‘Islamo-Nazi barbaric subhuman murders Freemason in France’

     

UPDATE: 2023—Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame would have reached his fiftieth birthday this year. To commemorate his life, La Poste, France’s postal service, issued a stamp with his likeness in March. He was a Freemason with the Grand Lodge of France.

UPDATE: March 28—France honored Lt. Col. Arnaud Beltrame with a daylong tribute that included a eulogy by President Emmanuel Macron, who also awarded the murdered hero the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award.

Courtesy Ministry of the Interior, France

Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, Freemason.

The Gendarme officer slain during the string of terrorist attacks in France on Friday was a Brother Freemason, according to a statement released last night by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of France.

It is with great emotion that the Brothers of the Grand Lodge of France learned today of the death of their Brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, member of the Respectable Lodge Jerome Bonaparte in the Orient of Rueil-Nanterre.

They join forces to pay homage to this “hero-driven” man, who has demonstrated a sense of duty and exemplary sacrifice. This act of bravery and its unfailing patriotism saved lives and reminded us that we must never bow to barbarism. All the thoughts of our Brothers accompany his family in this moment of great sadness.

The Grand Lodge of France continues to greet representatives of the forces of the Order of the Republic who fight all forms of ostracism, xenophobia, and terrorism—in a word, to all forms of rejection of others, our brothers and sisters in humanity.

Philippe Charuel, Grand Master
Grand Lodge of France


Lt. Col. Beltrame, age 44, was the last of four to lose their lives Friday during a terrorist spree that left 16 others injured, two seriously. He placed himself in danger’s way by volunteering to be held hostage in an attack on a Super U supermarket so that a woman could be freed. He died later of gunshot and stab wounds.

“Beltrame was a highly-regarded member of the Gendarmerie Nationale, and was described by France’s president on Saturday as someone who ‘fought until the end and never gave up,’” the BBC reports today. “He graduated in 1999 from France’s leading military academy in Saint Cyr, and, in 2003, became one of just a handful of candidates chosen to join the gendarmerie’s elite security response group GSIGN.” He also had special training in combating terrorist attacks in supermarkets, having taken part in a simulated such attack in December.

The violence began Friday morning when the Islamo-Nazi barbarian carjacked a vehicle, killing one person. He then shot at a group of policemen, wounding one. In his attack on the Super U, the animal murdered one customer and one employee, and then held others hostage. Most of the hostages were freed, except for one woman who was held as a human shield, according to news accounts.

Beltrame offered to take the place of the female hostage. He surreptitiously used his cell phone to allow police to monitor events inside the market. Upon hearing shots fired, police charged into the store, killing the barbarian, and discovering Beltrame gravely wounded.

Beltrame is to receive a national honor for his heroics, according to The Washington Post.

When Islamo-Nazi scum strike in France, they seem to find Freemasons to kill. Three years ago, in the Charlie Hebdo attack, two Masons of the Grand Orient of France were murdered.
     

‘Behind the Scenes of the Secret Triangle’

     

Courtesy Grand Lodge of France

It is without hesitation, secret reservation, etc., etc. and with free will that I admit to knowing nothing of graphic novels, comics, and other illustrated media. Nothing against them; it’s just that other things come first. Anyway, there is in France a series named “The Secret Triangle” that involves Freemasons at the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of France. (The GLdF is the French Masonic jurisdiction that is regular, but is not recognized by grand lodges in the United States, because we recognize the National Grand Lodge of France, which was created by the United Grand Lodge of England a little more than a century ago. If you’re keeping score.)

The Grand Lodge of France will present an exhibition on “The Secret Triangle” comic in its museum next month. Running from April 16 through June 22, “Behind the Scenes of the Secret Triangle” will “summarize this saga with the presentation of boards, accompanied by explanatory texts to share the general context of the series,” says the GLdF publicity. “Cult objects that inspired the author will also be placed in the windows of the museum atrium.”

More from the publicity:

The famous esoteric series “The Secret Triangle” sold more than 2 million copies, being a precursor to The DaVinci Code as an adult comic strip bridging science and the occult. Author Didier Convard has permitted his seven chapters of the story to be the basis of this museum exhibit.

There will be three events in connection with the exhibit:

Saturday, April 21 at 1 p.m. – In the presence of the author, the museum will host a public conference to discuss “The Legend of the First Lodge” inside the Pierre Brossolette Temple of the Grand Lodge.

Wednesday, May 16 at 3 p.m. – To Be Announced.

Thursday, June 21 at 4 p.m. – Music Festival.

Register for these events here. More on the exhibit here.

Courtesy GLdF

Didier Convard began as a draftsman. At Glénat, he succeeds François Bourgeon on Brunelle and Colin. In 2000, he published the first volume of the famous esoteric series composed of seven chapters, “The Secret Triangle,” drawn by several authors. He continues the exploration of “The Secret Triangle” with “INRI,” “Hertz,” and finally “The Guardians of the Blood,” three series with 1 million readers again. In 2016, he released a new hit series from the world of “The Secret Triangle”—Lacrima Christi.

Courtesy GLdF

Didier Convard sweeps the last 2000 years of our history, starting from a mad and reckless hypothesis: The Church hides a terrible secret since the arrival of Jesus on earth, leaving mankind in ignorance and deception. The story of the first volume of “The Secret Triangle” thus draws directly on the sources of metaphysics and religion. It features two researchers, Didier Mosèle and Francis Marlane, who, initiated together in Freemasonry, have been working for nine years on the mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls, through the restoration of one of the scrolls that deals with the origins of Christianity.

This quest for meaning is coupled with a real investigation, because Didier sets out in search of his missing friend, who, through a recorded tape, confesses that he has seen the Light, but that he will not deliver the truth, in order to preserve it.
     

‘Flashback Friday: The Mt. Nebo apron’

     
If I had to choose a favorite aspect of Masonic history—defined by period, rather than subject—I would pick Freemasonry in the United States from Colonial times to the Federalist era. Records, while not scant, are neither abundant nor pregnant with detail, so most of what we know derives from official sources, like grand lodge proceedings, which I believe tend to be more subjective (even political) than candid and complete. This means there are many pieces to find and fit into the puzzle, and it is fun to read what scholars come up with.

Mt. Nebo Lodge No. 91’s historic George Washington apron.

Then there are artifacts: the furniture, regalia, publications, folk art, ephemera, porcelain, ceramics, glassware, pewter, silver, gold, and, in this case, textile crafts that have survived the centuries, enduring inundations, conflagrations, thieving, and neglect. Things you can see and maybe touch today. As today is Independence Day in the United States, the inspiration of this week’s “Flashback Friday” is a certain apron kept for the ages by Mt. Nebo Lodge No. 91 in West Virginia.

Click to enlarge.

This Masonic apron created a buzz three years ago on the occasion of the lodge’s bicentenary celebration, at which time the apron was shared with the Masonic world, making the impression that it was something newly discovered when it really had been displayed on the north wall of the lodge room at Mt. Nebo for generations. That same year coincided with the hosting of the International Conference on the History of Freemasonry by the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria. The apron was displayed proudly inside the main lecture hall where I shot these photos on the first day of the conference. This apron was worn by George Washington. It is not the only such apron, and is not “THE” George Washington apron, which is a misnomer. It was a gift from the Grand Lodge of France, presented to Washington by Marquis de Lafayette.

When the apron was unveiled at ICHF, Worshipful Master George Alwin offered these remarks, copied from the lodge’s website:


“George Washington is known as a man of courage from his life as a general. He is known as a leader from his life as president. But George Washington was known as a man of character by his life as a Mason. During his life, Washington received two French aprons as gifts, which he cherished. One is known as the Watson-Cassoul apron. The second apron was presented to him by his good friend and fellow Mason, General Lafayette of France. That apron is before you now.

“When Brother Washington passed in 1799, the Lafayette apron was sold at a family estate sale for six dollars. Thomas Hammond, husband of Washington’s niece Mildred Washington, bought the apron. Hammond became a member of Mount Nebo Lodge in Shepherdstown, Virginia in 1815, and gave the apron to the lodge as a gift. Shepherdstown became part of West Virginia after the Civil War.

Courtesy Mt. Nebo 91

“In 1892, the apron was loaned to the Grand Lodge of Minnesota for their Annual Communication. In appreciation for the loan of such a valuable object, the Grand Lodge had a beautiful hand-carved frame built to display the apron. The Grand Lodge transported both the apron and the frame to Chicago, where a camera was available to photograph them. That photo is included in the Mount Nebo Lodge Bicentennial Brochure.

“For over a century, the George Washington/Lafayette apron has hung in Mount Nebo Lodge, protected from the sun in a dark lodge room. Without publicity and out of the public eye, it came to be known by many as ‘the Lost Apron.’

“Today, to celebrate the bicentennial of Mount Nebo Lodge No. 91 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, I am honored to present to you the George Washington/Lafayette Masonic Apron.”

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

On July 3, 1776, Continental Congress Delegate John Adams, in a letter to Abigail, said of the Fourth of July: “It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” I hope you get some of that today, and I wish you a joyful Independence Day.
     

New AASR blog and French site

There’s a new blog in town... and it addresses a long overlooked facet of Masonic education. Ill. Cliff Jacobs of the Valley of New York City released this announcement today:

Illustrious & Distinguished Brothers, Sublime Princes, Brothers All: The New York State Council of Deliberation, under the leadership of the Deputy for the State of New York, Ill. Peter J. Samiec, 33°, is pleased to announce the launch of a new site devoted to Masonic research: the New York State Council of Deliberation Blog. Although created as a blog, the site is not a forum for debate. Instead it will serve as the repository for Masonic research papers. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following: Freemasonry including both the York and Scottish rites, Rosicrucianism, Templarism, Kabbalism and Western Mystery Traditions. In order to avoid issues of copyright infringement, authors of papers submitted must be able to assert their moral right to be identified as the sole author of the created work. Reference material used in the creation of the work should be properly cited. Authors retain all intellectual rights over their research papers and shall indemnify the New York State Council of Deliberation from any third party claims resulting from the publication of articles on the website. Please e-mail your papers to: Ill. Clifford Jacobs, 33° Valley of New York waznojake2001 (at) yahoo.com Please submit text in the Word format and graphics in the JPG format. The first paper: “A Historical Perspective of the 29th Degree,” by Mete Talimcioglu, MSA, Commander-in-Chief of the Valley of New York. You can access the site by clicking here. Please be sure to bookmark! – “The game’s afoot...” Respectfully & fraternally submitted, Ill. Clifford Jacobs, 33° Valley of New York

The Magpie Mason has learned of this only from Ill. Cliff’s announcement moments ago, but on the surface it seems the inspired work of the Rose Circle Research Foundation, on whose board Cliff serves, is crossing over to New York Masonry. A good thing. ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲ Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Bro. Guy Chassagnard, a researcher-author from Le Delta Quercy-Rouergue Lodge No. 1173 in France, also announced today on Masonic Light that one of his Scottish Rite brethren has created a bilingual website to serve as a public repository of Masonic documents and books.

I wish to let all the members of the list know that a French Mason (Scottish Rite from 1st Degree) has just opened a website which is to be a public Masonic library of books and documents. It may be used in French and in English. You may find and get documents (pdf) from the site. You may freely subscribe and have your own books and documents offered to other viewers. No fee, no censorship. I think it is a very good project to support. Have a look to the first 50 documents which may be freely loaded and get them if you want. Brotherly, Guy

Merci Frère Guy!