Nuturing the Flame of Freemasonry

Nurturing the Flame of Freemasonry

“The life are Masonic ritual is not a ceremony, but a to be lived. Those who are really Masons those who have dedicated their lives and their souls on the altar of the living flame… When we have Masons like this the craft will again be operative, the flaming triangle will shine forth with the greater lustre, the dead builder will rise from his tomb, and the lost Word so long concealed from the profane will blaze forth again with the power that makes all things new.” Being a magpie-like collector of all types of Masonic arcana, I have on my bookshelf a number of interesting items, from the small trowel given to my great-grandfather at his raising in 1923, to the small tome (also published in 1923) from which the above quotation is taken, Manly Hall’s The Lost Keys of Masonry. The above extract from the introduction of that book positively leapt out to me, as it succinctly and elegantly captures my view of the role of ritual in our fraternity.

Being a mystic, initiatic society, ritual forms the very heart of Masonry. We do not meet together solely to enjoy each other’s company (although indeed, the company one finds in a Masonic lodge is incomparable), but to carry out the goal of our society: making good men better. Similarly, we do not learn our ritual work as much for the benefit of the candidates receiving the Degrees, who are unlikely to retain much of it

Christopher R. Trueblood, PM

Fraternity Lodge No. 54

given the sensory overload a Degree presents, but for our own. The words of the ritual are limitlessly instructive to those who would learn the lessons. The true Mason is one with the attentive ear to receive the mysteries of Freemasonry, give them due consideration, and live by the precepts to be found therein.

And while I have visited many a lodge in which ritual is monotonously rendered as quickly as possible, perhaps so that the brethren may more quickly proceed to refreshment, I am encouraged by the fact that, much more often, and with ever-increasing frequency, the work I see is performed and delivered by brethren who have taken time to learn what the ritual means, rather than just for what it says, or for absolute accuracy tainted by a lack of soul. This raises my spirits, not only because the difference it makes for the candidate is inestimable, but because it is a sure sign that the tenets of our institution are being transmitted unimpaired.

Thus the meaning of the work of the fraternity is not in danger of extinction, but rather is flourishing in the fervent hearts of the brethren. Freemasonry, no matter how many men it counts in its ranks, is as vibrant today as it was 200, 100, or 50 years ago. Good men can ever be made better, but make no mistake, the Word blazes fervently, and the Craft has never been more operative than it is today. n