Pick Me Ups

Thanks to Sam for sending the above. I also found this blog, Cute with Chris. It is off the wall.

Random Masonic thoughts - Joke at the end.

I keep finding new Blogs. This one is called Masonic Minute and this Post ("What The hell Do you guys do?") is worth a read.



Obviously we don't work in building as the one picture shows. - One wag (me) has claimed that we put long and distinguished titles on each other. (Case in point - I am Most Excellent Companion, Jay Cole Simser Past Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the State of Iowa. Jheesh!) But we do much more than that. Read his post for his take on what we do.



Another thing we do is use archaic words in our ritual. Hele (pronounced hail) is one of them. You can find a lengthy discussion of the word here.

I would bet that most Masons have never given a thought to that word. Even some Past Grand Masters and Ritualists do not have a clue. They think that it means to call out to someone to attract attention. (By the way if you don't know it you click on the highlighted word and it will take you to the link showing the discussion)

Another word is "palliate" In the charge for the second degree the candidate is told not to "palliate or aggravate the offenses of your brethren." Now that word is easier to find, It means to "disguise the seriousness or gravity of the offense." So unless the candidate is curious it goes right over his head. I would venture a guess that most people (even the ones giving the charge) never think about what the word means.

I never used to think much about the meanings behind the ritual. We tell a candidate that he is "placed in the northeast corner of the Lodge" because the first stone of a building was placed in that spot. Then somewhere I read that the northeast corner was symbolically the dividing line between the East (place of Light) and the North (place of darkness) and that it meant that he had a choice to choose the "LIGHT" or the darkness. See, meaning upon meaning.

Sometimes I hear things in the ritual that aggravate me. While not a part of the ritual there is a line in the midnight soliloquy where the speaker mentions that he is on the banks of the Euphrates. Well let me tell you folks, as an old geography teacher I know where the Euphrates is and it is not near King Solomon's Temple and he would not have been in that place He would more likely have been on the banks of the Jordan River. But the guys like the lecture and it is left in without much thought as to what it says. I guess it doesn't really matter.

Another thing I became aware of recently is the idea of one line which says "where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours" Folks there are no tides in the Mediterranean Sea where the drama was supposed to take place.

This is all leading up to a wild (irreverent) thought I had last night during the Fellowcraft degree. At one point the candidate is told that there were 80,000 Fellow craft masons who labored for 6 days and on the seventh repaired to the apartment of King Solomon to receive their wages. They first had to go up a flight of winding stairs and then pass two gates and give passwords and grips. Last night I began to think of the logistics of that. 80,00 men lined up going up a flight of narrow, winding stairs through two gates - giving a password and grip at two different stops and then the King himself hands out their wages - to 80,000 men. Boggles the mind. Especially a warped one like mine.

Of course, I understand that we are not supposed to take these things literally - they are allogorical, but as I said you are dealing with a warped mind here.

On another note, I have mentioned previously my involvement in the Red Cross of Constantine. This is the highest honor that can be given to a York Rite Mason. There are two Conclaves in the state of Iowa and our membership is limited to 50 Masons in each. (We can also have 15 Emeritus members) so that makes 100 Masons (plus 30) so honored among all of the Masons in Iowa. I felt more honored to have been proposed and accepted into this Order than to have been elected Grand High Priest.

Last Saturday St. Bartholomew Conclave elected new members. A man is not supposed to know that he is even being considered as a member of the Conclave. He is then extended an invitation to join. We elected new members last Saturday and I got to meet with one of them to tell him about the honor. Actually there were three of us who met with him. We had a really nice visit and to say he was surprised and pleased was an understatement. It was one of the greatest things lately in my life to see the pleasure and humility exhibited by this worthy Mason. He will be installed into the Conclave in October.

Then on another note. Through the wonders of the Internet and through a conversation initiated by the Knight Masons group I was visiting with the head of the Red Cross for our United Grand Imperial Council Fred Kleyn who is the Most Illustrious Grand Sovereign. One thing led to another and he was invited and accepted to attend our meeting in October. It will be the first time in my memory that a Grand Sovereign has agreed to come to St. Bartholomew Conclave. (Perhaps the others weren't invited) I've been a member since 1981 and Recorder since 1985 (except for 1993 when I was Sovereign) - I enjoy this group, as I have said, more than any other Masonic group except for the Lodge itself. There are no axes to grind and the social fellowship is the keystone in the organization.

So, besides having some really great Masons at new members we will have the Grand Sovereign with us. something to look forward to. - I think I have rambled on enough for today, be sure to check Larry's Blog. He has a couple of (awful?) jokes to read. Perhaps I will put one (an awful joke) up later today. Love someone. Hugs - jcs

OK, I just got this in the e-mail from my friend Dom. I'll share it now.

Why Wedding Dresses Are White

A VERY BRAVE MAN WROTE THIS
(He may already be gone from us)


A son asked his mother the following question:
"Mom, why are wedding dresses white?"

The mother looks at her son and replies,
"Son, this shows your friends and relatives that
Your bride is Pure."

The son thanks his Mom and goes off to double-check
This with his Father.

"Dad why are wedding dresses white?"

The father looks at his son in surprise and says,
"Son, all household appliances come in white."

Hugs again. j

Worth Reading

Ed Halpus is the Grand Lodge Education Officer for Minnesota. He sends a couple of different e-mails out with something interesting to read. His lastest follows:

The following is from the Alberta Grand Lodge Bulletin of 1936: Alberta, Canada. This was written and published 71 years ago. No matter how old you might be I think you will agree that 71 years is a long time, but when you read what is below I think you will also agree that some things have not changed all that much in all those years. When you read the following you will notice that the piece is as relevant today as it was when it was written. Brother Kevan Van Herd also reproduced this article in his book “A Collection of St. George’s Banner.” Thanks Brother Kevan.

Worthy and Well Qualified

There is a growing feeling among thinking Freemasons that admission to the Order is too easy and that we have dissipated our strength in mere numbers.

True it is that the present apparent qualifications for admission are no more than are required for almost any organization of honest men who demand integrity, ability, and willingness to pay his way, as the principal needs of the initiate.

But Freemasonry demands more than integrity of character and ability to pay. It demands a high intelligence, a desire for knowledge for its own sake, and that type of mentality which can prudently interpret symbols into everyday action, not only in the body of the lodge, but in the day to day business of life.

Too many superlatively honest and kindly men are in our ranks with but a limited idea of what Freemasonry is trying to do, and too many good men have passed through these ranks bored with endless repetition of apparently idle ceremonies, failing to grasp the foundations of the personal and practical philosophy of life which the Masonic ritual strives to teach.

Freemasonry may be, as is all too often the case, at fault in failing to properly instruct its neophytes, but if the material with which the teachers must work is missing; the chances of making Masons rather than lodge members is small.

With a group of members whose ideal of Freemasonry is the endless conferring of degrees with only a limited understanding achieved of what the symbolism and language of these degrees are intended to convey, it is small wonder that eventually these same members imbued with exactitude of repetition as the final goal of perfection will, as officers, control the lodge and unwittingly drive from its ranks those who have caught something of the gleam.

It seems, therefore, that "worthy and well qualified" shall require, not only sterling character and willingness to pay a material price, but the capacity to absorb, develop, and use an ancient philosophy, and the ability to find in the hoary old ceremonies a retreat to eternal truths far from the rampant materialism of our age. Initiates might be fewer, for such qualifications are not given to many, but of them the real Freemason is made.

Please remember: if you would like to participate in the latest Masonic Monday Question, please go to http://www.lodgebuilder.org and click on the Lodge Education forum. Past Masonic Monday Questions and the current one may also be read on the Web Site for the G.L. of MN at www.mn-masons.org under Masonic Monday Q&A When you have an answer send it to masonicmonday@gmail.com This week’s question is:

“ What does the word Libertine signify?” And “Why cannot a Libertine become a Mason?”


More Light – Mehr Licht ©, Masonic Matters © and T.F.S. ©, are sent out by E-mail at no charge to anyone who would like to receive them. If you enjoy these publications please share them with others. To subscribe to any one or all of these publications just send an E-mail to ed@halpaus.net with Subscribe and the Title, or ‘all 3,’ in the subject line and you will be added to the list to receive the publication you want.

Another reading is The Last Stated on Larry Juncker's Blog. Larry is Junior Steward in Arcadia Lodge and a regular reader of my blog. When he figured out that this is easy to do (It must me even a dummy like me can do it.) he decided to have a go at it. I think we created a monster. Four Postings in one day.

I, of course, have figured something else out. I don't have to write myself to entertain you. Just steal from others. Be sure to read Tim Bonney's Blog for yesterday also.

And now finally some humor Enjoy.

A young farm lad from Iowa went off to college, but after about two months, he had foolishly squandered away all of the money his parents gave him. Then he got an idea. He called his daddy. "Dad," he says, "you won't believe the wonders that modern education is coming up with! Why, they actually have a program here at Iowa State that will teach our dog Ole Blue how to talk!"

"That's absolutely amazing", his father said. "How do I get him in that program?"

"Just send him down here with $1,000", the boy says. "I'll get him into the course."

So his father sent the dog and the $1,000. But after another two months, the money ran out, again. The boy called his father again.

"So how's Ole Blue doing, son", his father asked.

"Awesome, Dad, he's talking up a storm," he replied, "but you just won't believe this - they've had such good results with this program that they've implemented a new one to teach the animals how to READ!"

"READ", exclaimed his father, "No kidding! What do I have to do to get him in that program?"

"Just send $2,500, I'll get him in the class."

So his father sent the money.

The boy now had a problem. At the end of the year, his father would find out that the dog could neither talk, nor read. So he shot the dog.

When he got home at the end of the semester, his father is all excited. "Where's Ole Blue? I just can't wait to see him talk and read something!"

"Dad", the boy said, "I have some grim news. Yesterday morning , just before we left to drive home, Ole Blue was in the living room kicked back in the recliner, reading the Wall Street Journal, like he usually does. Then he turned to me and asked, "So, is your daddy still messing around with that little redhead who lives in town?"

The father shouted, "I hope you shot that SOB before he talked to your mother!"

"I sure did, Dad!"

"That's my boy!"

Naturally, the kid went on to become a lawyer.

Have a great day. Love someone! Hugs. j

Audrey

I loved Audrey Hepburn. I think that what I loved about her the most was her work for the world's children with UNICEF. You can read about her at the Site Audreyhepburn.com. She was a great lady. Enjoy the song. Love someone. Hugs jcs

Aspects of Masonry

I was looking at Tim's latest post on Masonic Ciphers over at Freemasonry Resources and it got me to thinking about the Masonic ritual and ciphers, etc. For some the RITUAL is everything. They memorize the entire ritual - Yes the entire ritual - and they take a test and become a Masonic Instructor and then learn the floor work (Square corners and all) and eventually they become a District Lecturer. The system in Iowa is such that is it (usually) only these people who go on to become Grand Officers and eventually Grand Masters. That is the system I grew up with. It perpetuates itself.

That is all well and good - to a point. For these Brothers (sometimes) the Ritual is the end all and be all of the Fraternity. Ritual learning is easy for them and they revel in it. Sure they make mistakes but there is always one or two around and they correct each other and they also go to ritual schools (for an inordinate amount of time) to maintain their proficiency. I admire them, I really do but I also have problems with this mentality.

Ritual is important. It is the skeleton upon which Masonry hangs. Jim Sears and I had this discussion years ago when he was Master. He wrote an article for the Newsletter about it. It is not, however, all there is to Masonry

Ritual, well performed and dramatically presented is beautiful to behold. (Now the Board of Grand Custodians will disagree with me on the dramatically performed statement - but you know where they are coming from.) The initiation for the brother who undergoes this experience is (can be) a life changing one.

I hate ritual which is given in a sing-song way or so overly dramatic that the performance takes away the meaning of the work. Bill Yungclas, Ron Linhart are three great ritualists who come to mind. There are others that I could mention but these three put real meaning into their work. The words are understandable and meaningful and the presentation is such that it is easily followed and the candidate can actually learn something from it. There are others (who I won't mention) who just say the words. Ritual is essentially a Mystery Play designed to teach certain valuable lessons.

I have learned a fair amount of ritual in my time. Perhaps the first was the posting lectures when I took my degrees. Having to memorize the questions and answers to these lectures and then recite them in open Lodge was a great experience. You are supposed to learn them "mouth to ear" without anything written down. (in practice there is a "little book" you can use that Tim describes in his blog entry) It taught me a lot about myself and it also had an impact on my teaching. thereafter I always made my students memorize and recite a poem for me. Learning to memorize is a good thing.

Iowa has done away with this experience and it is sad. It took a little longer to become a Mason but it was a valuable experience. First of all it proved that you were able to learn something and secondly you formed a bond with the person who taught you. It also gave you a great feeling of accomplishment because these were not easy. (Two men a father and son learned both the questions and the answers and asked and answered them for their proficiency. That was really a great thing to see.)

We seem to think that quantity is important right now so over the years we first shortened the requirement and then did away with it all together. I find that there are always people who want to change things and others who want keep things as they were. My jury is still out on the experiment. We have some great new Masons in my Lodge and they are just as active as the ones who came in under the old system. Of course being a college town many join and them move on. They take their Masonry with them.

What I started out trying to write about and I see I am (as usual) going on far to long was that RITUAL is not the only aspect of Freemasonry that we should concern ourselves with. The entire Masonic experience is like a multi faceted jewel. You can look at it from many sides.

On one side it is a business. In many cases a big business. The officers must understand cash flow, revenue and expenditures and they must plan for future growth.

Another side of the coin is the Charity work. By their very nature Masons are charitable. Perhaps the greatest Masonic Charity is the Shrine. These Masons do wonderful work with the Shrine Hospitals.

Shriners like to party and that is a controversial aspect of their organization. But there is a long tradition of Masons liking to party also. they used to meet in Taverns around the "festive board" with feasting and toasting. Then they would sing and eventually parade home in loud noisy groups. That , of course, has all changed although we do have more controlled Table Lodges today. In fact Arcadia Lodge is having its Annual Table Lodge this coming Friday night. If you want tickets they are still available (sorry ladies, you have to be a Mason to attend) Just send me an e-mail ($30.)

Leadership training is a neglected part of Masonry. The Rainbow Girls advertise, Public Speaking, Poise, Leadership, Fun, as parts of their program. In Texas they have Wardens Retreats where they get all the Senior and Junior Wardens (future Masters) together for training. Iowa uses the Lodge Service Committee Grand Master's Area Meetings, Neighborhood Meetings and Secretaries Conferences as aspects of leadership training. some attempt was made in the Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons to have leadership sessions and the Grand Chapter of Eastern Star has "Vision Meetings" but by in large I think we lag behind in "organized" Leadership training in the state.

The most important aspect of Masonry for me is the bonding between Brothers. Joseph Fort Newton says this about the Men's House in primitive culture:

" It was called the Men’s House, a secret lodge in which every young man, when he came to maturity, was initiated into the law legend and tradition of his people. ..it was really the center of early tribal life, council chamber, the guest house, the place of meeting for men, where laws were made and courts were held, and where the trophies of war were treasured” “It is not easy to exaggerate the importance of these secret lodges in the formative period of society in promoting that sense of kinship, sanctity, and loyalty which lies at the roots of law, order and religion

For me that is what Masonry is. Not just the ritual, the business, the leadership opportunities. It is the bonding with other men and associating with them in a comon cause to do good in the world.

Newton also said:

"Freemasonry appeals to me, first, by its fellowship; and next to the home and House of God, it is the most blessed influence in my life. Its simple and profound faith, its wise and practical philosophy – uniting the wisdom of love with the love of wisdom – illumine my mind, as its genius of fraternity warms my heart. But still more Masonry appeals to me as an agency for the organization of moral faith, practical brotherhood, and social idealism, the worth and power of which have not yet realized."

I don't think Masonry has yet realized that power and worth. I do know that for me it is a powerful influence in my life and I am grateful that my mother once said to me "You might enjoy the Masons." I certainty have.
Love someone. Hugs, j