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The Worshipful Master
CHAPTER Iii
THE WORSHIPFUL MASTER'S
HANDBOOK
Grand Lodge, F.A.A.M. of the
District of Columbia
(Selections from The Master's Book, by Carl H. Claudy,
P.G.M.)
The greatest honor comes to any brother with his
elevation to the Oriental Chair of a Masonic Lodge. A Master is not only a
leader of his Lodge, but a member of Grand Lodge, in which supreme body he
represents his Lodge. To be Master of a Lodge is quite different from
being president of a club or society. The Master is called upon to decide
questions of law and practice which he cannot leave to his brethren; the
honor of leadership carries also the responsibility.
The Master's first duty to his Lodge is to lead it to
success and prosperity. This requires a combination of diplomat,
financier, advisor, councilor, friend, critic, and executive. A Master's
paramount duty is to preserve peace and harmony, a matter for which no
specific instruction can be given. The Master whose rule is just and fair,
whether it favors his own conviction or the opponents of his ideal, will
gain respect and support even from those who do not agree with him.
A Master's duties to his members - including candidates -
are specifically to open on time, to plan interesting meetings, to provide
dignified degree work, to preserve order and harmony, and to promote
brotherly love. Brethren who know the gavel will fall at a specified hour
soon get into the habit of arriving on time. An early closing means much
to many brethren who wish to go home to read or retire.
Masters of Lodges which pride themselves on beautiful
degree work have an easy time. No ceremony of any kind can be done without
rehearsals.
The first principle for successful presiding is to use
authority without any one being conscious of it! The Masonic gavel in the
hands of the Master is all powerful. Brethren must - and with practically
no exceptions always do - obey its mandate. Because of the power of the
gavel the good Master uses it sparingly.
Nothing succeeds from the East like a smile. Effective
smiles come from a smiling heart. The act of presiding successfully has
its foundation in sympathy and cornerstone in good nature and
tolerance.
The Ideal Master
The ideal Master counts not his personal pleasures, his
social engagements, his hours of rest, recreation, aye, even his sleep,
when his Lodge calls.
The ideal Master carries a watch and uses it.
The ideal Master is guide, philosopher and friend.
The ideal Master keeps constantly before him the need for
seeing his problems through a tolerant smile of understanding.
The ideal Master is enthusiastic about his work, and
prayerfully conscious of his limitations; hence, he is quick to seek
counsel and advice, and is slow to take it until he has thought it
through.
The ideal Master is eager for suggestions, but does not
follow those which seem to him unwise, no matter how important the brother
who makes them.
The ideal Master is an ideal Mason. Masonry is part of
him, as he is part of Masonry. With all his heart and soul and strength he
strives to live the Masonic life that all brethren may see that here is no
mere figurehead, but a vital force.
"Happy the Master who lays down his gavel at the end of
his year knowing he has done all that in him lies; mortal man may do not
more."
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