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The Wages Of A Fellow Craft Mason

From The Grand Lodge Of Texas


During the second section of the Fellow Craft Degree, the new initiate is presented with the wages of a Fellow Craft Mason. He is told the reward for the Freemason who has observed the moral and divine law and not wasted his time in idleness or vice is to be corn, wine and oil. Such wages were indeed true in ancient days when corn, wine and oil represented wealth and were used for money. The Fellow Craft Mason received these wages, not in a literal sense, but symbolically.

In ancient days, "corn" was not what we think of as corn today. Instead it was a grain, such as wheat or barley, which was called corn. Thus, an ear of grain (corn) represents plenty. It is also a symbol of nourishment.

Wine is mentioned in Psalms 104 as something "that gladdens the heart of man" and, as such, can symbolize health and refreshment of body and spirit. On another level, wine can represent the completed and perfected human life. Wine starts as an inferior juice when newly pressed from the grape, representing youth or immaturity. But with time and through fermentation, it can become a completed product, wine. Wine represents the maturity of mind and spirit we should strive to obtain in our relationship with God, while the fermentation process symbolizes the struggles of life we encounter in developing that relationship.

The oil is olive oil, which was a necessity in ancient times as it served multiple purposes. It was used in the preparation of food, served as a medicine both internally and externally, and provided a source of light in the ancient oil lamps. In this view, oil can represent nourishment, health, and peace. As a food item, oil symbolizes nourishment for our physical bodies but also the moral development we as Freemasons should be striving to obtain. As a medicine or remedy, it represents physical health and the spiritual health (or joy) we obtain in our relationship to God. As a source of light, oil represents the physical and spiritual peace we obtain by overcoming the vices of life.

Taken as a whole, the corn, wine and oil represent both the physical and spiritual nourishment, refreshment and joy the Freemason receives for living an industrious life devoted to the service of God and his fellowman. The faithful Fellow Craft Mason is assured that his wages, his reward, shall not be just sufficient but plentiful to supply all of his physical, moral, and spiritual needs. He will have health of body, mind, and soul. He will enjoy peace in this life, in the hour of death, and in the life to come.

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Last modified: March 22, 2014