A NAME AND WHAT IT SUGGESTS
We read of the death of a man, and there among the other details of his life
is found the statement; "He was a Mason." When reading this detail of
a man's life there comes to the Mason a feeling of understanding, a happy
reflection, a knowledge that one lived who had courageously sought in life Truth
and Light. That a person was a Mason does not create the thought that the
departed had some special virtue that would easily admit him into Heaven, or
that by some mysterious word or token he would have the power to brush aside
natural and spiritual laws. An honest evaluation of Masonry by Masons is the
keynote to an understanding of why the Institution has existed for centuries and
centuries, and why it always will be the Great Teacher. Masonry is devoid of
fanaticism. It teaches a system of progressive improvement, being content to see
man's noble effort to become a better man, while wisely declaring that
perfection on earth has never yet been attained.
That Masons fail at times to represent to the world the high ideals of
Masonry is another key to the greatness of the Institution. There is the true
test of the influence of a system of morality that when a man has lived well,
and is called to his reward, there is written "He was a Mason"; and
when one loves, but not so wisely or well, the world is quick to note the
excellence of a system, for in condemning an individual, it pays honor to the
Institution by saying; "He was a Mason."
back to top
|
