FROM THE EAST - MAY
Mother’s Day is this weekend (in case you forgot) so family is a good topic for this month’s message. Our Fraternity expresses a public dedication to helping the widows and orphans of our deceased brethren, and in practice, Masons often help Brothers families beyond just those two categories of relations. Truly, the importance of family resonates throughout the Craft as symbolized in terms such as “brethren”, “brothers”, “widow”, “son”, and “orphans”. From its foundations, Freemasonry has recognized the importance of family to its members, citing our duty to family as being second only to our duty to the Supreme Architect of the Universe.
As Freemasons, good men seeking to be better men, we should cherish and protect the women in our lives. Mother’s Day reminds us of our moms, of course, but I encourage you to cherish all the women of your family. It has been my good fortune to be surrounded by a host of wonderful women all my life. My sainted mother continues to put up with my dad and raised two rambunctious and stubborn boys to be good men. Grandmothers who cooked and spoiled like grandmothers should, spinster great-aunts who raised vegetables and made us play in the yard to get our exercise, cousins, sisters, nieces and now a grand-niece have all added memories and experiences that constitute the full and blessed life I’ve led. We all have such women in our lives, Brothers, and we should take time to recall the fond memories of the departed and show the women around us now how much we love and appreciate them.
Whether our wives, sisters, daughters, cousins, aunts or just good friends actually have children of their own isn’t really relevant. The women of our families have acted as a Mother at some point to each of us. Remember them, Brothers. Write a letter, card or e-mail, or pick up the phone and tell all the women you hold dear in your heart that your life is better because they are in it. The Supreme Architect, in His Infinite wisdom, created two versions of human beings, two halves of the human experience. Let us take time to cherish all of our other halves now, and in so doing, raise our appreciation for them all year long.
Sincerely and Fraternally,
Stuart Mason
Worshipful Master