FROM THE EAST - MARCH

Hope springs eternal! For some reason I really like that saying, and it is so representative of our Fraternity. At the beginning of our Masonic lives we spoke with a friend or a Mason in the hope of gaining admission into the Craft. We did our work in the hope of progressing through the three degrees. We became Master Masons full of the hope of becoming better men, embarking on a quest that never ends.

So many times our Brethren, past and present, shine as examples of charity, goodwill, faith, honor, and love. Masonic history is full of stories of Brethren literally crossing battlefields to help a Brother in distress, even if he was on the other side. I’m fond of the story of the British Mason who released a captured American Mason during the Revolutionary War. The “redcoat” brought his Revolutionary Brother clothes, food, money, and a horse to make it back to the army that might very well bring about the British man’s demise. To say that the promise he made to help a brother was his only motivation oversimplifies what our Fraternity is all about.

Brethren, Freemasonry embodies the hope that men can be more than their mortal existence dictates. The Craft regards men for their inner qualifications because it is in the heart of man that the hope for a better life, a brighter future, and a higher calling resides. Man has always aspired for something more for himself. Masonry symbolizes the hope for something more for Mankind.

We seek knowledge to improve our understanding, that we may better serve our Creator and our fellow man. The Mason true of heart pursues the teachings of our Fraternity in the hope that he will become more than what he was before he took the obligation. When a Brother immerses himself in deeper meanings of our Fraternity he becomes a truer friend, a stronger protector of the helpless, a kinder teacher, a compassionate listener, and a better man.

Freemasonry encourages the hope that we can make ourselves a little more like the Divine Creator intended us to be.

Fraternally,

Stuart Mason
Worshipful Master