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Article VISITORS. Page 1 of 1 Article IN THIS SPIRIT LABOUR ON. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Visitors.
VISITORS .
THE right to visit another Lodge is a landmark of tbe Order , and , in addition , visitation on the part of certain Officers is enjoined by the Constitutions . There is therefore no reason for the timidity displayed by the ordinary Brother who hesitates before presenting himself at the door of another Lodge for fear of being considered an intruder . Unfortunately in days when
the proceedings in Lodge are only regarded as a tiresome preliminary to proceedings in another place , the visitor is not unnaturally afraid he may be regarded as on the look out for a dinner . This consideration , coupled with the further fact that
in a Lodge where he is not known he may be required to produce a Grand Lodge certificate , which he has lost , and pass an examination in matters of ritual , which he has entirely forgotten , combine to make our friend stay at home and confine his Freemasonry to his Mother Lodge .
In these days no man ' s education can be considered complete until he has travelled and enlarged his conception of men and manners , and similar considerations apply to Freemasonry . If you are able to visit Lodges in many lands so much the better ; if you cannot you can at all events visit Lodges in
the next town . The writer has never yet been within five miles of a Lodge either in England or out here which he has not visited , and into most of them he had to "fight his way . " Let it be understood once for all that a visitor to a Lodge can never be an intruder in any sense , if he be in good standing in bis own
Lodge . Masonry is universal , and though it is possible to suppose that the Brethren of any particular Lodge may feel and display annoyance when a stranger demands admittance ; that stranger , if he can prove himself to be in good standing , has as much right to be present as he would have to promenade in a public park ; and when he takes his seat he is not there on
sufferance , but in the exercise of his undoubted right . The Lodge which declines to admit a visitor except on well-recognised grounds would run the risk of losing its warrant , and conversely every Lodge which applies for a warrant does so in the full knowledge that the disability—if such it be considered—of having to accommodate visitors , will accompany it .
Tbis liability to visitation is a great safeguard fco our rites . The Worshipful Master will hesitate to sanction innovations and novelties of procedure if he knows that he liable to be dropped in upon at any moment by visitors from the uttermost parts of the earth , who will advertise his proceedings far and wide . If it were
not for this safeguard there is no knowing what might happen in our Lodges . Even as it is , the mosfc extraordinary things happen , as some of our readers can testify from their own knowledge , and if these things occur in the green tree , what would happen in the dry ! So much for visitation from the
Lodge ' s standpoint , the visitee ' s standpoint as one might say . Let us now look upon it from the visitor ' s . Why has he turned up at all ? We are supposing he is in a strange Lodge and has worked his way in . Let the writer recount his own experiences . He had just landed at Melbourne , being on a short Australian tour for the benefit of his health . In the course of
the first afternoon he went to the Masonic Hall to find what functions were likely to be going on , and found the Tyler most communicative . He attended an installation meeting thafc very evening , and half a dozen Brethren promptly asked him in what way they could serve him . One of them put his name down at
a club for the duration of his stay , others were ready to put him in the best way of utilising his time , and every one according to his ability seemed anxious to do something to make the Indian visitor feel at home . The various certificates the writer carried with him were in effect so many certificates of solvency and
respectability . But there was even a stranger thing happened . There landed in Melbourne the day before—another Masonic stranger—who also sought out the Masonic Hall . He , poor fellow , was down on his luck , but nevertheless he not only got as
warm a welcome , but the writer beheld him , the day after , engaged upon cleaning and generally repairiag the exterior of the MasonicHall aforesaid , and earning a couple of pounds by doing so . Who shall say after this that Masonic visitation is not a success ? In the warmth of the welcome received , the fact that
one was 6 , 000 miles away from every former acquaintance and friend was quite forgotten . The advantages of visiting , however , are not confined to finding a warm welcome and experiencing hospitality . There is
much to be learnt . There is room for considerable variation even in the ritual , and travelling brings to light many strange things sometimes even in a Masonic Lodge . — " J . T . L ., " in the " Indian Masonic Eeview . "
Hopes are being expressed that his Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales Grand Master may be present at the . Masonic service to be held at St . Saviour ' s , Southwark , on Ascension Day ,
In This Spirit Labour On.
IN THIS SPIRIT LABOUR ON .
Oration by Bro . Jacob Voorsanger , at the Laying of the Cornerstone of the Masonic Widows and Orphans' Home at Decoto , California . THRICE happy is he whose footsteps led him this day to this favoured spot in the sunny Alameda hills . Thrice happy he who , with us , may witness this sacred consummation of hopes long deferred , of prayers long
unanswered , of wishes long unrealised . We stand on the hill-tops o ' erlooking our domain , every foot of which speaks of Faith , Hope , and Charity . We stand at the closed groove , in which is sunk the keystone , noble symbol of patient faith kept alive by the love of our Brethren . We stand aloft , gazing
on the rich valleys of this dear , dear land ; we watch the silver lines of the waters beyond ; we watch these kindly faces , beaming with pleasure at the fulfilment of this holy task , and , surely , our first thought is—God is good the Master who steels the arm for the sowing time permits us to stand on the threshing floor and sing our song of praise 1
Brethren , this is a sacred hour . Well may we tarry to learn its lessons . There are few such periods in our busy lives . Usually we grapple with problems that often remain unanswered until we have gone our last journey We hanker after power , riches , glory ; we illustrate , in the mighty weakness of our reputed strength , the unhallowed selfishness of our ambitions and
desires . Life is a battlefield strewn with the corpses of unsatisfied ambition , of wrecked hopes , of defeated schemes ; and in our journey to the beyond we oft meet the cripples , whose maimed bodies tell the woeful tales of disaster to the one , conquest to the other . We live to conquer ; to reach the goal in the mighty race for power and fame ; to set our foot on the neck of the
vanquished . This we call success , forgetting that there is a measure with which all are measured—a scythe that mows the ranks of men , and knows not the difference between the conqueror and the vanquished . Death is the victor . Success is but the glimmer of a moment , a bright presence lighting
up our little world but for a brief day . We pass on , to make room for others . We descend into the ocean of oblivion ; its waters engulf us , and on the shore stand new generations , awaiting , wonderingly , the time when they , too shall follow . What remains ? Faith remains , hope abides , and charity , also —and the greatest of these is charity !
Do not think , Brethren , that it is my intention to convert this moment of success into one of extreme melancholy . We are indeed happy that our enterprise hath prospered . We are moved to give thanks and praise to all who have contributed to this lasting monument of Masonry , and thereby have illustrated the promising fact that our natures are not altogether selfish .
We are moved to glorify the generous mother of our Institution , the Grand Lodge of California , its wise , good men , and its women also , who recognise the services of Masonry to the world , and we gladly accord them the meed of praise they deserve . But this is not the hour for glorification , but for humility ; not for praise of men , but of the Supreme Graud Master . This is
not the hour to extol our success , but to deliberate the potency oi greater effort . For , Brethren , in setting this corner-stone in its socket , the thought grows on us that the inmates of the Home that shall here bc erected are the very cripples who have been shot to pieces on life ' s battlefield . When we think of them the flush of success disappears from our countenances , for
we begin to think , not of what we have achieved , but of what we owe them ; not of our own poor glory , but of the responsibility that life ' s battle puts on them who have stayed in the fight to win and prevail . Here are to dwell orphans and widows . The Providence of God might , with unquestioned justice , have willed that your wives , your children should be cherished here .
There is , in spite of the most unselfish humanity , a touch of humiliation in public support . They who need it are maimed , the cripples , the helpless , the fallen . How much have we for which to be grateful '! How deeply moved to gratitude must we not be when we come to realise the great privilege vouchsafed us , that we may remove tbis touch of humiliation from the hearts of all who here will seek shelter beneath the wing of Masonry ?
And this inclines me to say to you , Brethren , that probably this very teaching of humility is the first lesson in Masonic philosophy . We cannot wholly conquer the selfishness of our natures ; but we can strive to infuse mercy into life's battle . If we must war against one another , let us , after the manner of modern warfare , collect the maimed after the battle and heal
their wounds . We owe it to ourselves . It is , it should be , an expression of our humility , a recognition of the fact that , if the race belongs to the swift , God gives strength to the one and weakness to the other . To me , the great beauty of Masonry is , and always has been , that it sets forth the relations between God and man , the duty man owes to his God and his neighbour .
Masonry preaches the ideal of Fraternity , and preaches in bold , homespun language the theory that this warfare of man against man is wrong ; that brotherhood is a nobler ideal than manhood , that amity is nobler than strife , that humanity is holier than the success of life . Masonry teaches that there is a democracy of spirits before God , in which not the mail-clad warrior but
the righteous man , not the wise , learned scholar , but the lover of his fellow man , shall be priest and ruler . In that democracy , as the spirit of Masonry interprets it , the classes and divisions of man are as naught in the face ofthe eternal verity , that God hath made all men of the same dust , hath endowed
them all with the capacity of suffering , and hath ordained for them a common destiny , eternal rest for their" * weary frames , eternal light for their beatified spirits in the lustrous realms above , where the Supreme Master of the Universe presides . That thought of a common origin and a common destiny humbles the Mason before the Great Light in the East , but strengthens his
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Visitors.
VISITORS .
THE right to visit another Lodge is a landmark of tbe Order , and , in addition , visitation on the part of certain Officers is enjoined by the Constitutions . There is therefore no reason for the timidity displayed by the ordinary Brother who hesitates before presenting himself at the door of another Lodge for fear of being considered an intruder . Unfortunately in days when
the proceedings in Lodge are only regarded as a tiresome preliminary to proceedings in another place , the visitor is not unnaturally afraid he may be regarded as on the look out for a dinner . This consideration , coupled with the further fact that
in a Lodge where he is not known he may be required to produce a Grand Lodge certificate , which he has lost , and pass an examination in matters of ritual , which he has entirely forgotten , combine to make our friend stay at home and confine his Freemasonry to his Mother Lodge .
In these days no man ' s education can be considered complete until he has travelled and enlarged his conception of men and manners , and similar considerations apply to Freemasonry . If you are able to visit Lodges in many lands so much the better ; if you cannot you can at all events visit Lodges in
the next town . The writer has never yet been within five miles of a Lodge either in England or out here which he has not visited , and into most of them he had to "fight his way . " Let it be understood once for all that a visitor to a Lodge can never be an intruder in any sense , if he be in good standing in bis own
Lodge . Masonry is universal , and though it is possible to suppose that the Brethren of any particular Lodge may feel and display annoyance when a stranger demands admittance ; that stranger , if he can prove himself to be in good standing , has as much right to be present as he would have to promenade in a public park ; and when he takes his seat he is not there on
sufferance , but in the exercise of his undoubted right . The Lodge which declines to admit a visitor except on well-recognised grounds would run the risk of losing its warrant , and conversely every Lodge which applies for a warrant does so in the full knowledge that the disability—if such it be considered—of having to accommodate visitors , will accompany it .
Tbis liability to visitation is a great safeguard fco our rites . The Worshipful Master will hesitate to sanction innovations and novelties of procedure if he knows that he liable to be dropped in upon at any moment by visitors from the uttermost parts of the earth , who will advertise his proceedings far and wide . If it were
not for this safeguard there is no knowing what might happen in our Lodges . Even as it is , the mosfc extraordinary things happen , as some of our readers can testify from their own knowledge , and if these things occur in the green tree , what would happen in the dry ! So much for visitation from the
Lodge ' s standpoint , the visitee ' s standpoint as one might say . Let us now look upon it from the visitor ' s . Why has he turned up at all ? We are supposing he is in a strange Lodge and has worked his way in . Let the writer recount his own experiences . He had just landed at Melbourne , being on a short Australian tour for the benefit of his health . In the course of
the first afternoon he went to the Masonic Hall to find what functions were likely to be going on , and found the Tyler most communicative . He attended an installation meeting thafc very evening , and half a dozen Brethren promptly asked him in what way they could serve him . One of them put his name down at
a club for the duration of his stay , others were ready to put him in the best way of utilising his time , and every one according to his ability seemed anxious to do something to make the Indian visitor feel at home . The various certificates the writer carried with him were in effect so many certificates of solvency and
respectability . But there was even a stranger thing happened . There landed in Melbourne the day before—another Masonic stranger—who also sought out the Masonic Hall . He , poor fellow , was down on his luck , but nevertheless he not only got as
warm a welcome , but the writer beheld him , the day after , engaged upon cleaning and generally repairiag the exterior of the MasonicHall aforesaid , and earning a couple of pounds by doing so . Who shall say after this that Masonic visitation is not a success ? In the warmth of the welcome received , the fact that
one was 6 , 000 miles away from every former acquaintance and friend was quite forgotten . The advantages of visiting , however , are not confined to finding a warm welcome and experiencing hospitality . There is
much to be learnt . There is room for considerable variation even in the ritual , and travelling brings to light many strange things sometimes even in a Masonic Lodge . — " J . T . L ., " in the " Indian Masonic Eeview . "
Hopes are being expressed that his Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales Grand Master may be present at the . Masonic service to be held at St . Saviour ' s , Southwark , on Ascension Day ,
In This Spirit Labour On.
IN THIS SPIRIT LABOUR ON .
Oration by Bro . Jacob Voorsanger , at the Laying of the Cornerstone of the Masonic Widows and Orphans' Home at Decoto , California . THRICE happy is he whose footsteps led him this day to this favoured spot in the sunny Alameda hills . Thrice happy he who , with us , may witness this sacred consummation of hopes long deferred , of prayers long
unanswered , of wishes long unrealised . We stand on the hill-tops o ' erlooking our domain , every foot of which speaks of Faith , Hope , and Charity . We stand at the closed groove , in which is sunk the keystone , noble symbol of patient faith kept alive by the love of our Brethren . We stand aloft , gazing
on the rich valleys of this dear , dear land ; we watch the silver lines of the waters beyond ; we watch these kindly faces , beaming with pleasure at the fulfilment of this holy task , and , surely , our first thought is—God is good the Master who steels the arm for the sowing time permits us to stand on the threshing floor and sing our song of praise 1
Brethren , this is a sacred hour . Well may we tarry to learn its lessons . There are few such periods in our busy lives . Usually we grapple with problems that often remain unanswered until we have gone our last journey We hanker after power , riches , glory ; we illustrate , in the mighty weakness of our reputed strength , the unhallowed selfishness of our ambitions and
desires . Life is a battlefield strewn with the corpses of unsatisfied ambition , of wrecked hopes , of defeated schemes ; and in our journey to the beyond we oft meet the cripples , whose maimed bodies tell the woeful tales of disaster to the one , conquest to the other . We live to conquer ; to reach the goal in the mighty race for power and fame ; to set our foot on the neck of the
vanquished . This we call success , forgetting that there is a measure with which all are measured—a scythe that mows the ranks of men , and knows not the difference between the conqueror and the vanquished . Death is the victor . Success is but the glimmer of a moment , a bright presence lighting
up our little world but for a brief day . We pass on , to make room for others . We descend into the ocean of oblivion ; its waters engulf us , and on the shore stand new generations , awaiting , wonderingly , the time when they , too shall follow . What remains ? Faith remains , hope abides , and charity , also —and the greatest of these is charity !
Do not think , Brethren , that it is my intention to convert this moment of success into one of extreme melancholy . We are indeed happy that our enterprise hath prospered . We are moved to give thanks and praise to all who have contributed to this lasting monument of Masonry , and thereby have illustrated the promising fact that our natures are not altogether selfish .
We are moved to glorify the generous mother of our Institution , the Grand Lodge of California , its wise , good men , and its women also , who recognise the services of Masonry to the world , and we gladly accord them the meed of praise they deserve . But this is not the hour for glorification , but for humility ; not for praise of men , but of the Supreme Graud Master . This is
not the hour to extol our success , but to deliberate the potency oi greater effort . For , Brethren , in setting this corner-stone in its socket , the thought grows on us that the inmates of the Home that shall here bc erected are the very cripples who have been shot to pieces on life ' s battlefield . When we think of them the flush of success disappears from our countenances , for
we begin to think , not of what we have achieved , but of what we owe them ; not of our own poor glory , but of the responsibility that life ' s battle puts on them who have stayed in the fight to win and prevail . Here are to dwell orphans and widows . The Providence of God might , with unquestioned justice , have willed that your wives , your children should be cherished here .
There is , in spite of the most unselfish humanity , a touch of humiliation in public support . They who need it are maimed , the cripples , the helpless , the fallen . How much have we for which to be grateful '! How deeply moved to gratitude must we not be when we come to realise the great privilege vouchsafed us , that we may remove tbis touch of humiliation from the hearts of all who here will seek shelter beneath the wing of Masonry ?
And this inclines me to say to you , Brethren , that probably this very teaching of humility is the first lesson in Masonic philosophy . We cannot wholly conquer the selfishness of our natures ; but we can strive to infuse mercy into life's battle . If we must war against one another , let us , after the manner of modern warfare , collect the maimed after the battle and heal
their wounds . We owe it to ourselves . It is , it should be , an expression of our humility , a recognition of the fact that , if the race belongs to the swift , God gives strength to the one and weakness to the other . To me , the great beauty of Masonry is , and always has been , that it sets forth the relations between God and man , the duty man owes to his God and his neighbour .
Masonry preaches the ideal of Fraternity , and preaches in bold , homespun language the theory that this warfare of man against man is wrong ; that brotherhood is a nobler ideal than manhood , that amity is nobler than strife , that humanity is holier than the success of life . Masonry teaches that there is a democracy of spirits before God , in which not the mail-clad warrior but
the righteous man , not the wise , learned scholar , but the lover of his fellow man , shall be priest and ruler . In that democracy , as the spirit of Masonry interprets it , the classes and divisions of man are as naught in the face ofthe eternal verity , that God hath made all men of the same dust , hath endowed
them all with the capacity of suffering , and hath ordained for them a common destiny , eternal rest for their" * weary frames , eternal light for their beatified spirits in the lustrous realms above , where the Supreme Master of the Universe presides . That thought of a common origin and a common destiny humbles the Mason before the Great Light in the East , but strengthens his