Three Principal Means
to Attain Spiritual Light
by
Terry Paget
In "The Meaning of Masonry,"
Bro. Wilmshurst mentions that of "the three principal means" to
attain spiritual light, the greatest is love.
So, then, love would be the
greatest of the three. My question for you, my brothers, is: what are
the other two principal means?
He doesn't seem to have said.
Your thoughts?
I believe you will find that
the answer lies in the alternative word used for "love." Change "love" for
Charity, and you will recognize the other two means.
The alternation between the
use of love and charity in this context arises because the original Greek word
which is interpreted as "love" does not mean love in the way it is usually used
today.
It is akin to the word 'agape' - which is
derived from the Greek.
If you think of the three
qualities of F, H and C, it seems reasonable to suggest they are all outward
expressions of something from within the self. Each of the three represents a
different (and progressively higher?) level of outward manifestation. But,
although different in their manifestation, they are similar in their source -
they exude from within. One has Faith because one has faith. One has Hope
because one has hope.
Charity, I submit, is a
spontaneous act performed without regard for reward, and it is performed because
one could not help oneself from doing it - it is an innate personal quality.
To put it another way round,
and expressing a personal opinion, a calculated act of charity (such as making a
cash donation) is not charity at all - it may be conscience, but it is not
charity.
Charity, in my opinion, to be
a wholesome and genuine act, requires the giving of part of oneself. For the
donor, he/she would not see it as an act of charity - they could not do
otherwise than what they did.
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