Personally I feel there is a difference between taking a ritual seriously (without which the ritual does not work) and being able to smile while doing it (because we should never take ourselves seriously).
My impression about the goat jokes is that they express an uneasiness about the ritual, and the need to say "I know it's a bit ridiculous, don't worry". I agree it is not the message we should share with our new initiates.
But that does not mean that the Worshipful master cannot smile or make a respectful joke during the ritual, because we are confident in what we do.
I agree. There should be more joy than stiffness, IMO. We can't make room for necessary spiritual vulnerability among Brothers if we are too rigid or perfectionist. It should be natural, and ultimately, human.
Oct 30, 2023·edited Oct 30, 2023Liked by Cameron M. Bailey
MW, your description of the optimal way to recognize Dia le los Muertos is a great illustration of the atmosphere for the optimal degree. I take from your comment the right atmosphere requires the right people with shared objectives and relevant experience. I can think of a handful of times when I've experienced degrees, or other ritual ceremonies, with that right combination. One was the rededication ceremony at my Lodge a few years ago. You and your team were well prepared and performed superbly. My Lodge Brothers, and virtually any Brother from our District, all wanted the renaming of our Lodge in honor of VW Dean Quigley to be a very special occasion. Another was a few months later when our Lodge was finally able to arrange VW Quigley's Masonic memorial service with his family. After extensive preparation and thought the memorial service was flawless and the perfect of solemnity and entertaining anecdotes. In both examples the right people were in the room.
Now, how to we get the right people in the room for degrees? We need to guard the West Gate to ensure that the right Brothers are already in the room and the candidates will be worthy of staying in the room once they're there. Then the degree team needs to be fully staffed, after which that team needs to prepare. Preparation must include thorough practice to find out who needs to study more, both those who haven't yet memorized the ritual and those who think they've memorized but in various aspects have actually forgotten. Or if it is a agreed that certain parts of the degree may be read that the reader can read and recite with some level of proficiency. I trust that you'll agree that these factors are not always at play (that's a "most friendly manner" way of saying it).
I agree with your view of how things ought to be, and I'm willing to do my part for the degrees in which I'm involved. If you're going to pick a cause pick one that's going to be around for a while.
I am very glad to know that you perceived the rededication ceremony of your Lodge well. From the perspective of those of us who came in to perform it, we had a truly wonderful evening. Your Lodge's welcome was awesome, and getting to talk with VW Quigley's family member to learn about him and his life was great!
As you know, we don't do ceremonies like that very often at all, so I always wondered if we were pulling them off well or not.
I feel this. I have a special tradition I do at a special yearly gathering and some lightheartedness is fine, but random joke-making is closer to mockery. There have been a couple times people have crossed the line into disrespect.
Ritual, regardless of the type, if done seriously in very intimate, you have to lower your defenses and be open to some 'other' whether that is God, spirits, brothers or dead ancestors. Joking, and light heartedness is not in-and-of-itself a problem, unless your lightheartedness hurts a person who had made themselves vulnerable for the ceremony/ritual. I have lots of spiritual practices, including an altar set up for my ancestors, which I mark important days in those ancestors lives, and of course I will honor them tomorrow at sun set thru sunset Nov 1. I share very little of my spiritual practices because so many people are more than ready to make fun or criticize.I think that the correct approach to ritual is to approach it as if the ritual was a respected friend. Be respectful, solemn if required, if something funny happens it's NOT wrong to smile, but get back on mission.
Since writing this post, I've been reading the comments, remembering and contemplating the situation.
Raph mentioned 'uneasiness about the ritual' and I think that is probably what happened with our friend. Fear likely caused him to cross the line into near mockery. Fear of what? Vulnerability I suppose. As men we do have a long tradition and social norm around remaining composed and stoic. The nature of a ritualistic remembrance of someone close who passed tends to break that down, and that could inspire fear of how one might be perceived.
Personally I feel there is a difference between taking a ritual seriously (without which the ritual does not work) and being able to smile while doing it (because we should never take ourselves seriously).
My impression about the goat jokes is that they express an uneasiness about the ritual, and the need to say "I know it's a bit ridiculous, don't worry". I agree it is not the message we should share with our new initiates.
But that does not mean that the Worshipful master cannot smile or make a respectful joke during the ritual, because we are confident in what we do.
I agree. There should be more joy than stiffness, IMO. We can't make room for necessary spiritual vulnerability among Brothers if we are too rigid or perfectionist. It should be natural, and ultimately, human.
MW, your description of the optimal way to recognize Dia le los Muertos is a great illustration of the atmosphere for the optimal degree. I take from your comment the right atmosphere requires the right people with shared objectives and relevant experience. I can think of a handful of times when I've experienced degrees, or other ritual ceremonies, with that right combination. One was the rededication ceremony at my Lodge a few years ago. You and your team were well prepared and performed superbly. My Lodge Brothers, and virtually any Brother from our District, all wanted the renaming of our Lodge in honor of VW Dean Quigley to be a very special occasion. Another was a few months later when our Lodge was finally able to arrange VW Quigley's Masonic memorial service with his family. After extensive preparation and thought the memorial service was flawless and the perfect of solemnity and entertaining anecdotes. In both examples the right people were in the room.
Now, how to we get the right people in the room for degrees? We need to guard the West Gate to ensure that the right Brothers are already in the room and the candidates will be worthy of staying in the room once they're there. Then the degree team needs to be fully staffed, after which that team needs to prepare. Preparation must include thorough practice to find out who needs to study more, both those who haven't yet memorized the ritual and those who think they've memorized but in various aspects have actually forgotten. Or if it is a agreed that certain parts of the degree may be read that the reader can read and recite with some level of proficiency. I trust that you'll agree that these factors are not always at play (that's a "most friendly manner" way of saying it).
I agree with your view of how things ought to be, and I'm willing to do my part for the degrees in which I'm involved. If you're going to pick a cause pick one that's going to be around for a while.
I am very glad to know that you perceived the rededication ceremony of your Lodge well. From the perspective of those of us who came in to perform it, we had a truly wonderful evening. Your Lodge's welcome was awesome, and getting to talk with VW Quigley's family member to learn about him and his life was great!
As you know, we don't do ceremonies like that very often at all, so I always wondered if we were pulling them off well or not.
I feel this. I have a special tradition I do at a special yearly gathering and some lightheartedness is fine, but random joke-making is closer to mockery. There have been a couple times people have crossed the line into disrespect.
I 100% agree, and can't think of anything to add for once.
Ritual, regardless of the type, if done seriously in very intimate, you have to lower your defenses and be open to some 'other' whether that is God, spirits, brothers or dead ancestors. Joking, and light heartedness is not in-and-of-itself a problem, unless your lightheartedness hurts a person who had made themselves vulnerable for the ceremony/ritual. I have lots of spiritual practices, including an altar set up for my ancestors, which I mark important days in those ancestors lives, and of course I will honor them tomorrow at sun set thru sunset Nov 1. I share very little of my spiritual practices because so many people are more than ready to make fun or criticize.I think that the correct approach to ritual is to approach it as if the ritual was a respected friend. Be respectful, solemn if required, if something funny happens it's NOT wrong to smile, but get back on mission.
Since writing this post, I've been reading the comments, remembering and contemplating the situation.
Raph mentioned 'uneasiness about the ritual' and I think that is probably what happened with our friend. Fear likely caused him to cross the line into near mockery. Fear of what? Vulnerability I suppose. As men we do have a long tradition and social norm around remaining composed and stoic. The nature of a ritualistic remembrance of someone close who passed tends to break that down, and that could inspire fear of how one might be perceived.