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Freemasonry does not present itself
in exactly the same manner to any two masons.
To some the Lodge is a haven of rest
where they may go for an hour's quiet from the rush
of everyday life and there can be no better place for
the proper restoration of body and mind than a well
regulated and harmonious Masonic Lodge.
To others Freemasonry affords an opportunity
for social intercourse and the strengthening of friendship
and no sincere friends can be found anywhere than from
the members of the masonic fraternity.
Many find in the masonic ceremony food
for thought and reflection which prompts them to apply
the tenets and principals inculcated therein to their
own betterment and for the uplift of those among whom
they live and labour.
These certain principal when properly
pointed out, appeal to all, and to some of them your
attention may be directed.
I Freemasonry, Brotherly Loves, Relief
and Truth are the Grand Principles upon which our Order
is founded, but there are many things besides these
in Freemasonry.
There is no other society whose influence
is as world-wide or whose principles are as noble and
as sublime as those upon which Brotherhood of Masons
is established.
Freemasonry stands for Patriotism -
the love of one's country, devotion to its welfare and
interest, and a determination to sacrifice one's self
in its service if necessary. Freemasonry has over stood
and will always stand for this kind of patriotism.
Freemasonry also stands for Tolerance.
Every one has a perfect right to form his own pinion
and to hold it. It demands mutual desire for each other's
welfare, regard for each other's rights and regret for
each other's misfortunes.
Freemasonry stand for Equally. If draws
it members from every rank and occupation.
Freemasonry also stand for friendship.
Friendship for all, no matter to what country or colour
one belongs, provided he is a good man and true and
obedient to moral law.
Freemasonry claims for one and all,
Civil and Religious Liberty. In the past Masonic influence
was exerted in the long standing struggle for liberty
and freedom in the world. Masons were always for the
oppressed people and masons always gave support and
encouragement to every movement which had for its object
the emancipation of mankind from every from of civil
of religious tyranny. A Mason will never be found engaged
in plots and conspiracies against any Government based
upon the principles of Liberty and Equality. But a Mason
will strive to advance the cause of human progress,
to give freedom and equal rights to the people.
Freemasonry also stands for Brotherhood.
There is to-day an urgent longing for a real and genuine
Brotherhood, which shall promote goodwill, peace, and
harmony in this sorely troubled world. Brotherhood means
putting aside the primary thought of self and ceasing
to struggle for our own interest and welfare and recognising
that others have rights, as well as ourselves. It means
that we acknowledge it as a duty to others, to act on
the square in all our dealings, never to take advantage
of the ignorance of others but always to deal in as
honest and straightforward a manner as we would wish
in similar circumstances they should deal with us. We
must be just and merciful and taking the masonic principles
included incalculated in the Lodge into the busy world
and applying them, uplift the oppressed and the needy
by raising those who have been beaten down in the battle
of life and by directing the rays of cheery sunshine
on all who sit in the darkness.
Freemasonry stands for Religious faith.
The principal foundation of brotherhood is belief in
God, and no one can be admitted in Freemasonry unless
he has faith in the Great Architect of the Universe,
and upon this foundation we construct the religious
faith, 'Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of man and
the Immortality o the soul'.
Freemasonry also stands for the exercise
of Faith, Hope and Charity, the three cardinal virtues,
and no man an be a true Mason without the exercise of
these virtues. He must have Faith in God, also faith
in himself and his fellow-man, and faith in the ultimate
happiness of mankind. With this faith, a true Mason
has Hope ; Hope for that in which he has Faith, Hope
for his fellows and all mankind and also for himself
; Hope so firmly rooted that it is steadfast and enduring
to the end. And lastly Charity, the rarest of all jewels
that adorn the life of a true Mason. To bring help to
a suffering humanity, to relive the distressed, to throw
a veil over the faults and failings of the weak souls,
to shelter those whom a censorious world has cast out,
is the concept of Charity placed before us.
Brethren, these are some of the things
which Freemasonry should practice in their daily lives
as they are all worth living for, worth working for
, with all our soul, with all our heart and with all
our strength.
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