It snowed and snowed ,the whole world over,
Snow swept the world from end to end.
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned.As during summer midges swarm
To beat their wings against a flame
Out in the yard the snowflakes swarmed
To beat against the window paneThe blizzard sculptured on the glass
Designs of arrows and of whorls.
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned. Distorted shadows fell
Upon the lighted ceiling:
Shadows of crossed arms,of crossed legs-
Of crossed destiny.Two tiny shoes fell to the floor
And thudded.
A candle on a nightstand shed wax tears
Upon a dress.All things vanished within
The snowy murk-white,hoary.
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned.A corner draft fluttered the flame
And the white fever of temptation
Upswept its angel wings that cast
A cruciform shadowIt snowed hard throughout the month
Of February, and almost constantly
A candle burned on the table;
A candle burned.
Winter Night, written by Boris Pasternak
DECEMBER 22, 2021
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
These are words from a very wise and perceptive individual some many years ago; the thoughts are universal, they still resonate in our daily lives as 2021 comes to a close.
Greed — the desire and need to possess worldly wealth beyond one’s needs is out and about. It is one of the Seven Deadly Sins
One wonders if Mahatma Gandhi had ever encountered the last paragraph of the Entered Apprentice Lecture — if he didn’t he certainly understood the gist of it. [“Though constantly harassed more to produce the luxuries rather than the necessities of life . . . “]
We see this day in and day out around us. More, More and More . . . when Masonry reminds us to enjoy and be thankful for the comforts of having the necessities of life . . . shelter, a working furnace, food in the refrigerator and in the pantry, basic transportation. Our lives need to be a balance of avoiding [and even calling out when possible] greed and being ready and responsive to help relieve the distressed in their time of need. We need look no further to the death and destruction visited upon Western Kentucky last week. Perhaps we should consider making a donation [no donation is too small] via the Grand Lodge of Kentucky’s Web site.
Many blessings to one and all at this time of the year.
DECEMBER 15, 2021
One thing that I have come to enjoy as I have matriculated through my life is the prospect of clear sunny days in November and December. They to me are wonderful experience; it is a really good thing when you need to wear sunglasses when you’re out and about! It also means no clouds, rain, sleet or snow. I must say that clear nights are a different story — I will need to scrape frost of the car windows for the morning commute to my workplace.
While our days are very short, if we discern we note that our days are at their brightest, it also connotes a sense of stillness that sets in all around us. We see birds, deer, rabbits and squirrels are working diligently to store up food for the coming onset of Winter.
Is it possible that these days when the sun’s arc in the sky is at its lowest that it is our Divine Artist’s way [one of an infinite number of ways] of reminding that His light & his sundry assurances that He is with us always; He has established His house or kingdom forever for all humankind.
I do not believe that it is any coincidence that both Jews and Christians at this time of the year observe events representing Light in a darkened world. We need and are blessed to have the Three Great Lights of Masonry to guide us during dark December nights and always.
DECEMBER 8, 2021
“You brood of vipers . . . “
At this time of the year, our thoughts can (and maybe should) turn to our one patron, John the Baptist (It’s interesting at least to me that our Orthodox Christian brothers and sisters know him as John the Forerunner). He comes to us in Luke wearing Camel’s hair and eating nothing but wild locusts and honey, something that wouldn’t be our choice of attire or menu. Truly he would not be a “Beautiful Person”, A-lister, marketing major, or anything like that. Like several of the Old Testament prophets, he presents us with serious warnings.
I would say that while we wouldn’t want to address any group of vipers, we should take heed of John the Baptist’s message, of taking the first step and doing the right thing. His message: share with others when you have more than you need; do your job with honesty and integrity; govern justly; do not extort or take advantage of others.
As John the Baptist served the Great Architect with Freedom, Fervency and Zeal, we need to remember always to help making all the crooked paths straight in our lives and in our communities, to take our own “first step” of Justice and Charity, hallmarks of of our Masonic profession.
DECEMBER 1, 2021
See, I am making all things new,Also, he said “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
— Revelation 21:5
Happy New Year!!!
Happy New Year? The author must be losing his ever-loving mind!!! Happy New Year?? Where was the Tournament of Roses parade? The Rose Bowl isn’t on ESPN today . . . .what gives?
Many New Year’s Day’s don’t coincide on January 1st. This past Sunday, some Western Christian denominations marked Advent Sunday as a new liturgical year. Many businesses have all sorts of New Year’s Day throughout the calendar year for their Fiscal year [as our Lodge does too]. New Year’s Day this calendar year was September 6th for our Jewish brothers and sisters.
This evening our Lodge celebrates our “New Year” with the installation of Officers. This year we are able to come together in better circumstances than last year, ever mindful of the distance we’ve traveled with COVID, knowing there’s a ways to go. We will as always invoke the blessings of the Great Architect over our Family of Freemasonry and to be our pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day.
There is no “newness” as the tenets of our Fraternity are eternal. We rejoice in our ability to gather unfettered in our great Nation and celebrate another year in the life of our Lodge, as all Brothers and Fellows have done before. It would do the heart and soul well to see our sidelines full this, grasping once again our hands in token of our Fraternal friendship.
May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, be with us this day and all days to come.
THANKSGIVING, NOVEMBER 25, 2021
Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done
In whom the whole world rejoices,
Who from our mother’s arms
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.
Words, Nun danket alle Gott, Jonathan Kruger [1598-1662]
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.
— Malachi 3 : 11
A wish for a happy, blessed and safe Thanksgiving to the family of Freemasonry, near and far this day and all days.
NOVEMBER 17, 2021
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battle field of that war. We are now have come to dedicate a portion of it as the a final resting place of for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the that cause for which they here gave gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
— Abraham Lincoln, on the occasion of the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, November 19, 1863
Lest we forget.
NOVEMBER 10, 2021
God's green hills are set ablaze
His forests filled with dancing deer;
'Tis Mother Nature's Grand Finals
-- Harvest Time is here.
The tangerine moon is shining
Silhouetting trees down in the dell --
The silent corn stalks stand in rows
Under Autumn's awesome spell
Wild white geese are flying southward
Red Macintosh apples now arrear;
'Tis Nature's Grand Finale --
-- Harvest Time is here.
A Poem of Douglas Raymond Rose
Grand Prairie, Texas
OCTOBER 20, 2021
It was at this time of the year [pre-COVID, I might add] when driving on I-75 to Lodge that I noticed on one of the sundry billboards an advertisement for Cappel’s, showing a person clad in a Halloween outfit with the caption : “Be somebody you’re not”.
It is amazing how appropriate this ad is in today’s life : where we have elected officials, TV and radio talk show hosts, movie stars and other assorted “A-list” people all posing as knowledgeable in public health and safety. How sad of an illusion; people being someone or something that they actually aren’t at all.
With Masonry, we are relieved of the necessity of trying to be someone or something we’re not. We are ourselves, gifted by the Great Architect with various gifts and talents and the understanding to apply them daily for the betterment of ourselves and all people. We do not need, and should ever resist the need to “costume” ourselves — to daily grasp the realities of living and acting accordingly.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
It had rained last Tuesday night and into the morning Wednesday when I left for work, though it appeared the clouds were beginning to lift and I drove in a Southwesterly course.
I was in the midst of my third week with my new employer and having a bit of “new job” anxiety, hoping I would digest all the newness, having been flooded so far with all the TMI deriving from WebX sessions and the like.
I looked up at the now blue sky and lo and behold : it was a vibrant, bright rainbow. So many thoughts cam to mind : the hymns “Blessed Assurance” and “Amazing Grace”. I remember God’s promise to Noah about floods, and the pillars of Boaz and Jachin, God’s promise to David that He would establish His house or kingdom forever.
As Masons, we learn of the Anchor and Ark in the explanation of the emblems in the Master Mason Lecture. Though it is not included, should we not also include of a rainbow with the Anchor and Ark?
God graced me last Wednesday on His promise to me that I will not be “flooded” and that all of us realize the Divine Artist’s eternal promise to us all.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2021
Today I am going to talk about a very interesting and unique fellow Mason, born on this date here in Cincinnati in 1857 — William Howard Taft, the only person ever in our history to have served as President of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States.
His profession and greatest avocation was the law; he wound up as an administrator in the Philippines before being “anointed” as Theodore Roosevelt’s successor as nominee of the Republican Party in 1908. He accepted the nomination on the portico of his half-brother’s house, which today houses the Taft Museum of Art. [An interesting place to tour is William Howard Taft’s birthplace on Auburn Avenue, which is maintained by the National Park Service] After losing re-election in 1912, he returned to his Alma Mater, Yale University as a law professor until his nomination and installation as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921.
As his father and two brothers were members of Kilwinning Lodge #256, William petitioned for membership in 1909, shortly prior to becoming President. The then Grand Master, Charles Hoskinson, convened an Occasional Lodge at 5:00 p.m. on February 18, 1909 the the purpose of making him a Mason at sight. There was in attendance some 800 Masons in the Scottish Rite Cathedral, some others numbering around 200 had to have been turned away. This did cause some “backlash” from those opposed to this “irregular” event.
Upon his being elected to membership to Kilwinning Lodge #356, he addressed those assembled as follows : “I am glad to be here,and to be a Mason. It does me good to feel the thrill that comes from recognizing on all hands the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.”
SEPTEMBER 5, 2021 LABOR DAY
Come, labor on, who dares stand idle on the harvest plain,
While all around us waves the golden grain?
And to each servant does the Master say,
“Go work today”.
Verse 1, written by Jane Laurie Borthwick
Yesterday morning our minister during our church service asked those either literally or figuratively to hold up the items with which they work or anything such as a hobby or avocation. What came to mind instantly for me was one of my most valuable possessions, the Ritual Book.
How appropriate is it for us as Masons on this Labor Day to take a bit of time and reflect on Labor and our symbolic Working Tools with which we should all remember. Work for every person is a blessing, furthermore it is a blessing for our families and our communities as well in our workplace where we actually earn [or did earn if retired] our W2 income.
The concept of work is found all interwoven throughout the three Degrees of Symbolic Masonry, the importance of which should be one of our principal tenets, from how we are taught to build that spiritual house, not made with human hands in our Initiation, all the way to understanding why we wish to receive Master’s Wages and that the Divine Artist created us for active and social life, being the nobelest part of His work.
Let us not “stand idle” at this time of need in our world today. Come, labor on.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
Transition — [Noun] The process or period of changing from one state of condition to another — Webster’s English Dictionary
You don’t even need a calendar to know what month of the year it is — just walk into your favorite Kroger or Walmart and one is “greeted” with Back to School, Halloween candy, pumpkin pies and everything pumpkin spice imaginable. (Though I do have say I would take a flyer on pumpkin spice Cheerios)
We have now arrived at the ninth month of this year, September, which is a month where we transition away from summer and into autumn, away from the hot and humid summer into the warm and dry days.
By now, we have lost around two full hours of daylight from the Summer Solstice; we can notice our days though are getting a bit brighter. The baseball season is in its home stretch [maybe there’s playoff hope yet for the Reds], Ohio State plays its first football game tomorrow night, college football’s first full weekend is right upon us [Thanks Be To God!]
Transition is for us as Masons an understanding that the process of transition is a daily journey from yesterday into that undiscovered country that each day brings to us. We cannot be today what we were just yesterday, even if our transition is seemingly very minor. We all transition and I write this as I myself transition now to a new employer. Life changes and events can be and are fraught with uncertainty, but are we are guided by our Supreme Architect, we trust we travel with the Eternal Lamp Unto Our Feet on this Level of Time.
Please let’s also at this time keep those whose lives are being impacted by Hurricane Ida foremost in our daily prayers and supplications.
Lodge resumes next Wednesday! We will once again be greeting each other in person!
AUGUST 25, 2021
I have a confession to make. We all know what Mark Twain wrote about this subject : that while it may be good for the soul, it can indeed be bad for the reputation.
My “confession” is that Sandy & I visit our favorite Chinese buffet each Sunday (and if so inclined I can tell you its name & location) and at the time the check is presented we get a fortune cookie, which are sometimes interesting, sometimes humorous and sometimes trite. I want at this juncture to share the text of my fortune this past week : All the darkness of the world cannot put out a single candle.
THese days it seems there is nothing but darkness in our lives : The Delta Variant and rising infections and hospitalizations, wildfires, earthquakes, fights at Board of Education meetings over masking, Boards of Education being sued over masking policies, politicians and talk show hosts posing as medical experts, and so on, with no seeming end in sight.
Freemasonry is that candle which will never be extinguished, no matter what. We have been given this as our lamp unto our feet to enable us to continue our journey with our full faith and confidence in the Supreme Architect, doing his work in the world. May we ever continue to walk in the light — even if it seems to be at times a solitary candle.
AUGUST 18, 2021
My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
— Psalm 130:5
Watching and waiting. Waiting and watching. These are the bane of our lives. The psalmist writes for humankind for all times as there can indeed be nothing more stressful than having to watch and wait. I can certainly relate very clearly, having been on a job search these last four months, as I discerned my present job situation wasn’t a fit for me.
How any task could be more frustrating and disappointing than filling out and submitting applications, getting phone or in-person interviews and getting the standard response “while your work experience is extensive and impressive, we have decided to pursue other candidates . . . ” and so on. (One prospective employer, after the initial phone interview said to me that if selected to “move forward” there would be two Zoom interviews and then an in-person interview.)
We as Masons realize where our waiting can be overwhelming and the outcome unclear: the days before the results of medical tests, when warned of violent or severe weather, and the seeming eternity while loved ones face adversity and our inability to helwp. We are assured, however of the representation of Time Unfolding the Hair of the Beautiful Virgin Weeping : that time, patience and perseverance will accomplish all things.
AUGUST 11, 2021
You shall not be afraid of any terror by night,
nor of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the plague that stalks in the darkness,
nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day.
Psalm 91, versus 4-5
It would seem that the Psalmist would have written these words today as to where we are at this juncture, with the Delta Variant, wildfires and so forth. It is indeed a discouraging time as though we have taken some steps backward in the world of COVID. Remember how good things appeared just two months ago?
We know that life is not and never will be the proverbial “bed of roses” for us.Throughout our degrees, Freemasonry definitely supports this reality.
Perhaps in these trying days we should all bear in mind the first question posed to us when we were first admitted into Lodge at our own Initiation : In times of difficulty and danger, in whom do we put our trust? This is a question we as Masons should always keep in the forefront of our daily thoughts. Let us all arise, follow our Divine Guide and fear no danger.
AUGUST 4, 2021
august — Adjective, meaning “respected and impressive” [Webster’s Dictionary]
A happy month of August [already] to all! How swiftly the sands of time run. This month would need to be respected and impressive as after all it was named after Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar!
This month interestingly contains the birthdays of five U.S. Presidents : Barack Obama [today], Herbert Hoover [Aug. 10], Bill Clinton [Aug. 19], Benjamin Harrison [Aug. 20] and Lyndon Johnson [Aug. 27].
Have you noticed by now our amount of daylight has lessened by some 50 minutes; our 9:00 p.m. sunsets are a thing of the past.
It is the start of a slow transition to autumn when we will return from our “time away” from Lodge meetings and to be able to look forward to the work that will be awaiting us. For me, it’s a wonderful confluence with the start of another college football season [hopefully it will be a pre-COVID season] and that first September stated meeting. Let’s hope we’ll be able this year to hold an Awards Night, an Installation of Officers and no shut downs.
Let us rejoice in what Masonry has to offer us in the coming months : we remember that each day as the Sun rises in the East to open and illume the day that our Divine Artist has for each and every one of us a treselboard with no designs upon it; it is up to us to fill it with the daily displays of brotherly, relief and truth to His glory.
JULY 28, 2021
Sir Alexander Fleming, a demure Scotsman, was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal of the Grand Lodge of New York. On the occasion of this presentation, Brother Fleming recalled his work on penicillin. One night, he failed to have closed the window with some vials containing bacteria and moulds got blown together. Upon arriving the following day, he found the upturned vial and bacteria in contact and that the bacteria was dead. He knew at that juncture that he was onto something significant.
Continuing, Sir Fleming said “It is apparent to everyone who knows anything of the circumstances surrounding the discovery of penicillin that it was not discovered by any human being. Penicillin was the gift of Almighty God to the human race.”
We should always give all credit to our Divine Artist; there is nothing new under sun as all we do is discover something that was there all the time.
So mote it be.
JULY 21, 2021
Happy Independence Day — Belgium! Today is the day in 1830 when the French & Flemish of the then United Provinces declared their independence from the Netherlands, becoming a member of the family of nations, the latest one in Western Europe — surely there are a number of new nations over the last 30 or so years in Eastern Europe.
So today we’ll have a gander of our Brethren in Belgium. Just four years afterwards, in 1834, Masons founded the Free University of Brussels, still in existence today. A top museum attraction In Brussels is the Belgian Museum of Freemasonry.
This small nation has a membership of some 25,000, which are governed by four separate Grand Bodies :
1.) The Grand Orient — men only, working in the three degrees which does not require a belief in a Supreme Being
2.) The Grand Lodge — men only, working in the three degrees [formed in 1959 when it lost recognition of the Grand Lodge of England, which it lost in 1979]
3.) The Regular Grand Lodge — men only, working in the three degrees [formed by nine Lodges June 15, 1959, with 59 subordinate Lodges today]
4.) The Women’s Grand Lodge — women only, woking under “Masonic obedience” [the initial Lodge formed on April 20, 1974 & Grand Lodge constituted October 17, 1981]
JULY 14, 2021
Happy Bastille Day! C’est la fete national de France! All right, enough of my rudimentary French. I’ve always wondered how the French national anthem would sound sung with a Midwestern twang. [Allons enfants de la paternité and so on].
Today I want to share with you the life story of a French Mason by the name of Roger Nathan, son of a prominent Jewish family in Marseilles, who in his youth and early manhood was a keen sportsman and champion swimmer. He received the degrees of Masonry in 1934 in Lodge #104 EGALITE-JUSTICE and became its Orator [Chaplain] .
Life changed drastically in 1940 with France’s surrender. New anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic laws were enacted. Our brother now took the code name “Murat” and was active in the Resistance in southeast France, as he was the founder of the resistance group LIBERTE, whose members were quite adept and forging identification cards. He was finally arrested in 1942 after making sure his wife and daughter were safe in Switzerland. Even while in the Buchenwald Concentration camp, Nathen-Murat and fellow Masons were still conducting degrees.
In 1945, he escaped with two others; returning to Marseilles, where he resumed his Masonic activities, and working diligently to relieve the worthy and distressed Masons who had lost their jobs, homes and families during the occupation; demonstrating the true humanity of Freemasonry.
Vive Freemasonry, yesterday, today and always.
JULY 7, 2021
“Busy is back”, the news blares at us. Airports are jammed, planes are packed, mask mandates are over. I get the figurative mental image of Jailbreak! It’s the return of business; one can feel the anxiety rise.Do we need “busy” to be back? Isn’t it the last thing we need, as when we live, talk, text and work from a busy place, no one gets the very best of us. These are some thoughts brought up by Maria Shriver in one of her recent Sunday Morning blogs and I believe these are worthwhile thoughts for all of us as we enter new and uncharted waters post COVID.
Perhaps one unintended side benefit of a year of a pandemic showed us that we need not be “busy”. We as Masons can be reminded of this through the 24 inch gauge we encounter in the EA degree and also once again through the emblem of the Beehive in the MM Lecture, ‘man was made for active and social life” [nowhere is the word “busy” to be found!].
Freemasonry calls to us each and every day to regulate our days & to be active — we need not return to or embrace “busy” lives — but to keep our day in balance and to be productful & useful members of our Fraternity and our communities for the benefit of ourselves and all we encounter.
JUNE 15, 2021
You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good?
–Matthew 12:34
As He must increase, so must I decrease.
-John 3:30
Tomorrow we mark the feast day of our one patron, John the Baptist. It’s no surprise or coincidence that June 24 was chosen, as we have marked the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere; the length of our days will now begin to slowly shorten [although it will be some time until we notice it!]
John the Baptist is a very appropriate patron for us Masons as his lifestyle and ministry found in Scripture illustrate Freedom, Fervency and Zeal. We might not go around clad as he was or dine on locusts and honey, but it does show a freedom from possessions and material wealth. Perhaps is was an overstatement to address a crowd by calling them a brood of vipers [something I hope we would never do] John went on to zealously indicate that we always will need to “take the first step”, such as giving one of our extra coats to someone who has none, and to generally do what’s right.
John also shows very clearly his own comprehension of his right relationship with the Supreme Architect by acknowledging that mortal life will [and must] decline while realizing the realities of the religious authorities of the day. Indeed, we must always be watchful of the King Herods of our day.
Please take some time tomorrow and reflect on this marvelous exemplar that we are fortunate to have, try to picture John the Baptist in the real world today, and that as Masons we should re-dedicate ourselves to serve each other, our communities, families, workplaces and houses of worship with our own Freedom, Fervency and Zeal.
JUNE15, 2021
Against you only I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
— Psalm 51:4
I always remind myself of what Mark Twain wrote about confession, that while it may be good for the soul it’s indeed bad for the reputation. This is a concept of which all of us can relate to [even if we really wouldn’t sometimes!] The word “sin” always sounds harsh and perhaps we should view this concept from the Greek & Hebrew concepts of “missing the mark” — the things we did and said and the things we did and did not do in our daily lives. There is no “vaccination” from it!
Masonry brings this concept and realization to us early on in the symbolic emblem of the Rough Ashlar found in the Lecture of the Entered Apprentice Degree — the stone taken from the quarry in its rude and natural state. The stone needs adjusting before it is ready for use in the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. We are reminded to always be aware of our mortal shortcomings in our continuous journey and goal of being the Perfect Ashlar.
JUNE 2, 2021
— For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed,we have a building from God, a house not made of hands, eternal in the heavens.
— 2 Corinthians 5:1
Our bodies, no matter how brilliantly designed, are going to fail us sooner or later. As Masons we know that this isn’t the end of the story. Our bodies serve their purpose; we learn of and should be reminded of the Common Gavel “so that our minds be made as living stones, for that house not made of hands.
We will be ready to celebrate and enjoy an existence unmarred by bodily attrition. It is prepared by the Divine Creator, who will stop at nothing to ensure that life not only continues in the Celestial Lodge above, in the eternal house. May we live our daily lives to represent that beauty and glory which reign forever before the Supreme Architect’s throne.
So mote it be.
MAY 19, 2021
LIGHT FROM WB MICHAEL PORADA, LODGE EDUCATION OFFICER
Sing to the Lord a great song
for he has done marvelous things.
Psalm 98, Verse 1
This is a wonderful portion of the Psalter, a group of psalms proclaiming joy! It’s chalk full of interesting metaphors such as Rivers clapping their hands and the hills ring out with joy! Could we imagine the headline in the Cincinnati Enquirer : “The Ohio River’s hands clap” and “Mount Auburn and Price Hill shouting together in joy”? That would really be something! And perhaps, each in their own they do, though we can’t tell.
Right now, in our lives we get to see some of the marvelous things — mask mandates are being lifter, COVID is being at least tamed, and the Reds will no longer have seating limits at home games [now if they could just get some pitching … I digress, but would INDEED be A MARVELOUS THING].
The most marvelous work for us as Masons is seeing fewer empty seats on the sidelines as this does indeed make the heart and soul glad. Indeed our Creator does marvelous things and calls us to help to continuing all such good works as He has prepared us so to do this day and all days.
MAY 5, 2021
WHAT IS FREEMASONRY?
In the home, it’s kindness
In society, it’s courtesy
In business, it’s honesty
In work, it’s fairness
Toward the unfortunate, it’s pity
Toward the wicked, it’s resistance
Toward the weak, it’s help
To the strong, it’s trust
Toward the penitent, it’s forgiveness
Toward the fortunate, it’s congratulations
Toward God, it is reverence and love —
THIS IS MASONRY
APRIL 19, 2021
A SMILING PRAYER
Give us, Lord, a bit of sun, A bit of work and a bit of fun,
Give us all in the struggle and sputter,
Our daily bread and a bit of butter.
Give us our health,our keep to make, and a bit to spare for the poor folks sake.
Give us sense for we’re some of us duffers, and a heart to feel for all that suffers.
Give us, too, a bit of song, and a tale and a book to help us along.
And give us our share of sorrow’s lesson, that we may prove how grief’s a blessing.
Give us, Lord, a chance to be our goodly best, brave, wise and free,
Our goodly best for ourselves and others
‘Till all men learn to live as brothers.
MARCH 28, 2021
For it is the Passover of the Lord
Exodus 12:27
We have now arrived as what is commonly known as Holy Week in our lives. It is a special time where we should be doing and contemplating the concurrent feasts of the Jewish Passover and the Christian Passover [better known as Easter}. We are to pause and remember the faith and trust the nation of Israel placed in God to deliver them from slavery in Egypt, and that freedom from slavery was a long and difficult journey to the Promised Land, and there wound up being in conflict with many tribes, and even being taken into the Babylonian captivity. Regardless, the Lord God led the nation of Israel
by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
Today, as Masons remind ourselves that these great stories of freedom and rebirth parallel our lives today. It’s no coincidence that Passover and Easter are both observed in a time of nature’s re-birth around us. We must put of faith and trust in God to deliver our world from the bondage of fear, anxiety, greed, envy and especially COVID-19. May God watch over and bless us, and especially bless the family of Freemasonry.
The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord to make his face shine upon you,and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,and give you peace.
— Numbers 6:22-26
We’re all familiar with one of our pieces of Americana each fall, as high schools and universities all hold a Homecoming Weekend, which began with the University of Missouri back in 1911. Of course, Homecomings were victimized this past year by COVID.
We as Masons have our “Homecomings” throughout the year as well — I count four such ones : our September stated meeting (after having been dark in July and August), Awards Night, Installation of Officers Night and Inspection night, which for us is tonight. It gives us opportunities to renew our ties, to catch up on our lives and be together. Yes, unfortunately the COVID did a number on two of these, so we have the opportunity to come to Lodge tonight and celebrate our past as well the present day, looking forward to a bright future in the days and years to come.
It would do the heart and soul well to see our Lodge room full this evening, I hope to see many familiar faces on the sidelines as are able!
MARCH 17, 2021
By it, we account for the return of the seasons, and the number of scenes each season displays to the discerning eye
This is one of my many favorite passages from the Fellow Craft Lecture. I have always had a difficult time of giving this Lecture, but there are several things which just resonates with me.
Happy spring! as we approach the equinox. Gone are the bitter cold temperatures and snow mountains. Daylight Saving Time has resumed, the evergreens and grass have started “going green”, and soon we will see flowers coming back to life, along with shrubs and trees..Fifteen days from now, the Reds will [hopefully] open their season, with a limited number of fans able to attend!
Above all, this springtime of 2021 offers all of us a ray of hope for coming out of the dangers, changes and disruptions of the past year. We’re not “out of the woods” just yet, but just maybe with continued daily prudence and the vaccinations that all of us will get there; as all fellows and brothers have done before .
So mote it be.
MARCH 3, 2021
A MASONIC RECIPE
Take 2 heaping cups of PATIENCE
One heartful LOVE
2 handfuls GENEROSITY
Dash of LAUGHTER
One headful UNDERSTANDING
Sprinkle generously with KINDNESS
Add plenty of FAITH and mix well
Spread over a period of a lifetime
and serve everybody you meet.
FEBRUARY 24, 2021
Prior to the establishment of the first Grand Lodge of England on June 24, 1717, the origins of Freemasonry are unknown. Over the years many learned Masonic researchers and scholars have many books and articles about its establishment with differing theories. It appears no hard core evidence actually exists.
There are glimpses, however, that Masonry has been around in one form or another for quite some time.
An old brass square was found under the foundation stone of an old bridge in Limerick, Ireland in 1830. The inscription on the square was dated 1517, and is as follows :
I will strive to live,
With love and care,
Upon the level
By the square.
FEBRUARY 17 2021
Today, some Christian churches observe what is known as Ash Wednesday, beginning in the tradition of the Lenten season. It’s a day of attitude; members attend a church service where the officant olaces ashes on the foreheads of those as an outward reminder of our own imperfect state by nature. (This practice may be somewhat modified this year due to COVID concerns)
There are many examples in the Old Testament concerning sackcloth and ashes; perhaps the most memorable is the (very reluctant) prophet Jonah being sent by God to pronounce judgement and destruction of the city of Ninevth and its inhabitants. The people donned sackcloth and covered themselves in ashes in token of their not living in a right relationship with God, who saw their contrition and spared them.
Now we don’t of course need to start wearing sackcloth (it’s too cold for that anyway) and cover ourselves in ashes, but rather it is a good day to “step aside” and examine whether living in a right relationship with the Supreme Architect and in right, positive and productive relationships with our Brother Masons and all humankind. Please all those afflicted with the ravages of COVID in our prayers, and trust in the Supreme Being to lead us out of this pandemic.
JANUARY 20, 2021
Can anything good come from Nazareth? — John 1:46
I came across the Biblical passage and thought it would be an appropriate one in our lives today. Name calling is hardly a new happenstance!
I wonder how we would look at this question when framing it with our current pandemic [which doesn’t seem to be going away any time in the near or distant future] with the turbulent times in our democracy. Can anything good come out of our latter-day Nazareth?
As Masons, we are aware of our place in our society, and will persevere and flourish through all the current limitations. We hold up in prayer to our Supreme Architect our brothers and families dealing with the plague of COVID. We can remember that our Freemasonry survived the Morgan affair and how our European brothers came through the years of the Holocaust some 70 years ago.
We will find the good to come out from all of this; may we realize that we as individuals, our beloved Fraternity, our nation and the world will emerge healed.