About twenty other Masons and I headed out to visit Puerto Vallarta Lodge No. 34 tonight. It’s just over 2,500 miles from my house to the Lodge (at least according to Google Maps) so it was a bit of a journey for us.
It wasn’t any cake walk for the Lodge either, they had to round up their Masons and call a Special Communication to accommodate us.
Well, we weren’t able to open Lodge tonight. The electricity in the Lodge went down (it is without windows so was totally dark) and while an electrician was called, he couldn’t get it working.
So, instead of opening Lodge, we sat around outside. We exchanged some gifts and talked together. We followed that with a trip out to dinner where we were able to talk and share some more.
It leads me to contemplate…
What is truly Freemasonry?
Is it opening and closing our Lodge? Making Masons? Our ritual?
Or is it what we did tonight? Building bonds of fellowship and friendship between Men, no matter the fact that we are separated by distance, language, and culture?
With an open heart I won't answer. In the AASR we speak about and learn about the ineffable name of God. People have tried for centuries to define art, and love ... and at the end there are things which are ineffable; experiences not concepts. It's like trying to see the things at night which aren't in the beam of the flashlight. You can move the beam - but there will always be things outside the beam and all great answers will be incomplete.
What's Freemasonry? From a logical perspective it's unsatisfying to say "you know it when you see it" but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
But also it's a fraternity based on the Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and a deep abiding love for green beans. ;)
"It is what it is". Ugh. Anyway We as men can congregate together without Masonry. We can exchange gifts. We can go out to dinner. We can sit outside and chat. We can travel to foreign countries and visit old friends and rekindle past relationships. We can all share a common bond as a fraternity, but that isn't freemasonry. There are countless fraternal organizations that offer all those things, and plenty of social clubs that do that as well. Shared common interests within groups is universal. Some by choice, some by force, some by circumstance.
What sets Freemasonry apart is explained very succinctly in the very first degree. A system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. A few simple words that express all you need to know about "what" freemasonry is (or should be).
Sadly, all too often, freemasonry is viewed no different than the Elks. A big (but shrinking) social club dedicated to everything but what masonry is supposed to be. And when you try and steer that Blue Star line cruise ship away from the iceberg, old timers grab the steering wheel out of your hands and plow full steam ahead.
That was very unfournet not being able to open the lodge and observe how Masonry is performed in another country. I have to agree with Brother Geiss in respect that it wasn't Masonry in the strongest of terms, but it accomplished what the objective to unight Brethren who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.
The lodge and our ritual make Masonry unequic to other organizations, but when things change that are out of our control Masonry can adapt and disperse light.
The true Light of Masonry is the Bible, followed by the square and compass. As we are aware the first step is realizing we were wanderers in darkness (ignorance), but seek light not produced outwardly, but internally (Gnosis). Of all the Liberal arts and sciences handed down from the Muses, Charity is the highest, implying brotherly love; and all love is, is harmony. I would say you all did open and closed lodge, just not in the formal since.
Porque donde dos o tres se reúnen en mi nombre, ahí estoy yo con ellos. -Matthew 18:20
With an open heart I won't answer. In the AASR we speak about and learn about the ineffable name of God. People have tried for centuries to define art, and love ... and at the end there are things which are ineffable; experiences not concepts. It's like trying to see the things at night which aren't in the beam of the flashlight. You can move the beam - but there will always be things outside the beam and all great answers will be incomplete.
What's Freemasonry? From a logical perspective it's unsatisfying to say "you know it when you see it" but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
But also it's a fraternity based on the Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and a deep abiding love for green beans. ;)
"It is what it is". Ugh. Anyway We as men can congregate together without Masonry. We can exchange gifts. We can go out to dinner. We can sit outside and chat. We can travel to foreign countries and visit old friends and rekindle past relationships. We can all share a common bond as a fraternity, but that isn't freemasonry. There are countless fraternal organizations that offer all those things, and plenty of social clubs that do that as well. Shared common interests within groups is universal. Some by choice, some by force, some by circumstance.
What sets Freemasonry apart is explained very succinctly in the very first degree. A system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. A few simple words that express all you need to know about "what" freemasonry is (or should be).
Sadly, all too often, freemasonry is viewed no different than the Elks. A big (but shrinking) social club dedicated to everything but what masonry is supposed to be. And when you try and steer that Blue Star line cruise ship away from the iceberg, old timers grab the steering wheel out of your hands and plow full steam ahead.
That was very unfournet not being able to open the lodge and observe how Masonry is performed in another country. I have to agree with Brother Geiss in respect that it wasn't Masonry in the strongest of terms, but it accomplished what the objective to unight Brethren who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance.
The lodge and our ritual make Masonry unequic to other organizations, but when things change that are out of our control Masonry can adapt and disperse light.
The true Light of Masonry is the Bible, followed by the square and compass. As we are aware the first step is realizing we were wanderers in darkness (ignorance), but seek light not produced outwardly, but internally (Gnosis). Of all the Liberal arts and sciences handed down from the Muses, Charity is the highest, implying brotherly love; and all love is, is harmony. I would say you all did open and closed lodge, just not in the formal since.
Porque donde dos o tres se reúnen en mi nombre, ahí estoy yo con ellos. -Matthew 18:20