraternity of Freemasons - made it OK to sit next to a man you might just as well kill in other circumstances. We tolerate what others of our own faith may consider heresy; because we are mature men willing to listen. This is the central core of our existence and the reason we are who we are. We listen. So the results are in. When you cannot agree and act harmoniously…you get your hand slapped. When you act like children and fuss so hard that the whole Masonic world looks at you with disgusted amusement…you lose your charter. And when you can’t put aside your petty differences and deal with each other like men, you lose the respect of your peers. The Shrine and Blue Lodge no longer need to worry about schism, because the Grand Lodge of Arizona has affirmed these principles…again. Whether or not I prefer a split is irrelevant. Shriners are my brothers, and I will support them if they ask. But the lessons we have learned - again - from this little episode should be hammered into the skulls of each one of our brothers. The results are in…and the results are: Masons must act like Men. |
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October 28, 2007
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Posted at: 12:23 pm …and both she and my wife are doing just fine. At 7.5 lb. and 19 in. long, the latest little princess to grace our home arrived a week early and right on time last night. Fathers out there will know how it feels to hold the little ‘part of me’ for the first time. It is a miracle, and I don’t care to celebrate this one alone. Please indulge me (and yourselves) by posting your favorite ‘Daddy’ experience below. And I thank you ahead of time for all your well wishes. |
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Posted at: 1:34 pm There are storm waters raging in Arizona. Many men have opinions regarding a situation that has been an alternating boiling pot and festering wound for the last half decade. It is a purely political question that will come to a head in two days. Many men have been sent a summons…many will not attend in silent protest of the issue, the summons or whatever other reason each one has. Our Craft will survive this, as it has all other political problems. We are better than the problem because cooler-heads understand the lessons of history. The same lessons of history are usually lost on the ignorant. MasonicMinute.com is operated from Arizona. Even a casual observer of this website should be able to figure this out. Our aim is apolitical (in spite of the fact that I have had an opinion regarding the general Masonic-Shrine question). It would be easy to cast dispersions and make commentary from my relative anonymity. I could post inside information relating to all of the nifty little details that I have learned along the way. But my obligations to my Brothers, and my honor as a man will prevent me from doing so. What is important, though, is that the leadership in our organization, including every voting member of our Grand Lodge, take note of the silence they hear around them. Silence is powerful. Silence can speak louder than any words. Silence, in the form of absence, should be part of the assesment and calculations that ultimately lead to decisions. I will attend the Grand Communication in Phoenix as it is my duty, and I will listen carefully to what everyone has to say. But I will also take care to listen to the Silence. On a related note, our obligation requires that we answer the summons “if…” I always suspected that the ritual was written by an attorney. Now I know it was. |
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Posted at: 7:14 pm This poll and the prior two posts are must-reads for all interested. Start with the first one (two steps down) and read them in reverse order…it’s less confusing that way.
Booze in your Lodge?
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Posted at: 7:09 pm As Emeraldi indicates below (see his post on Greek Myth), Dionysus was accompanied by two Stewards with rods that assisted in disbursing wine, food, etc. Is it me, or is it not ironic that the God of Wine and partying (Dionysus became Bacchus to the Romans) sits where the sun is at Meridian Height? It’s arguably the most important part of the day…when the Sun is at its most powerful, imparting its blessings at fullest strength on the earth… And we not only have that Deity himself represented in the JW, but also the Stewards…and we call them STEWARDS!!! So why is my Lodge still dry? What are we afraid of? Probably lawsuits. Damn lawyers…you can’t trust any of them…and they keep me from snorting a shot of old Scotch at my Lodge…right where I ought to be able to do it. Bastards. I think lawyers ought to be shot…not all of them…just the non-Masonic ones. |
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Posted at: 1:53 pm I was recently asked by a good friend of mine who is not a Mason, but has commented on this site before whether or not Greek Mythology is required reading for Freemasons. This question came about after I had mentioned that AEdifico and myself have had many fruitful conversations about Greek Mythology that has furthered our understanding of Blue Lodge Masonry. I told him that it is not required reading but highly recommended. I did not of course relate why it would be important, but emphasized that it is. This blog will not go into the degrees of The Scottish Rite, those of the GCR, AMD or any other Masonic body but only that of the Blue Lodge and believe it or not, there are some amazing correlations that lie in our first three degrees and the vast work of the ancient Greeks. I will start with a short story before I get to the meat of the subject. I was attending the refreshment part of a Masonic Cornerstone laying ceremony (it was actually at AEdifico’s father’s property) and talking with the sitting Grand Master at the time trying to pick his brain abit when the subject of Greek Mythology came up. After demonstrating my limited knowledge on the subject the GM gave me a suggested reading list. I will leave what I learned from the GM for another time but I will say that the 3rd Degree, all of the penalties, the birth of Athena and the stories of the elemental gods of Greek Mythology all are connected in Blue Lodge Masonry. Now, I will have to apologize to AEdifico for this first tidbit as it was he who brought this connection to my attention and actually presented his findings in our lodge. Sorry, but you’re asleep at the wheel here. AEdifico, through his research found that the Greek god Dionysus (god of wine, among other things) is represented to some extent in the lodge by the Junior Warden. He came to this conclusion because the JW is assisted by atleast two Stewarts as we all know. The JS and SS are (in a reasonably functional lodge) responsible for assisting the JW in provided refershments for the brethren. Keep in mind, the tops of the S’s rods have a cornicopia inside a pincone. AEdifico found that dipictions of Dionysus had him accompanied by two men carrying rods usually to dispense of the wine. The Greeks carried their wine in leather sacks lined with pine oil as a seal, hence the pine taste inherent in Greek wine. Also, the cornicopia is a symbol of plenty and nurishment provided by the Earth. Dionysus was also the God of fertility. So in BL Masonry you have a man responsible for provided refershment to the craft assisted by two men holding rods with a pine cone and cornicopia at the ends. Dionysus was the god of wine and fertility, assisted by two men holding rods giving wine from a sack sealed with pine oil. Did our ritual creators think of this? Who knows, but now comes the part I found in my studies of Dionysus and I will leave the thinking up to you. As a precursor, I will give you a rundown on the background of the following finding. Hades was the Greek god of the underworld. Hades was also the place of the dead. Hades was not hell, or even a bad place, it was just a part of the Greek afterlife. Hades was the place where souls would be judged and it was that judgement that gave a negative tone to the people of Greece. Okay, so keep in mind the very simplified explanation of Hades. We all know as Freemasons the philosophical lessons contained within the 3rd degree, especially about death. Now, keep in mind all the lessons we learn about death in the BL degrees. Back to Dionysus. Dionysus was able to travel to Hades and the cult of Dionysus was connected with an idea of INITIATING YOURSELF INTO DEALING WITH HADES. In Masonry and on many levels we confront death, recognize death, understand the immortality of the soul and learn to deal with the fact that we will all die while aspiring to lead a life of integrity and wise morality. Think about that for a while. I don’t have enough space to explain my opinion on this, but consider the similarites of just this one figure in Greek mythology. I assure you there are more, but again, that’s for another time. Oh yeah, Dionysus was also the god of drama. |
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Posted at: 5:19 pm You can see below that our completely scientific and flawless polling resulted in a 50-50 split about the split. I would venture to say that, whether or not the Shrine stays or goes…their days are numbered. Not that I would wish this on them…they do great work that MUST continue. But if they don’t fix their problem…it may be too late. The shame of it is that the children’s hospitals would be the biggest losers. I hope my prediction is wrong. |
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Posted at: 10:32 pm The first degree lecture tells us how to become the Perfect Ashlar (PA) from our starting point of the Rough Ashlar (RA). There are three ingredients required. I present them to you in reverse order (I also drive in reverse). “The blessings of God”, our lecture tells us, is one thing we need to become the PA. Since there is nothing that anybody can do about that one, I will move on to the next. “Our own endeavors” is number two. Well, it’s kind of silly to assume that you can get towards anything without trying. This one simply means that you will try. That’s it. You gotta try. Well, most of us would like a little more guideance than, “Hey…give it a shot man…” as our directive. Imagine a football coach telling his team to try harder, and telling them nothing else. Although it is silly, it is necessary…we’ll just take that one at face value. So we get to the only one of the three things that we can actually discuss with any intelligence…[insert blog title here]. It is no suprise that our ancient guides (my loving label for the ritual authors) gave us this little tip. But what is actually involved in that “virtuous education” anyway? Is it anything that we can discern easily? No. But that’s the idea. An Education sought-after for material gain is probably not virtuous, but an education driven by the virtues and attributes found in our ritual may be more on point. An example, “Truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue.” This tells us that truth must be ever-present in our Masonic Education. So what? (by the way…that’s one of my favorite questions of all time…) The ’so what’ here is clear, we must get smarter. That’s it. To become the PA we must learn, or better stated, we must engage ourselves in virtuous education. There are a hundred ways to do it, but if you are not reading, you are probably on the wrong path. If you are not having deep conversations and listening carefully to your brothers, you are probably still wandering. If you are learning most of what you know from Masonic sources, you are probably being WAY too narrow and missing-out on incredible resources. Read, talk, listen, learn, teach and grow. These are but a few elements of a virtuous education, the path to the PA we all must strive to become. Ignorance is simply the result of laziness and cowardice. If you don’t know where to start, ask. But if you still think that ritual is not just a guide, but the actual end to masonic education, then I have no time to pitty you. If you don’t care about this stuff…then, in my opinion, you are not a Mason. |
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Posted at: 11:25 am Our ritual makes a clear distinction between O-Masons and the S-Masons. This distinction, like so much of our ritual, is a simplistic description of what Freemasonry is really about. In today’s Lodges, your occupation does not matter. Our Lodge is filled with Electricians, Rebar guys, Probation Officers, Welders, Lawyers, Insurance salesmen, Retirees (from a wide variety of jobs and military) and a whole mix of others. To my knowledge, we have no real bricklayers or mortar-haulers. But we are still Masons. We are not all Operative and Speculative. Operative Masons are those that read and study the ritual. They memorize and repeat it in our gatherings with flair and composure. They are the bards of our noble Craft, communicating in the old style the poetry and pageantry of those arcane phrases and obscure references. These ritualists, while invaluable to the Craft and supremely important to the value of our fraternity, are not Ss. They are the Os. And they are right to be proudly carrying that mantle forward for our cause. Ss, on the other hand, recognize that the ritual is a veil - a shimmering scarf draped over the mystical face of our Craft - and her true beauty is revealed only when we look deeper than what the surface reveals. There is where we will find the ‘hidden mysteries’ of our Craft. A ‘virtuous education and our own endeavors’ will allow us to perfect the rough ashlar. Os are necessary and noble…they are a must have for the survival of Freemasonry. But to thrive, we must learn, teach, study…think. It is our duty. The distinction that I address - that of O v. S - is one of perception not position. I do not intimate that the Os are inferior to the Ss, but without the deep meditation and significant outside inquiry into all of the arts and sciences, we are but parrots. I see a Craft, sometime in the future, overflowing with Speculative Masons…REAL Speculative Masons. While we are not there yet, it is coming. Are you and O or an S? Personally, I am working towards S. I recognize the value and importance of Operative Masonry (as described above), but it is not enough. It is not enough to know those simple lessons in our ritual, to confuse memorization for knowledge. It is simply not enough. Aspiring to that higher plane of understanding…that is the goal of our Craft. Together, we chan achieve this…but not without great work. Lastly, I emplore each of you to meditate on the distinction between the Os and the Ss. Is ritual enough? I say no. Deep thought, honest and open conversation, learning and teaching…these are the only methods by which true enlightenment can be achieved. To this end, then, I challenge all Masons to be competent Os…and ever striving Ss. |
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Posted at: 9:35 pm Much will be written about the absolution granted by Pope Clement V after discovering that the Templars were not heretics after all. (what…haven’t you read the news?!) Ok, here’s the background. Clement V was the Pope that killed the Templar Order because he thought (or so we have been told for 700 years) that their ceremonies were heretical. It turns-out that a mis-filed paper in the Vatican’s secret stash absolves the Templar Knights and even has Clement asking for their forgiveness. de Molay may now go to heaven…thank you very much. So what does this mean to Masons? Are we not connected to this noble order? Is this not the golden ticket we have been asking for that would allow us to come out of hiding and scream from all the highest hills that we are free-at-last!!!? Sadly, no. This has no effect on Freemasonry, except… now the Knights Templar can have that joint fish-fry with the Knights of Columbus. n n
Will the Templar absolution have an impact on Freemasonry?
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