Like
a Maiden
by George O.
Thorne, Grand Master of New Mexico
THE ROYAL ARCH MASON, SPRING,
1966
Masonry is like a virtuous and beautiful maiden of
many moods. SHE IS QUIETLY RELIGIOUS - as when, mindful that
she is a companion to religion and not a religion herself, she
solemnly charges us never to engage in any great or important
undertaking without first invoking the aid and blessing of
Deity. SHE IS PROUDLY PATRIOTIC - as when, under the folds of
Old Glory, she exhorts us to be quiet and peaceful citizens who
are true to our government and who do not countenance disloyalty
or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority. SHE
IS COY - as when, if only for a fleeting moment, she would give
the appearance of levity, but instead dramatically proclaims her
profound Lesson of Charity. SHE IS RESOLUTE - as when she
demands of each of us a strict obedience to her laws and to her
obligations, under penalties sanctioned by ancient usage or
modern jurisprudence, or when she calls us to the discharge of
the Three Great Duties of a Freemason: To God, to our neighbors,
and to ourselves. SHE IS SCHOLARLY - as when, with patient
and consummate skill, she leads us up the Winding Stairs to the
Light and Wages of the Middle Chamber and stimulates within us a
new and greater appreciation for the Liberal Arts and Sciences
and their application to our daily living. SHE IS DRAMATIC
- as when, on the stage of symbolism, she unfolds that great and
consoling Lesson of Immortality veiled in the life-death allegory
of the Sublime Degree. SHE IS MERCIFUL - as when, in
inspiring Prestonian literature, she reminds us that every human
being has a claim upon our kind offices and exhorts us to ever be
mindful of our obligations to all mankind. SHE IS CONSTANT
- as when she entreats us to be diligent, prudent, temperate,
discreet - at all times in all things, remembering to avoid all
extremes in living-thinking which would impair our relationship
with our God and with our fellowman. SHE IS TENDER - as when,
with misty eye, she watches while saddened Brethren gather about
the bier of a departed Brother to redeem a solemn pledge and
tenderly lay his Lambskin above his breast. SHE IS
COMPASSIONATE - as when she points to our constant duties to a
distressed worthy Brother and to the widow and
the orphan. SHE IS PROUD - as when she proclaims the Goal
for which she has steadfastly carried the banner for countless
ages: The Brotherhood of Man under the Fatherhood of
God. Yes, Masonry is like a comely and virtuous maiden of
many moods. She displays many more than these. But she never
appears with such sedate beauty as when you and I, in our daily
living, permit her to be seen by the world arrayed in all the
queenly dignity of the Jewels of the Graft.
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