Excerpt: Dare We Be Masons?

"The danger in an organization such as ours is that, while it begins with ideals and principles, the organization may become the greatest enemy to those ideals and principles.

Some person has imagined a conversation between the devil and some angels. The angels proudly told the devil that a way had been found to defeat him. When he asked how it would be done, they told him that God was going to give men lofty ideals and challenging principles to be proclaimed to the world.

The devil just laughed, and told them that he could not be defeated that way, for all he would have to do would be to institutionalize the ideals and the principles, and it would only be a matter of time until men would forget the ideals and principles as they tried to keep the institution alive.

As I once heard a friend of mine explain, "first the idea creates the organization, then the organization chokes the idea." We can become so concerned about keeping an organization alive that we forget the ideas and ideals that give it birth. We begin by having a great ideal force our thinking and acting into new channels, and we end by serving an organization. Freemasonry must be a force to be used, and not a form to be served."

-- M.W. Bro. Rev. Dr. Thomas Sherrard Roy, PGM (1951-3) GLMA: Dare We Be Masons? 1966

Our Masonic Penalties by MWBro Jack Levitt, PGM, GLC

"The penalties by which every Mason symbolically binds himself to fulfill his obligations are ancient in Masonry. No man is certain of their origins. But they were probably added to the ritual at a time of great persecution, when the very lives of Masons depended upon the secrecy of their Brothers.

Our enemies believe that Masonic metaphors mean exactly what they say and nothing else. In other words, they believe that Masonry is composed of “signs” like “stop” and “yield” traffic signs or the “exit” sign over a door. To them signs mean exactly what they say and are not liable to interpretation. But the fact is that Freemasonry is made up of metaphors and symbols which allow multiple interpretations.

When a man comes into Masonry, his life changes from the dead letter of “sign” to the living letter of metaphor. The metaphoric content of Freemasonry is signaled to the proto-Mason exactly where is should be - at the obligation, the most solemn, emotional, and impressive part of the initiation, not at some other “explanation” part where only the intellect is concerned. The candidate has already been told that the obligation contains nothing contrary to moral, civil and religious duties.

The only penalties Masonry inflicts are reprimand, suspension and expulsion. We retain the ancient penalties, not to frighten or disgust, but because they are important symbols in the tradition and in the study of the fraternity. At the very least, they make plain the torture and agony of conscience any good man should feel at the thought that he had violated his sworn word - for the good and honest man is ever his own most severe judge, censor and critic.

We may escape the judgment of others for our misdeeds, but never the condemnation of our own conscience. In the symbolism of the penalties, as in all things Masonic, let the wise man seek for further enlightenment."

From the compilation of PGM Jack Levitt, GLC * * Most Worshipful Jack Levitt was one of the PGM introduced at the 2008 Annual Communication last month.

"WE DO GOOD THINGS BETTER" - PinoyMasons

As emailed and shared by Bro Bert Guiang, Anacapa 710, Oxnard, Camandy City/lingayen/ Zambales
http://www.zambales Lforum.org/ bertguiang/
http://www.angelfire.com/on4/zambalesforum/doonposaamin.htm

Moderator's Note: In some jurisdictions, the Masonic penalties are referred to as "symbolic penalties" or "former penalties". In other words, no one in his right mind nowadays would take the Masonic penalties literally. They are now symbolic as far as mainstream Freemasonry is concerned or in ancient times might have been but not anymore.