As we in Pennsylvania take the first steps of a Masonic Renaissance, most do so with their minds and hearts wide open. There are a few, however, who meet the idea with icy stares and an attitude that it will most assuredly fail. Having spoken at lenght last year about change, I know that the Brethren of the 54th District have fully embraced the concept and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep this Fraternity great.
As I visit the Lodges this year, I will be spending some time talking about the 21st Century Masonic Renaissance, but I will also be gearing many of my remarks toward our own self-improvement. Whether it is our attitude toward change, our willingness to help others or our commitment to personal growth, the ability to make our Fraternity better by necessity must begin with making ourselves better.
While you ponder the points of the Renaissance, I will close with this thought regarding the printing of our ritual. It seems to me that many Brothers are getting bogged down in the semantics of the EA oath; the common thought being that were not to reveal the ritual of Freemasonry. Nowhere do we say that we won’t write the ritual. In fact, the word ritual never appears in our ritual.
I would submit that the secret Art and Mystery of the Craft is not the ritual, but rather it comes from the feeling a man gets and the transformation he undergoes during a beautiful initiatiory experience. It is the desire for self improvement that comes by simply reflecting on the moral lessons of a few Stonemason's tools. That is the secret Mystery and it can never be revealed because it cannot be explained.
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