In Defense of Ritual

As promised in my previous post, here is the essay I completed in May of 2015 (this essay was also posted by Brother Nick Johnson in his excellent blog, The Millennial Freemason.

In Defense of Ritual


by /u/TheClandestineMason


The purpose of this writing is to defend the act of performing, preserving, and celebrating
Masonic rituals in perpetuity and providing facts to prove the efficacy of ritual on improving men. The Freemasonic system has experienced an amazing amount of transformations since the time of the formation of The United Grand Lodge of England. Membership has waxed and waned during the three hundred years since The Premier Grand Lodge’s founding, creating much celebration and sorrow which have continued to modern times. Masonic rituals should be the ultimate focus of the fraternity and the fertile soil into which we should sow our precepts; social experiences being the fruits of ritualistic labor which are created by every member having a shared experience.

The Masonic experience is one that every brother has. No brother can say he has not knocked at the door and gained admission. None can say they did not see the sign, hear the word, and feel the grip. The entire system of Freemasonry is based on the simple fact that we all have a shared experience. Bonds of brotherhood are built on the three degrees because we share in the degrees.

We are taught that Freemasonry regards no man for his worldly wealth or honor; it is what is found in the heart by which Freemasonry measures a man. The experience of the Master Mason Degree is shared by all Master Masons to the point that the ritual makes it possible for us to use a trowel to cement our brotherly love. All brothers, old or young, rich or poor, regardless of race or nationality, immediately have a bond when we share a token between one another. Freemasonry unites men of all walks of life where they would never share a word otherwise.

The Sovereign Grand Commander of The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, contributing to “The Northern Light” (the quarterly publication for The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite), states “…membership and influence continue to decline, and yet, edicts for better ritual performance and behavior control remain top priorities” (McNaughton).

The argument presented in his contribution relates ritual work to that of Sisyphus, a king damned by Zeus in Greek mythology to repeatedly roll a boulder up a hill. The boulder of course rolled back down causing Sisyphus to perform the act ad infinitum in futility.

Sisyphus in this contribution is likened to Freemasonry in its current state with the argument that demanding more time and better performance of ritual work is like rolling a boulder to the top of a hill and watching it roll down; to demand more ritual work is futile.

Sovereign Grand Commander McNaughton states:

“Low attendance in so many of our lodges, the consolidation of struggling lodges, and the
lack of good men seeking Light in Freemasonry should be wakeup calls to our leaders…Might the solution of membership issues facing the craft necessitate spending more social time together, more time being concerned about the well-being of each other, and less time on ritual? Yes, yes, and yes” (McNaughton).


The solution posited here is that there is too much of a focus on ritual and not enough focus on brotherhood. Ritual is the root of our failing lodges. Low attendance, consolidation of lodges, and the lack of petitioners is being caused by the focus of ritual and the solution to our ills would be to focus on the social aspect of Freemasonry; ritual should take a backseat to social programs.

The questions that come to mind after reading this are numerous. Ritual or the lack thereof, is what creates the spark in the mind which illuminates our thoughts. The light we seek must be found on our own, but the Masonic ritual is what starts the engine of enlightenment within our thoughts. The lack of good men seeking light could only decrease if we spend even less time on ritual. What light will there be if we don’t spend any time on ritual and become a strictly social order?

Spending more time together and caring for each other is literally part of what we obligate to. I will always help a brother as long as it does not cause material injury to myself. We should already be concerned about the well-being of one another; it would be contradictory to assume that spending less time on ritual would increase this aspect. The welfare of the brotherhood is a built-in feature of our fraternity because our ritual not only has its foundation in brotherly love, but we obligate ourselves to each other’s welfare.

Freemasonry in the 21st century already employs “One-Day Classes” that moves brothers from profane to Master Mason in a single day. How can one spend any “less time on ritual” than a One-Day Class? The answer is to record the degree on a DVD and play it in front of brothers, thus “performing” the degree. The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction allows the playing of approved DVD’s in lieu of performing them live as a form of communication. Is the future of The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction or Freemasonry as a whole, the playing of a DVD to make a man a Mason or communicate a degree to him? To what extent can a video recording interact with a human to further the growth of that person? Is this not extraordinarily impersonal?

How can we move further from ritual to strictly social activities when most lodges can barely field a full Fellowcraft Team? Is the failure of having enough men to perform the degrees, or having only a few who can actually perform the work well, caused by an increase of emphasis on good ritual work? Have we already shifted so far into the “social only” aspect of brotherhood that we simply don’t possess the men who can take the time to memorize and perform the work? Such questions cannot be answered here but must be meditated upon by all brothers who seek to further our craft so that future generations may have the same opportunities we have now.


Masonic ritual is the very cement which has the power to join a 75 year old blue-collar retiree with a 25 year old white-collar CPA; the two of whom probably never crossing paths in life except for the bond created by Freemasonry. The three craft degrees (and beyond) provide the stimulation of the mind for light that separates Freemasonry from every social fraternity in the world. Masonic rituals should be the ultimate focus of the fraternity and the fertile soil into which we should sow our precepts; social experiences being the fruits of ritualistic labor which are created by every member having a shared experience.

Bibliography:

Larson, William. "What Do You Do Here?" Northern Light 1 May 2015: 10-13. Print.

McNaughton, John. "Message from the Sovereign Grand Commander." Northern Light 1 May 2015: 3. Print.

Whence Came You #206: The Survey and A.A.S.R.

Having been out of the loop with Freemasonry for over a year, and also not listening to the podcast since early 2014, I re-downloaded the Whence Came You App from Amazon to start listening again.

I knew it would be hard to try and get back to where I was, so I figured I'd start with a newer episode.

I chose #206, which discusses a survey I was unaware of existing (because I had so much going on in my life, I just didn't have the time to listen). Lo and behold, its like the best sort of dream being read to me.

The survey asked questions like whether or not brothers are getting what they want out of Freemasonry (Blue Lodge to York to Scottish). Not only were the majority of the answers in line with my personal feelings, but they sort of encouraged me for the future.

Furthermore, Brother Johnson discussed the A.A.S.R. NMJ and the recent articles in The Northern Light discussing the organization and its aims.

I posted to Reddit a few months ago, an essay I wrote entitled "In Defense of Ritual". This being a new blog, I have not yet posted it here but it will follow this post. The recent stance by the A.A.S.R. NMJ made clear in their periodical has all but sealed my choice to demit once I receive my dues statement. The act is not to betray what kindness that I received from the brothers who were there when I received my 32nd; the act of demitting is to make a stand against an organization which would appear to derive the esoteric nature of The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.

To be good brothers and true is the great aim we have in mind for Freemasonry. The act of taking care of our brothers is a tenant of Freemasonry (Brotherly Love?). Philosophy and Esoteric lessons reflecting the most ancient teachings of all time are the aim of The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; my comment on this does not make it true but the work of Albert Pike makes this blatantly obvious.

Brother Pike did not spend over 30 years of his guiding The Scottish Rite, writing so much, researching so much, and giving his life to all that it had to teach, that its purpose would be strictly social. Although the Southern Jurisdiction did not completely accept his revisions and the organization has made revisions over the years, the very soul of The Scottish Rite still exists in The Southern Jurisdictions ritual.

The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction has made it apparently a mission to revise nearly all of the esoteric aspects and remove a personal connection by the use of DVD's to present degrees which have been stripped of their philosophical connection. The very fact that the 4th degree of the NMJ has been reduced to a simple "introduction" to freemasonry, devoid of any lesson, is a testament to my previous statement. 

To illustrate this point, the following is taken directly from"The Degree Rituals of The Supreme Council, 33°, AASR for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction United States of America":

"The prevailing attitude toward the ritual was best expressed in few words by McIlyar Lichliter in 1943, “Dead. Dull. Overloaded with symbolism.” Many agreed that what was needed was a more dramatic ritual. Nevertheless, no effective steps were taken to address the need."

The same manuscript goes on to state:

"The proposed ritual would introduce the candidate to the Rite as he identified with an exemplar passing through four dramatic scenes, each representing one of the coordinate Bodies of the Scottish Rite. In each scene, the exemplar would encounter some of the characters, dramatic situations, and philosophy presented in the degree rituals of the representative Body. In effect, the proposed ritual would be a ritualistic preview of the Scottish Rite degree system. Hopefully, it would encourage candidates to return to view the degree rituals they had not yet experienced. "

Unfortunately for myself, I found the 4th degree of the NMJ dead, dull, and devoid of the rich symbolism I had seen in The Master Mason Degree. Change is of course the only constant in this world, but somethings do not need modernizing. Obviously the times in which the Pike ritual was created were much different than today. However, sometimes one must put the effort into understanding the deep philosophical meaning of Pike's rich symbolism. To strip the degrees down to "food for babes" is to ruin a temple.

My final thesis is thus: Men will seek organizations where they can nurture fraternal bonds with others; Good men will seek Freemasonry where they can nurture fraternal bonds and improve themselves through the symbolism, philosophy, and ancient teachings that only Freemasonry can provide.

*This post is not to demean The A.A.S.R. NMJ but to provide my personal feelings on the current direction of the organization.

From West to East, East to West, and West to East

I sat down at my computer after much reflection the other night, putting all of my thoughts down on the keyboard. I figured I might post my "journey" on Reddit to see what everyone thought. After posting, it was suggested that it be put into a blog...so, I figured I would start an actual blog.

The topic of the first post is: What brought me to the door to give knocks? What did I find as a young Mason? What's going on now? I start here with part 1:

The night was finally here; excitement and fear beyond words. Sitting in my car outside of a meeting hall, my initiation night was finally here. Months of waiting, reading on the fraternity history, symbols, and precepts, would finally culminate into this experience. I could look around the parking lot and see the cars containing my 13 other brothers, the initial group of this colony that we were helping to create.

All of us were "associate members", having already experienced our " associate member ceremony". The ceremony was executed in a brightly lit room beneath the student union and attended by friend, family, and faculty from our university. The proceedings were performed by another chapter of the group which was appointed by the international headquarters. Newly minted brothers, as we were, all working blindly for this fraternity that we ourselves weren't even full members of.

How can one even act as the "Ritual Chairman" when he himself has not been initiated? It was an interesting situation to say the least, but I dove headfirst into the part. Reading on the history, original symbols, and even the ritual of an organization we absorbed in 1939, I sought to bring a sense of esotericism without even witnessing the penultimate ceremony of our organization.

The time came when someone exited from the church, looked towards our cars, and motioned to us. Nervously we all exited our cars, vested in our finest suits, and entered a darkened hall through an outer door. "Everyone put a mask on", said a brother from the appointed assisting chapter. One by one, we all placed these masks on and were whisked away to a room located at the top of a flight of stairs.

Instructed by an advisor from the international headquarters, we all changed our clothing arrangements and were prepared for the ceremony. Candles lighting symbols we don't understand and the faint recitation of words alien to us made our situation abundantly clear: whatever we were going to experience was going to change all of us in a matter of hours. We were told by multiple brothers and alumni the same thing about this event: "you'll remember three things throughout your life; your marriage, the birth of your first child, and your initiation".

A dimly lit room with hooded figures greets you. Your senses flare up to a near superhuman level. The cold on your skin, the smell of tapered candles, your eyes adjusting to the dark, and the words being spoken, all becoming etched in your mind. Each syllable you hear is incomparably important as the last. Your attention to everything is as high as it can be.

The ceremony progresses and you learn that your fears were unfounded and that this organization stands for something larger than yourself. Not only larger than you, but larger than your small group of 14, and again larger than an entire international organization. Just as the ceremony is about to end you learn that three Greek letters, a small gold badge, and a coat of arms designed over 100 year earlier, have become a hidden charge for you to become a better person for the benefit of all mankind.

The feeling you had before this night, that the whole organization might be based on hokum, hazing, drinking, or the a combination of the three, is completely gone. You stand with 13 other men in complete amazement and awe. Your words and actions must now stand in line with what you've been charged to uphold. The Greek letters you may wear must now be unsullied by immature behavior and immoral action.

Now initiated, I saw the daunting task that lay before me. I needed to know everything about this ritual so that I may impress upon the minds of those who would walk after me. To use this knowledge for good, when it could be used for evil. I studied the texts, researched their meanings, and made sure my cohorts were instilled with the same passion and knowledge that I myself had. The end of the ceremony is not the end of my quest for wisdom and learning; it was just the beginning.

I realized, much to my chagrin, that many use this ritual of initiation to simply bring new members into the fraternity. Not to instill faith, hope, and love, but as a means to an end. To put it into another perspective, as something "we have to do", like a chore that no one wants to do. A great power untapped and haphazardly bestowed upon men who would never realize the full potential of the event.

Of course when it seemed that all was right, I found myself walking off of an outdoor stage with my diploma. No longer was I an active member in the organization, but an alumni who is set to watch from the sidelines. Not much can be done with the group and even less can be impressed upon those who walk in your steps as an alumni member. To stay and attempt to hold onto whatever sway you once had is futile; it brings contempt and discontent between you and the organization you once loved. When you do attempt to stay, you only fool yourself into the belief that the organization can only survive with your guiding hand.

The world outside of the college walls begins to move quickly. Your alumni brothers move away, enter careers, marry, father children, and generally lose the ability to keep in touch. The bond is still there, but those nights in the chapter room debating ritual have ended. I fought with this fact for a long time and decided that my search for more knowledge could not end in this manner. Seeking more light, I would petition a Masonic Lodge in my area.

I knew that my undergraduate fraternity was influenced by Freemasonry and thought it best to go straight to the source of knowledge that I had become acquainted. Contacting a lodge I lived nearby returned an "Undeliverable" email to my inbox. A phone call ended in an eternal busy signal. I found myself pounding at the door with no one answering. The lodge no longer existed; it had merged long ago with another but it was still listed in the states directory...