three five seven #63
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
20 November 2005
"T' is the mind that makes the body rich." William Shakespeare
From time immemorial every candidate for the mysteries of Masonry has been
required to declare that in petitioning for the degrees of Masonry he has not
been influenced by improper solicitation of friends, that he is not influenced
by mercenary motives, that he has a favorable opinion of the institution, and a
desire of knowledge.
As the materials for the Temple of Solomon were prepared in the forests of
Lebanon, the mountains and in the quarries before being assembled in Jerusalem,
so should the candidate for the degrees of Masonry be prepared in his heart
before he is permitted to enter the 'sacred precincts' of the Lodge Room.
"Like our Ancient Brethren, we are engaged in the building of a temple, not
like theirs of wood and stone, but of immortal souls. Their temple was composed
of perishable materials, ours of living stones. The material temple which they
built has long since crumbled into dust, but ours shall endure when earth's
proudest monumental piles shall have crumbled and their glory and greatness
shall have been forgotten."
A Creed
By Brother Edwin Markham
"There is a destiny that makes us brothers:
None goes his way alone:
All that we send into the lives of others
Comes back into our own.
I care not what his temples or his creeds,
One thing holds firm and fast -
That into his fateful heap of days and deeds
The soul of a man is cast.
"On the mind all our knowledge must depend; what therefore can be a more
proper subject for the investigation of Masons?"
The lessons of Masonry are taught to Masons young and old in the craft. When
we watch a degree the principal participant in the ceremony of whatever degree
we observe is the candidate for the degree. We watch him as he progresses
through the degree and notice that he is of sound body, but it is his mind, his
intelligence, that we must rely on to learn what he needs to learn to be a
worthy brother. "So the real candidate is the mind of the one going trough the
initiation."
The physical body does not learn a lesson, but it is required to be placed in
certain positions, and to go through certain motions in order to impress upon
the 'real candidate,' the mind, the particular lessons that are intended to be
taught. "The candidate [we see] goes through all the initiations, and in them
the body is used to impress certain truths upon his mind." Because of this the
candidate's physical body is the principal symbol of each degree; his body is a
symbol of what lies within.
"The symbology does not take him as one single entity, except in the instance
in which it regards him as symbolizing the mind." Every human being has two
great subdivisions; the visible and the invisible. The candidate for the degrees
has a visible body, but he also has an invisible part of him that we may refer
to as the will, spirit, soul, and mind or possibly by another name we might be
able to use. But it is the invisible part of him that learns the lessons and it
is the visible part of him that is used to symbolize the lessons to be learned.
We have friends, brothers, and relatives who we love and respect. What we see
and picture in our minds when we think of them is their appearance, the physical
them, but we know it is not the physical body we love and respect; it is the
character. The various traits and qualities of our loved ones; the invisible
part of them is what we love, admire and respect. His kindness, helpfulness,
intelligence, and compassion for others are the things we love - the invisible,
they are not part of the physical body; the physical body is the tool of the
mind to demonstrate the traits we admire.
So when we hear or think of these words: "On the mind all our knowledge must
depend; what therefore can be a more proper subject for the investigation of
Masons?" Possibly we ought to look into ourselves and use our mind to learn the
lessons of Freemasonry and apply them to our own lives to improve ourselves and
develop our character; those invisible qualities that make up the good and true
man.
"An enlightened mind is not hoodwinked; it is not shut up in a gloomy prison
till it thinks the walls of its own dungeon the limits of the universe, and the
reach of its own chain the outer verge of intelligence." Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow
Januæ mentis = [Latin] = The doors of the mind.
From the Great Light of Masonry:
"And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him
with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches
every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him
he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever."
2nd Chronicles 29:9 NIV
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