# Guest Article: In Defense of Ritual



## My Freemasonry (May 22, 2015)

​
I am pleased to be reposting, with permission, a post by /u/TheClandestineMason, who is, despite his name, a regular Mason. This is in response to an article found in the latest issue of the Northern Light, the official publication of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of Scottish Rite in the United States. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

In Defense of Ritual

by /u/TheClandestineMason​
The purpose of this writing is to defend the act of performing, preserving, and celebrating 
Masonic rituals in perpetuity and providing facts to prove the efficacy of ritual on improving men. The Freemasonic system has experienced an amazing amount of transformations since the time of the formation of The United Grand Lodge of England. Membership has waxed and waned during the three hundred years since The Premier Grand Lodge’s founding, creating much celebration and sorrow which have continued to modern times. Masonic rituals should be the ultimate focus of the fraternity and the fertile soil into which we should sow our precepts; social experiences being the fruits of ritualistic labor which are created by every member having a shared experience. 

The Masonic experience is one that every brother has. No brother can say he has not knocked at the door and gained admission. None can say they did not see the sign, hear the word, and feel the grip. The entire system of Freemasonry is based on the simple fact that we all have a shared experience. Bonds of brotherhood are built on the three degrees because we share in the degrees. 

We are taught that Freemasonry regards no man for his worldly wealth or honor; it is what is found in the heart by which Freemasonry measures a man. The experience of the Master Mason Degree is shared by all Master Masons to the point that the ritual makes it possible for us to use a trowel to cement our brotherly love. All brothers, old or young, rich or poor, regardless of race or nationality, immediately have a bond when we share a token between one another. Freemasonry unites men of all walks of life where they would never share a word otherwise. 

The Sovereign Grand Commander of The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, contributing to “The Northern Light” (the quarterly publication for The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite), states “…membership and influence continue to decline, and yet, edicts for better ritual performance and behavior control remain top priorities” (McNaughton). 

The argument presented in his contribution relates ritual work to that of Sisyphus, a king damned by Zeus in Greek mythology to repeatedly roll a boulder up a hill. The boulder of course rolled back down causing Sisyphus to perform the act ad infinitum in futility. 

Sisyphus in this contribution is likened to Freemasonry in its current state with the argument that demanding more time and better performance of ritual work is like rolling a boulder to the top of a hill and watching it roll down; to demand more ritual work is futile. 

Sovereign Grand Commander McNaughton states: 

“Low attendance in so many of our lodges, the consolidation of struggling lodges, and the 
lack of good men seeking Light in Freemasonry should be wakeup calls to our leaders…Might the solution of membership issues facing the craft necessitate spending more social time together, more time being concerned about the well-being of each other, and less time on ritual? Yes, yes, and yes” (McNaughton).

The solution posited here is that there is too much of a focus on ritual and not enough focus on brotherhood. Ritual is the root of our failing lodges. Low attendance, consolidation of lodges, and the lack of petitioners is being caused by the focus of ritual and the solution to our ills would be to focus on the social aspect of Freemasonry; ritual should take a backseat to social programs. 

The questions that come to mind after reading this are numerous. Ritual or the lack thereof, is what creates the spark in the mind which illuminates our thoughts. The light we seek must be found on our own, but the Masonic ritual is what starts the engine of enlightenment within our thoughts. The lack of good men seeking light could only decrease if we spend even less time on ritual. What light will there be if we don’t spend any time on ritual and become a strictly social order? 

Spending more time together and caring for each other is literally part of what we obligate to. I will always help a brother as long as it does not cause material injury to myself. We should already be concerned about the well-being of one another; it would be contradictory to assume that spending less time on ritual would increase this aspect. The welfare of the brotherhood is a built-in feature of our fraternity because our ritual not only has its foundation in brotherly love, but we obligate ourselves to each other’s welfare. 

Freemasonry in the 21st century already employs “One-Day Classes” that moves brothers from profane to Master Mason in a single day. How can one spend any “less time on ritual” than a One-Day Class? The answer is to record the degree on a DVD and play it in front of brothers, thus “performing” the degree. The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction allows the playing of approved DVD’s in lieu of performing them live as a form of communication. Is the future of The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction or Freemasonry as a whole, the playing of a DVD to make a man a Mason or communicate a degree to him? To what extent can a video recording interact with a human to further the growth of that person? Is this not extraordinarily impersonal? 

How can we move further from ritual to strictly social activities when most lodges can barely field a full Fellowcraft Team? Is the failure of having enough men to perform the degrees, or having only a few who can actually perform the work well, caused by an increase of emphasis on good ritual work? Have we already shifted so far into the “social only” aspect of brotherhood that we simply don’t possess the men who can take the time to memorize and perform the work? Such questions cannot be answered here but must be meditated upon by all brothers who seek to further our craft so that future generations may have the same opportunities we have now. 

Masonic ritual is the very cement which has the power to join a 75 year old blue-collar retiree with a 25 year old white-collar CPA; the two of whom probably never crossing paths in life except for the bond created by Freemasonry. The three craft degrees (and beyond) provide the stimulation of the mind for light that separates Freemasonry from every social fraternity in the world. Masonic rituals should be the ultimate focus of the fraternity and the fertile soil into which we should sow our precepts; social experiences being the fruits of ritualistic labor which are created by every member having a shared experience.
Bibliography:

Larson, William. "What Do You Do Here?" Northern Light 1 May 2015: 10-13. Print.

McNaughton, John. "Message from the Sovereign Grand Commander." Northern Light 1 May 2015: 3. Print.

Continue reading...


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## pointwithinacircle2 (May 22, 2015)

JamestheJust said:


> Our common problem of course is that we are a bit vague about the philosophy, and generally ignorant of the Masonic Science.


The proverbial Catch 22, those who know how to teach us to be worthy will not because we have not proven ourselves worthy.


JamestheJust said:


> We could send out search parties to find the genuine secrets.  Why have we not?


I am searching.  So far I have discovered that the secrets are not alone in the dark.


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## pointwithinacircle2 (May 22, 2015)

LOL - So my sarcasm is too vague for you?  Actually, sure, they probably can be approached in a variety of ways.  Freemasonry is just the best path that I have.


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## pointwithinacircle2 (May 22, 2015)

Fair point

How would you define Masonic philosophy, and Masonic Science.


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## pointwithinacircle2 (May 23, 2015)

Words are symbols
which point toward concepts
arranged in patterns
to communicate meaning

As you can imagine, the journey from word to meaning is a perilous one.  I am still searching for a Masonic synonym, an unveiled word, for "morality".  But I pulled up an EA trestleboard tonight and for the first time in my life it seemed to make sense.  I think it might be worth joining the SR just so I can see the 18th degree.


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## coachn (May 23, 2015)

pointwithinacircle2 said:


> Fair point
> 
> How would you define Masonic philosophy, and Masonic Science.


<snicker> A Philosophy and a Science that escapes most Freemasons! ;-)


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## pointwithinacircle2 (May 23, 2015)

coachn said:


> <snicker> A Philosophy and a Science that escapes most Freemasons! ;-)


 Yes, it may escape me.  But that will not be because I did not chase it to the ends of the Earth (and from the center to the heavens for that matter).


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## coachn (May 23, 2015)

pointwithinacircle2 said:


> Yes, it may escape me.  But that will not be because I did not chase it to the ends of the Earth (and from the center to the heavens for that matter).


I'm right there with ya my Brother!


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## coachn (May 23, 2015)

JamestheJust said:


> I am not quite sure that you understand (see what stands under) the inner plane operations of symbols.
> 
> You might like to consider the difference between a symbol and an emblem.  (Hint: isomorphic)
> 
> Equally I am not quite sure you understand the inner plane functions of words - particularly in a sacred language such as intentional (initiate) English


<snicker> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblem


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## pointwithinacircle2 (May 23, 2015)

JamestheJust said:


> I am not quite sure that you understand (see what stands under) the inner plane operations of symbols.
> 
> You might like to consider the difference between a symbol and an emblem.  (Hint: isomorphic)
> 
> Equally I am not quite sure you understand the inner plane functions of words - particularly in a sacred language such as intentional (initiate) English


No, I do not.  I have spent time investigating the difference between a symbol and an emblem, but I am not clear on the difference. 
Merriam-Webster says:
An emblem is a picture with a motto or set of verses intended as a moral lesson
A symbol is an action, object, event, etc., that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality

What can I learn from this?  Well, an emblem is a picture, with words, that teaches a moral lesson.  That sounds a lot like what we are given in Masonry that are called symbols, but OK.  A symbol is an action, object, event, etc. (wow, that is way more stuff than a picture) that expresses or represents a particular idea or quality.  If I make that as short as possible I can get it "Emblem, picture, teaches, moral lesson" and "Symbol, action or thing, represents, idea or quality".  To me this implies that an emblem is more of an external thing, something you "see" which carries a teaching from outside yourself.  A symbol on the other hand is something that I could do (take a symbolic action - marriage comes to mind for example) or relate to, that represents of an inner idea or quality. 

The hint isomorphic gets defined as "being of identical or similar form, shape, or structure" by Merriam-Webster.  This sounds to me like it relates more to a symbol than to an emblem.  For example, I find the symbol of the jewel of the JW to be similar in form to the internal idea or quality that it represents. 

As for the inner plane functions of words, well that is a difficult phrase to Google.   I think it means how we interact with words.  For example, chanting OM during meditation in order to affect some part of ourselves.  However I have not experienced this type of connection.  While I have a rudimentary understanding of what a scared language is, I am still trying to puzzle out "intentional (initiate) English".

Having studied your post and written all this response, I have just noticed that you refer to both "inner plane operations of symbols" and "inner plane functions of words".  I admit that I am wondering if the two are sufficiently different that the words operation and function were chosen deliberately.  Of the two, I relate more to the inner plane operations of symbols.  Referring again to the jewel of the JW, I feel that I can grasp the idea it represents but I am still working to gain the quality that it represents.  The "inner plane functions of words" is a relatively new phrase for me, I have not spent much time dwelling on it, although I would say that it seems to have great potential.  Not particularly in the "I'm going to chant OM and release me higher self" way of thinking.  I see it more as paying attention to my everyday words to determine where they are originating and resonating. 

Whew, that was a pretty intense response to a three sentence post.  it was not my intention to hijack the thread.  It is just that I have been puzzling over the difference between emblems and symbols for a while now and no one has really clarified it for me.


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## coachn (May 24, 2015)

JamestheJust said:


> ...An elementary practice is noting which words fit together easily.  This leads to observation of the geometry of words.



_"If words are not things, or maps are not the actual territory, then, obviously, the only possible link between the objective world and the linguistic world is found in structure, and structure alone."_ -- Alfred Korzybski ​


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