FREEMASONRY IN SOCIETY
Bro. Michael Walker is the Grand Secretary
of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. This STB was taken from an article titled
"Freemasonry in Society-Today and Tomorrow," which appeared in ARS QUATUOR
CORONATORUM Vol. 110 (1997). The original article was condensed for this STB.
-Editor
On his initiation, the Brethren are assured that
the candidate is 'living in good repute amongst his friends and neighbours.' He
is therefore, or should be, a peaceable and law-abiding citizen who gets on well
with others. A little later on, the candidate affirms that he comes 'with a
preconceived notion of the excellence of the Order, a desire for knowledge and
wishing to make himself more extensively useful amongst his fellow men.' Later
again, on being charged, he is told that the foundation of Freemasonry is 'the
practice of every social and moral virtue.' He is exhorted to learn how to
discharge his duty to his God, his neighbour and himself, to be an exemplary
citizen and that, as an individual, he should practise every domestic as well as
public virtue and maintain those truly Masonic characteristics, benevolence and
brotherly love.
Following his second degree, he is told that he
should 'not only assent to the principles of the Craft, but steadily persevere
in their practice.' Finally, following his third degree, he is told that 'his
own behaviour should afford the best example for the conduct of others.'
Later still, at the peak of his Craft career, on
being installed in the Chair of his Lodge, he consents to a comprehensive list
of instructions as to his attitude and behaviour. All in all, the entire
underlying principle is that by entering Freemasonry and by his acceptance and
practice of its tenets and precepts he should become a credit to himself and an
example to, and benefactor of, others.
It is expected and hoped that Freemasonry will
bring about this state of affairs but that, in his daily life, a Freemason will
interact with others as an individual and not in his capacity as a Freemason.
Freemasonry is therefore an intellectual and philosophic exercise designed and
intended to make an individual's contribution to society, and development of
self, greater than they might otherwise have been had he not had the opportunity
of extending his capacities and capabilities through membership of the Order.
What Does Freemasonry Provide?
Election to membership of a Lodge and initiation
into that Lodge are an overt indication and confirmation of one's worth or
value; and recognition of such, by the Brethren. In itself, this should increase
self-esteem and hopefully generate a conscious or sub-conscious desire to prove
worthy of others' confidence and trust. Subsequent promotions through the second
and third degrees are symbolic of the Brethren demonstrating
their satisfaction that their original choice and decision were correct and that
the candidate is worthy, both innately and by virtue of his zeal, interest and
proficiency in the symbolic Craft, for such promotions. These additional and
consequent marks of esteem should engender in the candidate further personal
satisfaction and self-confidence.
The Lodge teaches many skills, often untaught,
or not experienced, elsewhere. A Brother must speak in public, think on his
feet, make decisions, vote on issues, and chair meetings. These are invaluable
assets in all other aspects of his life and for many this may well be the only
opportunity of learning, practicing and perfecting these skills and techniques.
Is Freemasonry a Charity?
Freemasonry is not a Charity, but as in any
fraternal setting, the need of a Brother or his dependents, will receive the
sympathy and support of his Brethren, not always or necessarily, financial.
Charity is a natural off-shoot of Brotherly Love and is promoted explicitly in
the Masonic ethos, but it is not the 'raison d'etre' of the Order.The Purpose of Freemasonry
The purpose of Masonry is 'self-improvement'-not
in the material sense, but in the intellectual, moral and philosophic sense of
developing the whole persona and psyche so as, in the beautiful and emotive
language of the ritual, 'to fit ourselves to take our places, as living stones,
in that great spiritual building, not made by hands, eternal in the Heavens.'
Such a hypothetical whole, developed, complete person must, in his journey
through life, and in his interaction with others, make a more extensive
contribution to society in general, thus realizing and fulfilling his expressed
wish on initiation, to become 'more extensively useful amongst his fellow-men.'
Such are the lofty, lawful and laudable aspirations of the Order.Society Today
As world changes happen faster, and in more
complex and unpredictable ways, our natural needs for security, control,
certainty and predictability- are being undermined. This type of environment is
a breeding ground for what is now termed the 'Achilles Syndrome' where more and
more people who are, in fact, high-achievers, suffer from a serious lack of
self-esteem - men apparently more so than women. This is gleaned from an article on
the work of Petruska Clarkson, a consultant chartered counsellor and clinical
psychologist.
Dr. Donal Murray, former Auxiliary Bishop of
Dublin and now Bishop of Limerick, identifies 'a hunger which is not being
satisfied. People need to feel they belong; they need to feel they can be fully
committed to something. The prevailing mood, in Ireland and elsewhere, is one of
disillusionment and cynicism. We have come to see ourselves as living in a world
of institutions and structures-we think of ourselves as belonging not to a
country but to an economy; we think of our national life and resources in terms
of statistics and of the machinery of Government, rather than of people and
culture.'
Dr. Murray goes on to say 'it is increasingly
presumed that the ideal citizen possesses no strong religious or moral beliefs,
or at least has the decency not to intrude them into the public arena. Strong
moral beliefs are, we are told, divisive; religious belief is, at best,
embarrassing. In other words,' he continues, 'one is not meant to participate in
national life with one's wholeself, with one's religious beliefs and moral
convictions. These are private matters. We are in danger of trying to build a
culture which regards as irrelevant the very realities which make people tick.
Divisiveness results only when religion and morality are misunderstood. The
individual conscience is worthy of respect because it seeks the truth, as every
human being is obliged to do.'
Freemasons will hardly fail to notice these
references to ethics, morality and truth the very foundation of Masonic teaching
and endeavour. But these cultural jewels-without-price are coming under
increasingly powerful destructive forces which are eroding the foundation and
base on which they rest. Conor Cruise O'Brien-a distinguished Statesman and
commentator-says that 'for as far back as we can go in history, human discourse
concerning ethics has been infected, in varying degrees, with hypocrisy.'
Another commentator states that the term 'business ethics' is fast becoming an
oxymoron-that is a contradiction in terms; and the Bishop of Waterford felt it
necessary to denounce publicly 'the Cult of Excessive Individualism.'
What is needed, in all this, is some form of
mental sheet-anchor-a. sort of fixed navigational point like the pole-star
which, when the clouds pass, can be seen and provides the traveller with the
means to identify his exact position and thereby the knowledge to return to the
true path.Freemasonry - A Part of,
or Apart from, Society
Every individual, on occasion, is forced to be a
little introspective and ask himself 'who am I and where am I? Even an
organization such as the Masonic Order must also occasionally ask itself 'what
are we and where are we'? What we are has, to some extent already been dealt
with. We are a fraternal organization, the aims of which are brotherly love, the
relief of our distressed Brethren and their dependents and the search after
'Truth' which we may express as, and expand into, public and private morality,
the knowledge and fear of God and, following on from that, respect for, and love
of, our neighbour. This respect includes toleration of his personal viewpoint,
his religious beliefs and his political opinions. If we pursue the aims of the
Order, our search should widen, yet focus our vision, while ever making us more
deeply aware of, and closer to, the Great Architect of the Universe, heightening
our spirituality and deepening our insight into that which we may never hope
fully to understand-and something like the search after the mystic Grail as
sought for, and fought for, by our possible, even probable operative forebears,
the Knights Templar who followed on, in their own way, from the mythical Knights
of the Grail Romances and Arthurian Legend. There is so much more to Freemasonry
than the shallow depth of today's assessment and its scant inspection by today's
society, obsessed as society is with material success for the individual rather
than his contribution to society.Into the Next Millennium
I have endeavoured to identify who we are, what
we are and where we are-now it is time to speculate on where we go from here. We
are an unfashionable group whose numbers are falling-not perhaps in the
developing countries, but in the developed world we are viewed as an anachronism
with an ethos which may represent an embarrassment to many of today's moral
lepers. 'Whence comest thou Gehazi'? You will remember Elisha's devastating
question to his servant who had run after Naaman, seeking to profit from his
Master's-that is, someone else's performance and use of his talents.
As those who joined Freemasonry in great numbers
after the Second World War, because they found it the closest alternative or
substitute for the fellowship and support they found within the Forces, now pass
on to their reward, there is no surge of candidates to replace them. So
recruitment becomes a necessity, though the means and emphasis must be very
carefully gauged.
We must try to correct the false perception of
us by, in particular, the media and the Churches for they are the agencies who
can and do formulate and direct public opinion; and both are highly suspicious
and/or antagonistic.
What I am trying to emphasise is that as we move
into the next millennium we must be steadfast in our adherence to the Aims and
Principles and not attempt to obtain public acceptance through promoting or
pursuing non-masonic activities which can only, in the long term, prove our
undoing. We must be patient and bide our time for we will come again. I have
heard it said that the pace of life and its stresses will get even more frenetic
than at present and that while we may be able to cope with this intellectually,
it is questionable if many can cope with it emotionally. In these circumstances
with the Internet bombarding us with a Quatermass-like availability of ethical
and unethical information in the privacy of our own homes, I believe that
Brother Michael Yaxley, President of the Board of General Purposes of the Grand
Lodge of Tasmania is quite correct when he writes 'Society does have a need for
a body such as Freemasonry. I believe that this need will increase rather than
decrease. In the next century the work place will not offer fellowship and
camaraderie sufficient to satisfy the social instincts that people have. Many
people will work at home, linked to the office by computer and telephone. Others
will work in an office with complex but nevertheless inanimate equipment. The
irony of the Age of Communication is that people spend, and will spend, more
time by themselves.'Conclusion
As the American writer, Henry Adams saw it, 'The
Indian Summer of Life should be a little sunny and a little sad, and infinite in
wealth and depth of tonejust like the season.'
I think that pretty closely describes
Freemasonry today-a little sunny and infinite in wealth and depth of tone-we all
can sympathise with that. A little sad too with memories of past greatness; and
quieter more settled times when bogeymen were not found everywhere and
Freemasonry was a recognised, accepted and fashionable part of society. Will our
time come again? I think it will-not perhaps an exact replica of the past, for
we cannot turn back the clock, but a slimmer, trimmer version with new
vigour and enthusiasm ready to meet the new
millennium.
But remember, Brethren, as we enter and endure
'the Winter of our discontent' we must maintain our standards and our dignity.
There can be no compromise with quality in any facet of our Institution. One of
Ireland's greatest actors and one of its best-known characters, Michael Mac
Liammoir, was once accused by a critic of being ,square. ' 'Yes' said Mac
Liammoir, 'perhaps you are right, but so much better to be square than
shapeless.' How appropriate for Freemasonry at this time-let us hold firm to the
symbolism of the square and the compasses and let them be the means of restoring
Ordo ab Chao - order out of mental and moral chaos--as we strive to
readjust emotionally to the crushing pressures and stress of modem life.
Now Brethren, let me close on one final
exhortation taken from the beautiful language of our ritual - 'See that you
conduct yourselves, out of Lodge as in Lodge, good men and Masons'; and remember
those immortal words of Polonius giving advice to his son Laertes as he departs
from Denmark, on his return to France, in Shakespeare's greatest play,
Hamlet 'This above all, to thine own self be true; and it must follow as
the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.'
Almost the entire Masonic ethos can be found in
those few words-so easy to remember, so difficult to put into practice.
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