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I Timothy 4:12 says, “Be thou an example.” We hear an admonition similar to this as young Entered Apprentices when we’re challenged to be an “upright man and mason.”
The only Masonry some people ever see is that of your daily life. As Masons, we need to walk the walk rather than simply talk the talk.
A group of Masons were discussing the various translations of the Bible. One brother said to the others, “The best I have ever read was my mother’s translation. She translated the Bible into her every day life.”
The eye is a student and more willing than the ear.
Fine counsel is confusing; but an example is always clear.
REMEMBER: A pint of example is worth a gallon of advice
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We have spent the last two days taking a closer look at the number 3. On Monday, we saw the prominence of the number 3 in general. Yesterday, we saw how the number 3 pervades the rituals of Craft Masonry. Today, let’s think about its significance in the Royal Arch. First, consider how it appears again and again:
Consider these triplets:
High Priest, King, and Scribe
Shem, Ham, and Japheth
Moses, Aholiab, and Bezaleel
Jeshua, Zerubbabel, and Haggai
There are:
Three principal officers
Three Grand Masters of the Veils
The true Royal Arch altar is triangular
Three Most Excellent Masters
Three Equilateral Triangles
Three Weary Sojourners
The Triple Tau Sign
After three days of labor, a discovery was made
Three discoveries are made
Peace, love, and unity
Three items are in the Ark – the Tablets of the Law, Aaron’s Rod, the golden pot of manna
There are three who agree
The most prominent words of this degree contain three syllables.
The number three, in Craft Masonry, pointed to GOD. Here, in the Royal Arch degree, another meaning emerges. The Royal Arch is the salient, spiritual degree of Freemasonry. Here is the cry, “Holiness to the Lord!” Here, DIVINITY is beheld. And, here, is pictured man being brought into relationship with God. He has approached in humility, the only way to come to a holy God. They began their journey in blindness and were later brought to sight, being able to say, “once I was blind, but now I see.” The same “three” that symbolized GOD in the blue lodge, here symbolizes man’s coming into relationship with God – his body, soul, and spirit.
How so? Let’s look a little closer. We know of the importance of the keystone in Capitular Masonry.
The proper proportion for a keystone is an angle of THIRTY (3 x 10) degrees. A stone of THIRTY degrees will be one twelfth part of a circle.
Two such stones placed together will contain sixty degree angles…
…from which may be formed an equilateral triangle.
The triangle has always been a symbol of GOD. This likewise corresponds to the compasses being opened to sixty degrees. (If a crosspiece were to be placed on the compasses, they would become an equilateral triangle and illustrate the same truth.)
At this point, every Royal Arch Mason should remember the words “three times three.” And, the “principal secrets” are divulged when three have been SQUARED; that is, multiplied by themselves. It happens “under an arch” or “keystone” for all regular arches have keystones, and over or upon “a triangle.”
The Royal Arch borrows heavily from astrology. (This is especially true in the U.K.’s version of the Royal Arch) The zodiac, as you know, is divided into twelve equal parts. These parts are THIRTY degrees each, with each part being one of the signs of the zodiac.
An individual is said to be “born” under a sign of the zodiac. THIRTY degrees, astrologically, is symbolic of “rebirth” or, as Jesus expressed it, being “born again.” Ah! We have it. The keystone of THIRTY degrees is a symbol of that new birth.
The Master Mason witnessed a death and resurrection in the blue lodge that symbolized that which made possible the new birth he’ll witness as a Royal Arch Mason!
NOTE: True astrology doesn’t tell fortunes or make any claim that one can predict the future in a fatalistic way. The mention of astrology in today’s “message” is not at all connected to your daily newspaper column’s “horoscopes.” These are absurd. Astrology, as I mention it here, deals with the study of the celestial system.
On Monday evening, March 28th, Union Chapter Received and Acknowledged as Most Excellent Masters, Brothers Michael Olegario, Joshua Bryan, and Marty Fulmer. They are photographed here, after the degree, with Companion T.J. Henwood, who served as Right Worshipful Master in the Degree.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Saturday, April 2nd - River Valley Chapter and F.D. Goza Council will be conferring the degrees of Capitular and Cryptic Masonry. The Mark Master’s Degree will begin at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be served. If you can attend, please r.s.v.p. to M:.E:.P.G.H.P. Aaron South, at roughashlar84@yahoo.com so that lunch can be planned accordingly.
Monday, April 4th – Grand High Priest’s official visit to Bentonville Chapter #15, 7:00 p.m. meeting time.
Monday, April 11th – Grand High Priest’s official visit to Batesville Chapter # 9, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments, 7:00 p.m. meeting.
032911
Yesterday, we looked at the prominence of the number three in general. Yet, because the number three occurs incessantly in Craft Masonry, it’s something that every Mason should contemplate…at least three times! Let’s take a look…
The third letter of the Hebrew Alphabet (G) is a Masonic symbol for God, the Great Architect of the Universe.
In the Master Mason’s lodge, it pervades the whole ritual. There are:
Three degrees
Three principal officers
Three original Grand Masters
Three supporting pillars
Three lesser lights
Three greater lights
Three movable jewels
Three immovable jewels
Three raps
Three gates
Three burning tapers
Three circuits in circumambulation
Three steps on the Master’s Carpets – youth, manhood, old age
Three divisions of the temple
Three principal tenets
Three rounds of Jacob’s ladder
The fellow craft is paid in three different wages
Three principal orders of Architecture
In the Hiram legend, there are three assassins
Hiram was three times buried
The stations of three principal officers form a triangle. The triangle has always been a representation of God. The number three is throughout Freemasonry. Why? It is a symbol that the Great Architect of the Universe is everywhere; that we can move not, work not, or live not without doing so beneath His All-Seeing Eye. We are workman in HIS Quarry. Everywhere, in every degree, is three, three, and yet more threes. Everywhere, throughout all life, is God, God, and yet more of the omnipresence of God.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at the number three in Royal Arch Masonry.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 28th – Bentonville Chapter #15 will confer the Mark Master’s Degree on two candidates at 6:00 pm.
Saturday, April 2nd - River Valley Chapter and F.D. Goza Council will be conferring the degrees of Capitular and Cryptic Masonry. The Mark Master’s Degree will begin at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be served. If you can attend, please r.s.v.p. to M:.E:.P.G.H.P. Aaron South, at roughashlar84@yahoo.com so that lunch can be planned accordingly.
Monday, April 4th – Grand High Priest’s official visit to Bentonville Chapter #15, 7:00 p.m. meeting time.
Monday, April 11th – Grand High Priest’s official visit to Batesville Chapter # 9, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments, 7:00 p.m. meeting.
April 18th – Fay Hempstead will meet tonight instead of April 11th to celebrate Fay Hempstead’s Birthday by Cooking and Serving a meal to Ronald McDonald House Charity with Stated Communications afterward. Email j.root.5013@gmail.com for more information.
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Numerology
Let’s talk numbers! Specifically, the number three! Over the next three emails, I want us to consider the significance of the number three. Today, let’s think about its prominence in general.
In life there are three periods – birth, life, death. The human body is made up of flesh, bones, blood. In time, there are three times – past, present, future. In a day – there are three parts, morning noon, night. In motion, three speeds: moderate, slow, fast. In a book, three parts: introduction, contents, conclusion. In measurements, three dimensions: length, breadth, thickness. In water, three states – liquid, ice, steam.
There are three kingdoms of matter – mineral, vegetable, animal. Three functions express human capability – thought, word and deed. In mathematics, there are three chief signs – plus, minus, equality. In language, there are three persons – first, second, third. In music, there are three things to distinguish tones – loudness, pitch, quality.
There were three great feasts in the calendar of Israel: Unleavened Bread, Weeks, Tabernacle. (Deuteronomy 16:16) Jesus summed up the writings of the Old Testament under three divisions – the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. The river Jordan was three times miraculously divided. There was a three day search for Elijah.
Consider this list of names as they appear in triplet –
Shem, Ham, Japheth
Saul, David, Solomon
Shadrach, Meschach, Abednego.
Peter, James, and John
Three grand offerings were made from the ground floor of the Temple – Abraham offering up his son, Isaac, the peace offering of David when his people were afflicted with pestilence, and the prayers and sacrifices at the dedication of the Temple. There are three relations in which you can stand – to God, to your neighbor, and to yourself.
There are three gifts of grace – faith, hope, and love. Temptation is expressed in a threefold nature – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Man has three great enemies – the world, the flesh, and the devil.
As to God, there are three persons – God the Father, Christ, the Son; The Holy Spirit. God’s attributes are three – omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. Three times the Seraphims cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
Christ at birth was given three gifts from the Wise Men; He was tempted three times of the devil; He was denied thrice by Peter. The official glory of Christ is THREEfold – prophet, priest, and king. Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day. Jesus was crucified the third hour of the day. For three hours, the sixth to the ninth, He was enclosed in darkness like a shroud. The inscriptions on His cross were of three languages. Jesus Himself raised three people from the dead.
We’ve gone far enough to well establish the prominence of the number three. Yet, the number three is of particular importance to Freemasonry. How so? We’ll take a look at that tomorrow.
032711
We are taught in the Chapter degrees to forgive our fellow Masonic brethren as well as mankind in general. In the Most Excellent Master’s Degree we are taught, “remembering that man in his best estate is subject to frailty and error, we ought to endeavor to cover his faults with the broad mantle of charity and brotherly love.”
We have all gathered around the Royal Arch Altar and prayed together, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
Yet, the one sin that men have more difficulty with than any other is the sin of an unforgiving spirit. There are few forms of dissipation that will do more damage to the human soul and body than the dissipation of bitterness. Bitterness is an acid that destroys its own container.
The man who refuses to forgive destroys the bridge over which he himself must travel. Doing an injury puts you below your enemy; revenging one makes you even with him; but forgiving it sets you above him.
Albert Pike reminds us, “Speak kindly to your erring brother! God pities him; Christ has died for him; providence waits for him; heaven’s mercy yearns toward him; and heaven’s spirits are ready to welcome him back with joy. Let your voice be in unison with all those powers that God is using for his recovery!” – Morals and Dogma, page 134u
Companion, forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.
Did you know? On this day in 1901, Bro. Theodore Roosevelt received the second degree of Masonry.
Here’s an Idea for Your Chapter!
Lafayette Chapter #7 in Pine Bluff caters a bank club lunch twice each year. They use the proceeds as a fund raiser.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 28th – Bentonville Chapter #15 will confer the Mark Master’s Degree on two candidates at 6:00 pm.
Saturday, April 2nd - River Valley Chapter and F.D. Goza Council will be conferring the degrees of Capitular and Cryptic Masonry. The Mark Master’s Degree will begin at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be served. If you can attend, please r.s.v.p. to M:.E:.P.G.H.P. Aaron South, at roughashlar84@yahoo.com so that lunch can be planned accordingly.
Monday, April 4th – Grand High Priest’s official visit to Bentonville Chapter #15, 7:00 p.m. meeting time.
Monday, April 11th – Grand High Priest’s official visit to Batesville Chapter # 9, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments, 7:00 p.m. meeting.
April 18th – Fay Hempstead will meet tonight instead of April 11th to celebrate Fay Hempstead’s Birthday by Cooking and Serving a meal to Ronald McDonald House Charity with Stated Communications afterward. Email j.root.5013@gmail.com for more information.
032611
Reporters and city officials gathered at a Chicago railroad station one afternoon in 1953. The person they were meeting was the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner. A few minutes after the train came to a stop, a giant of a man – six feet four inches – with bushy hair and a large mustache stepped from the train. Cameras flashed. City officials approached him with hands outstretched. Various people began telling him how honored they were to meet him.
The man politely thanked them and then, looking over their heads, asked if he could be excused for a moment. He quickly walked through the crowd until he reached the side of an elderly woman who was struggling with two large suitcases. He picked up the bags with a smile, and escorted the woman to a bus. After helping her aboard, he wished her a safe journey. As he returned to the greeting party he apologized, “Sorry to have kept you waiting.”
The man was Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the famous missionary doctor who had spent his life helping the poor in Africa. In response to Schweitzer’s action, one member of the reception committee said with great admiration to the reporter standing next to him, “That’s the first time I ever saw a sermon walking.”
Schweitzer one said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it’s the only thing.” He also said, “There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.”
Let us ever remember “to do good unto all.” As Masons, may we be ‘sermons walking.’
“A Masonic Lodge should resemble a bee-hive, in which all the members work together with ardor for the common good.” – Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma, page 138m
Albert Schweitzer was not a Mason. However, he is regularly honored by Masons. Though not a member of the craft, in 1960, on the occasion of his 85th birthday, he was honored by the United Grand Lodge of Germany by being presented with the Mathias Claudius Medal, the first time this was given to a non-Mason. For more information, check out www.bibliotecapleyades.net … sec 2 Masonic Personalities … page 71 … (of 88) … fig 63.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 28th – Bentonville Chapter #15 will confer the Mark Master’s Degree on two candidates at 6:00 pm.
Saturday, April 2nd - River Valley Chapter and F.D. Goza Council will be conferring the degrees of Capitular and Cryptic Masonry. The Mark Master’s Degree will begin at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be served. If you can attend, please r.s.v.p. to M:.E:.P.G.H.P. Aaron South, at roughashlar84@yahoo.com so that lunch can be planned accordingly.
Monday, April 4th – Grand High Priest’s official visit to Bentonville Chapter #15, 7:00 p.m. meeting time.
Monday, April 11th – Grand High Priest’s official visit to Batesville Chapter # 9, 6:30 p.m. Refreshments, 7:00 p.m. meeting.
April 18th – Fay Hempstead will meet tonight instead of April 11th to celebrate Fay Hempstead’s Birthday by Cooking and Serving a meal to Ronald McDonald House Charity with Stated Communications afterward. Email j.root.5013@gmail.com for more information.
032511
Need some ideas for improving the financial strategies of your Chapter? Consider using these:
Enhance Your Chapter’s Dues Notices:
Always break out per capita separately so members see how much it is.
Include separate lines for donating to R.A.R.A.
Ask members to include you in their will (bequest)
Control Meal Expenses
Build in a modest profit margin on dinner costs.
Register as a nonprofit organization at a warehouse club (Sam’s)
Seek member donations of soda, condiments, cups, utensils, et cet.
Launch Fund-Raising Programs
Conduct an almoner mini-collection at every meeting (US $1 each)
Offer “naming rights” for endowing a scholarship fund.
Sell custom-engraved bricks to repave a walkway.
Mint a special token and offer it for sale.
Implement Marketing Initiatives
Schedule and conduct a Royal Arch Chapter presentation in a local blue lodge.
Create and distribute a custom brochure featuring your Chapter.
Create a website for your Chapter, or even a Facebook page.
Monday night, March 21st, was a good night for Royal Arch Masonry in Arkansas. Union Chapter #2 conferred the Mark Master and Past Master Degrees on three brethren, Josh Bryan, Michael Olegario, and Marty Fulmer. Union plans to receive and acknowledge these brethren as Most Excellent Masters on March 28th at 6:30 p.m.
Also, Huntsville Chapter #154 received and acknowledged three as Most Excellent Masters on Monday night. They were Jason Holt, M.D.; Michael Roach and James Couch.
It’s great to hear of work being done across our state in Capitular Masonry!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 28th – Bentonville Chapter #15 will confer the Mark Master’s Degree on two candidates at 6:00 pm.
Saturday, April 2nd - River Valley Chapter and F.D. Goza Council will be conferring the degrees of Capitular and Cryptic Masonry. The Mark Master’s Degree will begin at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be served. If you can attend, please r.s.v.p. to M:.E:.P.G.H.P. Aaron South, at roughashlar84@yahoo.com so that lunch can be planned accordingly.
April 18th – Fay Hempstead will meet tonight instead of April 11th to celebrate Fay Hempstead’s Birthday by Cooking and Serving a meal to Ronald McDonald House Charity with Stated Communications afterward. Email j.root.5013@gmail.com for more information.
032411Companions,
I thought you might be interested in the article below on the movie, “The King’s Speech.” The movie features two prominent Freemasons.
"Worshipful Brother Lionel Logue – a Freemason we can all be proud of" by 'The Archivist' of the Grand Lodge of Western Australia
The Archives Committee has had many enquiries lately concerning WBro Lionel Logue. Those of you who have seen or heard of the recent film “The King's Speech” will know that Lionel Logue, the character played by Geoffrey Rush, was the speech therapist who helped King George VI cure his stammer.
What you may not know was that Lionel George Logue was a member of St George's Lodge (now J D Stevenson St George's Lodge No.6, Western Australian Constitution).
Lionel Logue was born in Adelaide on 26 February 1880 and educated at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. WBro Logue studied elocution and worked in Adelaide as a teacher. He moved to Kalgoorlie apparently to work in a gold mine. Later he moved to Perth where he met Myrtle Gruenert; they married on 20 March 1907 in St George's Anglican Cathedral, Perth.
His Masonic records show that at his Initiation on 18 September 1908, WBro Logue was a Professor of Elocution residing at 9 Emerald Terrace, West Perth (now believed to be Emerald Hill Terrace). He was Passed to the Second Degree on 16 October 1908, and Raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason on 20 November 1908. His rise through the Officers' Chairs was as follows: Steward 1909, Junior Deacon 1910, Inner Guard 1913, Junior Deacon 1914, Senior Deacon 1915, Junior Warden 1916, Senior Warden 1918, Worshipful Master 1919.
WBro Logue seems to have had a busy professional life in Perth. He taught elocution, public speaking and acting, as well as producing stage plays. He worked to help soldiers returning from World War I who were afflicted with speech impediments caused by shell-shock.
In 1924 he set up consulting rooms in Harley Street, London where he treated both rich and poor alike; apparently the exorbitant fees he charged the rich subsided the treatment of his poorer clients. In 1926 he was consulted by the then Duke of York (later King George VI) for help to overcome his stammer. At the Coronation of King George VI on 12 May 1937, WBro Logue wore the MVO decoration awarded by the King the night before.
WBro Logue was a founder of the British Society of Speech Therapists and a founding fellow of the College of Speech Therapists and he was speech therapist to the Royal Masonic School.
In 1944 his MVO was elevated to CVO. He retained his friendship with King George VI until the King's death in 1952. WBro Logue passed to the Grand Lodge Above on 12 April 1953.
NOTE:
King George VI was a very keen Freemason and the multi-page article at www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-14/p-07.php states that "his stammer rarely surfaced when he was involved in ritual".
Members of the Order of DeMolay in Arkansas ended DeMolay Week with their Devotional Day at Levy Baptist Church on Sunday, March 20th, where M:.E. G.H.P., Steven Tiner is the pastor.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 28th – Bentonville Chapter #15 will confer the Mark Master’s Degree on two candidates at 6:00 pm.
Saturday, April 2nd - River Valley Chapter and F.D. Goza Council will be conferring the degrees of Capitular and Cryptic Masonry. The Mark Master’s Degree will begin at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be served. If you can attend, please r.s.v.p. to M:.E:.P.G.H.P. Aaron South, at roughashlar84@yahoo.com so that lunch can be planned accordingly.
032311
"The Old Masters Wages"
I met a dear old man today,
Who wore a Masonic pin,
It was old and faded like the man,
It's edges were worn quite thin.
I approached the park bench where he sat,
To give the old brother his due,
I said, "I see you've traveled east,"
He said, "I have, have you."
I said, "I have, and in my day
Before the all seeing sun,
I played in the rubble, with Jubala
Jubalo and Jubalum."
He shouted, "don't laugh at the work my son,
It's good and sweet and true,
And if you've traveled as you said,
You should give these things their due."
The word, the sign the token,
The sweet Masonic prayer,
The vow that all have taken,
Who've climbed the inner stair.
The wages of a Mason,
are never paid in gold,
but the gain comes from contentment,
when you're weak and growing old.
You see, I've carried my obligations,
For almost fifty years,
It has helped me through the hardships
and the failures full of tears.
Now I'm losing my mind and body,
Death is near but I don't despair,
I've lived my life upon the level,
And I'm dying upon the square.
Sometimes the greatest lessons
Are those that are learned anew,
And the old man in the park today
has changed my point of view.
To all Masonic brothers,
The only secret is to care,
May you live your life upon the level,
May you part upon the square.
The M:.E. Grand High Priest and E:. Grand Chaplain represented The Grand Chapter of Arkansas at The Grand Chapter of Tennessee on Monday, March 21st.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Saturday, April 2nd - River Valley Chapter and F.D. Goza Council will be conferring the degrees of Capitular and Cryptic Masonry. The Mark Master’s Degree will begin at 8:00 a.m. Lunch will be served. If you can attend, please r.s.v.p. to M:.E:.P.G.H.P. Aaron South, at roughashlar84@yahoo.com so that lunch can be planned accordingly.
032211
Brethren, I wanted to share with you today, a video on YouTube, titled, “A Charge to the Fraternity by Benjamin Franklin.” I believe it will be inspiration to you. Here’s the link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiisiJ5wIIw
Also available here:
www.yorkrite.com/membership.html
032111
A portion of our every day is to be given to helping “a distressed worthy brother.” This anonymously authored poem reminds us of our duties:
If we can ease a brother’s sorrow
And aid him in distress
If we can brighten his tomorrow
With deeds of kindlness
Then we have found God’s meaning
Of the word called Charity
For when we give ourselves away
We’ve found life’s mystery.
032011
One of the glories of the Past Master’s Degree is that it points us to the Holy Bible which lies on our altar. In Arkansas Freemasonry, only a Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, is placed on the altar. It is the “Great Light” of Masonry.
Sometimes, following a Past Master’s Degree, with the High Priest’s permission, I’ll share this quote by Dr. R.G. Lee about the Bible.
“The Bible is the Word of God. It is inexhaustive in its adequacy, harmonious in infinite complexity, supernatural in origin, divine in authorship, human in penmanship, infallible in authority, infinite in scope, universal in interest, eternal in duration, personal in application, immeasurable in its influence, immortal in its hopes, inspired in totality There is not a sin it does not condemn – not a virtue it fails to mention. It is an oasis in a desert of despair. This wonderful book travels more highways, walks more bypaths, knocks at more doors, speaks to more people in their mother tongue than any other book ever printed. It is not the book of the month, nor the book of the year, it is indeed, the book of the ages!
This quote by Dr. Lee is engraved on a bronze Bible outside of Bellevue Baptist Church, in Memphis, TN, where Lee pastored for many years.
Remember always to keep sight of that great Light! |
