Look To The East

Random thoughts, questions, and answers as to the Masonic Brotherhood. My opinions are my own.

[masonicmartiall]

3 of the great loves of my life: my beautiful wife, Freemasonry (by extension the concordant bodies), and java. Tuesday: ACTIVATE. #freemasons #freemasonry #brotherhood #fraternity #coffee #coffeegeek #coffeesnob #frenchpress #marriage #wife #bestthingtoeverhappentome #shriner #shriners #shrinersinternational #shrineclub #fez #coffeebeans #java (at Fort Saint John, British Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/BriIT2Cjogn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ru4q9b74w3j1

[masonicmartiall]

Question 3: Are all Masons Shriners? What’s the 33rd degree?  And other concordant body questions.

I get asked this a lot.. mostly right after the cult question: “But you’re not high enough up.  What about the 33°? What about the Knights Templar?”

....*sigh* oi.  We are not some secret organization, meeting in dark rooms, controlling the world, the country, the city... most of us can barely control the children in our lives.  Let me break this down.

Regular Craft Masonry (also sometimes referred to as “Blue Lodge”) in North America (we’ll touch on that in a bit), consists of 3 degrees:

Entered Apprentice

Fellow Craft

Master Mason

But for those who want more camaraderie, more education, more light, more masonry, there are other bodies that you can go on to join, once you are a Master Mason.  The most commonly known are:

Shrine

York Rite

Scottish Rite

Shrine refers to Shriners International, formerly known as Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, or AAONMS.  Incidentally, if you rearrange those letters, you get A MASON.  I’m not sure if that was the goal from the get go, but it’s neat nonetheless.  This fraternity was started by 13 Master Masons in 1872 (being officially chartered as Mecca Shrine) in New York.  The theme was inspired by one of the founders having gone to an Egyptian themed party.  He enjoyed it so much, he sought to make the fun theme of Shriners an Arabic/Egyptian one. The goal was to form a new fraternity where Masons could have fun, fellowship, and philanthropy all in one place.  Over the course of time, the chosen cause became Shriners Hospitals For Children, a network of 22 hospitals across North America that treat children with orthopedic/neuromuscular conditions, cleft lip/palate, burn victims, sports injuries, and spinal injuries.  It’s important to note here: All Shriners are Masons, not all Masons are Shriners.  And that’s ok!  Masonry offers SO much, that you can’t simply do it all.  For some guys, Shrine just can’t fit into the schedule, or their interests in Masonry are more educational than fun and whackiness.  That’s ok.

York Rite refers varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, so I can only answer insofar as my home province, British Columbia.  It encompasses 3 separate bodies as a main stream, and has a few offshoot channels.  The 3 main bodies are:

Royal Arch

Cryptic Rite

Knights Templar

Each of these 3 separate bodies have their own set of degrees, and attracts various types of Masons for various reasons.

For example, Knights Templar (in Canada, at least) requires that candidates for admission profess a believe in the Christian Doctrine (the US only requires that you will defend the doctrine, but not necessarily belong to that faith) largely due to the fact of the degrees are rooted deeply in Christian teaching.

It’s important to note that in order to join Cryptic Rite or Knights Templar, you must be a member of Royal Arch, but you needn’t be a member of Cryptic Rite in order to join Knights Templar, or vice versa.

Scottish Rite refers to 3 separate bodies as well:

Lodge of Perfection 4°-14°

Chapter of Rose Croix 15°-18°

Consistory 19°-32°

Again, these 3 separate bodies have their own degrees, but do require them to be done in order (at least in Canada), hence the ° next to the body names.

Some people who have joined both York Rite and Scottish Rite will tell you that there isn’t too much difference, with the exception of one being more Christian in it’s teachings, and the other more theologically neutral.  Not being a member of Scottish Rite, I can’t express an opinion.  This is not due to a lack on interest on my part, just simply a lack of Scottish Rite in my geographic area.

But you’re probably thinking, “Martiall, you promised to answer the 33rd degree question”.  My dear reader, you’re absolutely right.

The 33rd degree is not one that you can simply go and take.  This is an honorary degree, that is by an invitation only.  This is generally given as a recognition of your commitment to the craft.  Because of it’s invitational status, you will read a whole bunch of conspiracy theories that the “Secret 33° Council controls the world”... if you know as many Masons as I do (and I do know some 33°s as well), you’ll quickly join me in my expression of “As soon as we figure out the next pancake breakfast.. THEN we’ll take over the world”.

These 3 bodies are not the only concordant bodies that exist in Masonry, and indeed, in various countries, the list does not look remotely close to this.  As I mentioned at the beginning, outside of North America, some things look very different.  For example, in England, Craft Masonry is 3 degrees, including the Royal Arch.  Don’t ask me about the math.. I’m still not sure.

There is more in Masonry to do than meets the eye, and one can easily get carried away if they’re not careful.  Some guys only ever join Blue Lodge, and that’s all they want. Others, their apron cases weigh more than a small child.  

The best thing about Masonry, is you get out of it what you put into it, and it doesn’t matter how many bodies you put into.  And in order to get started, all you need to do is ask.

Photo credit: Gotham - CW Network

[masonicmartiall]

Question 2: Why are you so passionate about Masonry?

This is the easiest question to answer. And requires no build up, background, or research. 

Because I want to wake up every day knowing that I can, have, and will continue to make a difference in this world. 

I don't think I can possibly be the only one in the world who, when confronted with his own mortality, has wondered "if the powers that be saw fit to take me now, what would I leave behind?"

Me personally; a lot of Lego, Funko Pops, watches, a house, car, and many other material things that ultimately my wife would be left to deal with. But when someone is asked to eulogize me, do I want them to say "he left his wife with a lot of $#!t to clean up after"? Or do I want them to say "he left us with all that he could. And so long as we remember him, and remember him well, we will always have the man we loved". Do I want to leave my family and friends with memories of a man they loved, respected, and appreciated? Absolutely. 

Because when we're gone, what is truly left behind is the memory of our lives. I, for one, want to leave them with memories they can be comforted by.  I want to be that man for them.

Because I wear a fez, I’m fortunate enough that I get to wake up every day knowing that I’ve made a difference in a child’s life; even if I never meet them.

Because of Masonry, I’m fortunate enough that I get to wake up every day and have a dozen guys at my back, willing to throw down for me, support me in times of distress, and even kick my @$$ when the occasion has called for it.  I’m fortunate enough that I have these men to teach me, guide me, grow with me, and even let me teach and guide them from time to time.

I am fortunate enough to be a brother.  I am fortunate enough to be a Mason.

[masonicmartiall]

Question 1: Are you guys a secret organization or religion?

Short and sweet: no.

More in depth:

A secret organization is one which conceals its membership, has secret meeting places and of which the public has little knowledge regarding its organization or its principles. This does not fit the Masonic Fraternity at all. Our secrets are a very few in number and deal with methods of personal recognition, some details of our degrees and the privacy of each member's ballot.  

Freemasonry is not a religion, although it is religious in character. Every applicant for the degrees in Freemasonry must express a belief in a Supreme Being. Masonry does not take the place of religion, but stresses personal commitment, and involvement in the individual's faith.  The Masonic fraternity encourages every member to attend and support the faith of his own choice.  Freemasonry does not presume to tell an individual what to believe; especially when it comes to the very personal nature of belief in your faith.

We are a fraternity, simple as that.  Every fraternity has it’s traditional practices, goals, and type of men who join.  

How does that translate to Freemasonry?

Traditional practices

Do we wear aprons? Yes.  This is symbolic, as our roots and symbols come from those of the operative stonemasons who built the world’s mightiest structures.  I’ll be writing a further post on this.

Do we perform ritual? Yes

Is that ritual something nefarious? No. It’s just like how you get up in the morning.  You get up, you shower, you dress, you eat breakfast.  Maybe you do morning devotionals, Why? Because this is your morning ritual.  You know how to start your day off the right way for you.  We know how to open our meetings the right way for us.  I’ll be writing a further post on this.

Do we tend to keep certain things secretive? Yes.  This is partially due to past persecution, and partially due to the fact that what is for some, is not meant for all.  There are simply just some people who would not make good Masons, and we don’t want our great fraternity associated with those who will not convey to the world the best example of what we stand for.  I’ll be writing a further post on this.

Are there more?  Absolutely, but I don’t want to give everything away right now.

Goals

Promote brotherly, relief, and truth

Make good men, better

To instill good morals and practices in men of today

Type of men who join

Men who believe in:

respect

honor

virtue

tradition

charity

integrity

equality

morality

Men who want to be better versions of themselves

How do men become better versions of themselves?

Simply put: who you surround yourself with says a lot about who you are and who you want to be.

[masonicmartiall]

I have a responsibility to better - EVERY DAY

re·spon·si·bil·i·ty

/rəˌspänsəˈbilədē/

noun

the state or fact of having a duty to satisfactorily perform a task assigned by someone, or created by one’s own promise

I can only attribute this to the men I surround myself with; my brothers in Masonry especially.

[masonicmartiall]

Visiting is one of the great privileges of membership

Lodges besides my own that I’ve attended

Northland Lodge No. 147 - Fairview, AB

Peace Lodge No. 126 - Dawson Creek, BC

Chetwynd Lodge No. 187 - Chetwynd, BC

Burnaby Lodge No. 150 - Vancouver, BC

Prince of Wales Lodge No. 100 - Vancouver, BC

Duke of  Connaught Lodge No. 64 - North Vancouver, BC

Perfection Lodge No. 75 - Surrey, BC

Visiting is one of the great privileges of membership, and I intend on reaping the benefit of that privilege for many years to come.  “Because I have a brother, I always have a friend”

[masonicmartiall]

“We, sadly, are surrounded by a society of increasingly cold indifference and isolation, populated by people who have become too afraid or busy or selfish or sceptical or bored to even leave their houses and simply find out the names of their next-door neighbours. Yet Freemasonry survives. It teaches and celebrates commitment, honour, tradition, integrity, truth, responsibility— words and ideas that have fallen out of fashion and become concepts that are foreign to far too many people in this world.” - Christopher Hodapp, 33°, Past Master, Knight Templar #freemason #freemasons #freemasonry #canadianfreemason #canadianfreemasonry #fraternity #brotherhood #brotherlylove #relief #truth #commitment #tradition #honour #integrity #repsonibility #enteredapprentice #fellowcraft #mastermason #brothers #brother #smib #2b1ask1

[masonicmartiall]

My Journey

Initiated into the craft as an Entered Apprentice - December 12, 2016 Passed to the Fellow Craft degree - January 9, 2017 Raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason - March 13, 2017

Regularly received, admitted and constituted a Noble - September 16, 2017

Initiated as a Mark Master Mason - October 24, 2017

Made a Most Excellent Master - April 17, 2018

Exalted to the degree of Royal Arch Mason - May 15, 2018

[masonicmartiall]

LIFER noun lif·er \ ˈlī-fər \ : a person who has made a lifelong commitment (as to a way of life)

I often hear people say “Oh yea, I was in blah blah for x years” and I always wonder “Why did they stop going?”

Sure, it could be that they aged out of a particular club; Scouts, for example. Perhaps, they moved to a community that didn’t have a local chapter of a particular organization; Odd Fellows, for example. But, more often than not, I’m sure that people just stop going. They get bored, they lose interest, they feel disengaged, they feel that they can no longer see value in said affiliation..

But.. every now and then, you meet someone who has been a member of a particular organization for YEARS, their entire lives, really. This organization is as much a part of them as their families, and essentially BECOME their family…

I’m outrageously honoured and proud.. just down right JAZZED, really, to be a member of these proud and noble fraternities, both Shrine, and Freemasonry which has led me here.

Here’s to a life long commitment, a new addition to the family, and hopefully; long standing tradition.