A Passion for Compassion

Tonight I made my first ever Official Visit to Infinty Lodge No. 546.  The Master and Officers were extremely well prepared and showed every kindness to many of us who were first time visitors. 

I presented 50 Service Emblems to four of the members.  One travelled from South Carolina and another from Detroit to receive their awards.  I asked if it was just a fortunate coincidence that they were in town at this time assuming that perhaps a wedding or family event found them fortuitously in the area.  They both replied that they made this trip specifically to receive the Award in their Lodge surrounded by people they know and love.  That speaks so much for the bonds forged in our great Fraternity.  What a glorious evening.

I had the privilege of offering the following to the assembled Brethren

A Passion for Compassion

. . . May I reach

That purest heaven, -- be to other souls

The cup of strength in some great agony,

Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,

Beget the smiles that have no cruelty,

Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,

And in diffusion ever more intense!

So shall I join the choir invisible

Whose music is the gladness of the world. – George Eliot

There was once a small girl who lived in on the outskirts of a mountain village with just her mother and a servant. There had been a drought in the land and everyone and everything around was suffering. The girl’s mother was so weak and thirsty that the girl decided on her own to set off into the land and search for some water. She took the little tin dipper from the shelf and walked for hours until she found a tiny spring in the mountains that had just a small amount of water trickling out. The girl patiently held the dipper until she had what she thought was enough water for her sick mother, then she began to make her way back home.

On the way she met up with a little dog. The dog looked so weak to her. He licked her hand and his dry tongue made her take pity. She said to him, “I can only spare a few drops, for my mother is very sick, but you too could benefit from a little water.”

She poured some water into her hand and the dog quickly lapped it up, barked as if to say “Thank you,” and went on his way. The girl looked at the dipper in her hand and realized that the little tin dipper was now made of silver and it was just as full as it had been before.

She continued on her way, hurrying now because it was almost dark. The road was very long and she was so far from home. She was moving so quickly that she began to crave the water herself. “I can’t drink any of this. My mother needs it far more than I do,” she thought.

When she got home, she ran to her mother’s room and held out the silver dipper. Her mother said, “Please give it to our servant. She has been working tirelessly at my side since I have been sick. She needs it far more than I.”

The servant drank from the cup and handed back to the little girl. She looked at the cup in her hands and it was now a dipper of gold and still every bit as full as it was before.

Presently, there was a knock at the door. A stranger appeared before them and said, “I saw a little girl on the road earlier who generously shared her water with a sick dog and was hoping she could spare some for me.”

The mother knew the importance of helping others in need, so she told her daughter to give the dipper to the stranger, who took the cup and turned it upside down, spilling the contents onto the ground.

“From where this water seeps into the ground shall come forth a huge and generous spring that will slake your thirst and feed your land forever,” he said as he handed back the dipper, now encrusted with the most beautiful diamonds.

The family was so in awe of what had happened that they scarcely noticed that the stranger had left without another word. When they turned to thank him for his generosity he was gone, but they thought they could see a trail of diamonds flying into the night sky. Even to this day, they are there in the form of the Big Dipper to remind us of the importance of being compassionate.

What do you think of when you hear someone called compassionate? Is a millionaire compassionate when he donates one hundred dollars to a charity? In some ways, he may be. Is the same donation from a single parent working two jobs and raising children alone far more compassionate? True compassion, you see, cannot be measured simply in dollars. The little girl was willing to share all of what she had with others, not just a little. Giving a little when you have a lot is not nearly as compassionate as sharing a lot when you have a little.

Our Grand Master has asked us to share like that little girl. Through many aspects of the 21st Century Renaissance, he is asking us to give deeply of our time, our talents and our treasure to help make our communities better for everyone; to build springs that will shower our land with abundance forever.

I have talked before about acts of kindness. I encourage you to remember that others judge Masonry by the actions of the Masons. A little empathy for others – helping a stranded motorist, shoveling a driveway or, perhaps more timely in view of today’s balmy weather, cutting someone’s grass – marks you as a good man and your Fraternity as a groomer of good men.

Giving of your talents can include such community projects as renovating a playground or picnic pavilion, or helping prepare someone’s income tax. If you have a way to ease the suffering of another, is it not your duty to do so?

Giving of your time is important too. When you adopt a resident at the Masonic Villages, you will not only be brightening their lives, but I know you will enrich your own. Remember that I said last night that you are never too old to learn. Our residents have unique and interesting stories and spending time with them can be so rewarding.

Our Grand Master has asked us to give of our treasure as well. He wants us to donate fifty cents per member to the youth and hold fundraisers to donate $2,000 to the Masonic Villages. Is that a lot? I don’t know. Was it a lot to ask a thirsty little girl to share all of what she had with others? For some Lodges, each of those amounts may mean hard work, but when you set out to do grand and noble things, you quickly realize that hard work is essential to success. What can possibly be nobler than ensuring the success of our youth by building strong foundations in faith, education and charitable giving? How could we not choose to work hard to maintain our Masonic Villages for those who have gone before us?

We need to give to our charities and our communities so that wells of abundance spring up all around us. If there’s a need, we must provide. If we get tired, that means we are doing our jobs as Masons and men. Men who aren’t Masons should be envious of what we do. When they ask how you find the time to do what you do, hand them a brochure and invite them to find out for themselves.

I charge you tonight to go home, think about what you can do to make a well spring forth in your community. Long to become a source of what is good and right. Share your time, talents and treasure; share the light that is this great Fraternity with good and worthy neighbors, co-workers and family members. Be passionate about being compassionate.

Simply, “be to other souls
The cup of strength in some great agony,
Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,
Beget the smiles that have no cruelty,
Be the sweet presence of a good diffused,
And in diffusion ever more intense!”


You needn’t wait to join the choir invisible to do it. Make it be so today!

The Virtue of Virtues

At tonight's Official Visit to Valley Lodge No. 613, one hundred one Masons turned out to share an excellent meal hosted by Worshipful Master Mike O'Hanlon.  I again had the privilege of presenting 50 Year Service Emblems to three of their members and to give the following address:

The Virtue of Virtues

They who disbelieve in virtue because man has never been found perfect, might as reasonably deny a sun because it is not always day. ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

Merriam Webster defines virtue in several ways: 1. a conformity to a standard of right and 2. a beneficial quality or a power of a thing. With that in mind, tonight I want to talk a little bit about the beneficial quality of the conformity to a standard of right – said another way, the virtue of virtues.

In Freemasonry, we are taught to “practice the Masonic virtues,” but they are not specifically enumerated, nor are they further explained within our Pennsylvania ritual. If we seek more light and do some research, it is generally accepted that the Masonic virtues are the four Cardinal Virtues of Fortitude, Temperance, Justice and Prudence. Why did our Masonic forbears find these virtues of particular importance?

These days, the words fortitude, temperance, justice and prudence are used very infrequently. To modernize the whole conversation, let us refer to the Cardinal Virtues as the Principal Virtues. Let us call them courage, restraint, equality and wisdom.

C.S. Lewis said “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” Perhaps that is why it is first among the virtues. At every point when your ethics are tested and you are given an easy choice and the right choice, it takes courage above all to see you through. Courage is often thought to mean physical bravery, but as a Mason, it refers to doing what is right, not necessarily what is popular. As a Lodge leader as well as in life, sometimes it is far more appealing to be liked by your peers than to have to make a tough decision.

For example, courage may require the raising of the dues when the Lodge is in the red – even if it makes you unpopular. The Masonic Renaissance is making changes to many aspects of how we, as Lodges, operate. It is probably a safe bet that every one sitting in this Lodge disagrees with some aspect of the Renaissance. That’s okay. It just requires brave leaders to say “We’re going to try it anyhow.” As leaders and members you must come together. Unanimity isn’t as important as consensus. You may not agree with certain aspects of the Renaissance, but you do irreparable damage to your Lodge if you don’t do all in your power to help it succeed. So courage in our leaders means making decisions that not everyone agrees with. Courage in our members then, means stepping up to help even though you may not like what you are helping with. You must set aside your differences and row with the others in the boat, not against them.

That brings us to restraint. Let’s say, for example, that you aren’t fond of the idea of the One Day Masonic Journey. You could do several things. Not tell any of your friends about it – friends who are busy and don’t have the time to leave the house in the evenings. You can refuse to help with it. You can even stand up in your Lodge after it’s over and boldly proclaim that you don’t see a single new member sitting there with you. You could do all those things or you could exercise self control. You could give the brochure to your busy friend and vow to make his experience so good, he will rearrange his evenings to start attending Lodge. You could also volunteer to be a mentor to those who come it through that class and teach them with months of one on one dedication what you think it means to be a Mason. You could also not stand up in Lodge and make such a statement. Be a stepping stone, not a stumbling block. Realize that there are several paths you can walk from the same starting point to the same destination. Always remember to restrain that part of you that wants to build barriers. Build Temples instead.

Justice, or equality, from a Masonic perspective has less to do with punishing the wicked or rewarding the good than it does with treating each and every person you contact with fairness. Equality means that regardless of your chosen profession, you are a child of God and entitled to be given all the dignity and respect one would give to anything of His making. It also means that we too, as Masons, need to treat everyone that way. We must remind ourselves that we meet everyone “on the level” and that our interactions with our fellow man reflect back on our character. Knowing that justice should be afforded to all should make committing acts of kindness not just easy, but necessary. There is now a portal on the Grand Lodge webpage that catalogues those actions taken by your Brothers around the state. Logon and see exactly how we’re helping make life better. Post your deeds there as well. Not for admiration or accolades, but as a challenge to others to do the same.

Justice should make us realize that it is our duty to adopt residents at our Masonic homes. It is our duty to care for those who have placed their confidence in our ability to do so. We should support the families of our Soldiers by giving generously to the Help for the Heroes Program. A few spare coins at the end of a meeting is nowhere near the sacrifice that they are making for us, but it can mean so much to them and their families.

The last of the virtues is wisdom. True wisdom comes not only from knowledge, but also from experience. Gautama Siddharta said “To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.”

If wisdom is the light, then we need fuel. That fuel is education. Whether it is the formal education of schooling, or informal education – the examination and questioning of the known and applying it to the unknown, matters not. Education is not just for the young. We can always learn if our minds are open to it. Brother Mark Twain is credited for having said “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” Intellectual and emotional enlightenment should always be our aim. And remember, wisdom is a journey, never a destination. A wise man anticipates changes and adapts to them. He meets new challenges head on and is every ready to grow based on new experiences.

As our Fraternity faces the challenges of the 21st Century, we cannot rely on the solutions of years gone by. We must adapt to the needs of the men who are joining, not the men who founded the organization. I ask each of you to get on board with the Renaissance. Volunteer to lead one of your Community Service Projects; take the lead in adopting a resident of the Villages; call those Brethren who are delinquent to keep them from being suspended from this great Brotherhood; become a Mentor – it may help you learn a few new things too.

Most of all, realize the virtue of our virtues. Know that the practice of them makes you a better man and your world a better place. Leave here excited and proud to be a member of the Craft. Take a brochure home and vow to give it to a worthy man. Better yet, take five brochures home and invite deserving men to share in the great gift to mankind that is Freemasonry.