‘Freemason-Vatican dialog begins’

    

Life Site News

“Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war.”

Winston Churchill

1954

Masonic and Vatican sources announced last week how a recent conference in Milan at the Ambrosianeum Cultural Foundation has led to a “mutual understanding” that may lead to future talks.

The February 16 meeting, organized by the Socio-Religious Research and Information Group, was attended by the grand masters of the Grand Orient of Italy, the Grand Lodge of Italy, and the Regular Grand Lodge of Italy; and by Vatican officials.

It was last November when the Vatican reaffirmed its centuries-long prohibition on Roman Catholics being Freemasons, prompted by queries from clergy in the Republic of the Philippines. That news made more headlines than this event, which was closed to journalists, and most of what’s available online so far is in Italian, but there are websites of varying tolerance to Freemasonry reporting it.

National Catholic Register offers what impresses me as a fair description.

Addressing the Milan meeting on the theme “The Catholic Church and Freemasonry,” Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmiero, 85, reportedly said he believed ‘an evolution in mutual understanding’ had taken place between Masonry and the Church over the past 50 years. ‘Things have moved on, and I hope these meetings don’t stop there,’ said the retired Italian prelate, according to Il Messaggero, quoting sources present at the meeting.

La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana which, fortunately, offers some of its content in English as the Daily Compass, gives the headline:

Freemasonry wants a ‘mea culpa,’

Catholic Church commits

examination of conscience

The story, by Editor in Chief Riccardo Cascioli, says our Masonic brethren “all defended the compatibility of Freemasonry with the Catholic faith: Bisi recounted how his growth in the Catholic sphere led him to join the Grand Orient; Romoli ranged from Sant’Anselmo to Cardinal Zuppi; Venzi stressed how English rituals have been Christian since their origins.”

About the other side of the table, Cascioli reports:

“In the face of these clear and well-considered presentations, the Catholic counterpart was disconcerting. In the collaborative atmosphere of the meeting, the intervention of poor Father Sucheki, who had prepared a learned report on the Church’s pronouncements against Freemasonry, appeared only as a due act, moreover also somewhat snubbed by Bishop Staglianò, who appeared intolerant of the reminders of doctrine. Archbishop Delpini, who, after imposing the date, time, and conditions of the meeting, showed up 45 minutes late. And Cardinal Coccopalmerio pretended to know nothing about Freemasonry, but in different words they said the same things, two in particular: satisfaction for this ‘meeting between people’ and not between opposing acronyms, and the need to continue and intensify these meetings, perhaps with a ‘permanent table,’ as Coccopalmerio pointed out.”

Part of the Masonic presentation entailed asking why Pope Francis’ famous “Who am I to judge?” statement in 2013, a conciliation to gay people and divorcees, could not have extended to Freemasons.

Bishop Antonio Staglianò is quoted in the Daily Compass(!) saying: “we need a healthy sapiential theology—a theology capable of thinking critically about everything, of responding also to the critical instances of universal reason, because we live in a world where if you do not dialogue you risk being absolutely out of the world. Sapiential means that it knows how to unite science and wisdom of life.”

“Isn’t that clear?,” Cascioli writes in conclusion. “It doesn’t matter, what one must understand is that in the end on the ‘wisdom of life,’ one can also collaborate with Freemasons, in good works and for the common good. Mercy rains down on everyone anyway.”

     

‘Visit Cleopatra’s Needle on Tuesday’

    

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts’ 26th District will host a lodge of instruction next Tuesday that will be open to the public (sort of) for a discussion by a New Jersey Freemason on the subject of an ancient Egyptian monument that is on display in New York City. From the publicity, courtesy of Bro. Dagoberto:

Grand Lodge of Massachusetts

26th District Lodge of Instruction

Tuesday, February 27 at 7 p.m.

Register here for the Zoom

Prepare to embark on an enlightening journey through time and symbolism with our program on the enigmatic Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park, New York City.

Join us as we delve into the mystical symbolism of this ancient artifact, exploring its Masonic connections in its winding journey from the sun-drenched temples of Egypt to the bustling streets of New York.

Worshipful Brother Victor Moschella of Republican Lodge was entered, passed, and raised in Wilkins-Eureka-Continental Lodge 37 in New Jersey in 2003. He has presided in the East in all three York Rite bodies as well as his AMD council, and has received national recognition for distinguished service to the Craft in several of the York Rite bodies. He is a Past Most Excellent President of the Grand Convention of Anointed High Priests for the State of New Jersey, and is a member of the Silver Trowel and KYCH.

     

‘Bro. Norton and Masonry’s universality’

    

Click here to register.

Late afternoon on a Thursday might not be the most attractive timing for an online presentation, but our speaker is domiciled in Budapest where it’ll be 10 p.m. If he can do it, you can too.

Peter Lanchidi is an art historian who has found his way into the study of Masonic history via, as I understand it, a Judaic prism, writing in the academic world about Kabbalistic art and, maybe unusually, the challenge of practicing religious tolerance in the fraternity.

I’m told the story of Jacob Norton, a Massachusetts Mason in the nineteenth century, is well known about the apartments of the Temple in the Bay State, so the rest of us can profit from this upcoming discussion. From the publicity:

Jews, Freemasons,

and a Nineteenth Century

Debate on Universality

Thursday, March 14

4 p.m. Eastern

Presented by Dr. Peter Lanchidi

There is a notable history of American Jewish engagement with the Freemasons. In this talk, Dr. Peter Lanchidi will shed light on the meaning and relevance of Freemasonry for American Jewry, and share the story of Jacob Norton, a Jewish Mason in Boston, and a debate he found himself at the center of when he presented a petition to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 1851 concerning the role of religion within the Masonic brotherhood. Dr. Lanchidi will address the skirmish that followed, pitting universalist Jewish (and non-Jewish) brethren against conservative Christian Masons, as well as the broader context regarding the appeal of Freemasonry for American Jews.

Click here to register.

Peter Lanchidi is a tenured Assistant Professor in the Institute of Art History at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. As an Azrieli Fellow, he earned his Ph.D. in the Department of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheva. With background in art history and aesthetics (BA) from Budapest and Jewish studies (MA) from Stockholm and Heidelberg, his research focuses on the interface between Freemasonry and Kabbalah in visual material in the nineteenth century and its historical and cultural contexts.  

     

‘Exploring Plato’s Cave’

    

thoughtco

Maryland Masonic Research Society just announced a change of format for its meetings. Starting next month, the speaker-at-a-lectern program will be replaced with group discussion. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” will be examined. From the publicity:

Maryland Masonic

Research Society

Saturday, March 16 at 11 a.m.

Silver Spring Lodge 215

RSVP here

As we start our 45th year, we are changing our meeting format. In discussion with others, it was mentioned that a lot of Masonic events focus on a presentation but were light on discussion. This year, we will meet as a “book club” or “study group.”

There will be a reading, or selection of readings, of Masonic interest with a discussion leader. The goal is to have full participation with a group of knowledge-seekers discussing Masonic topics.

Our first meeting will focus on Plato and be led by Ed Johnson, Past President of MMRS. Suggested reading: Plato’s Republic, Book VII. Topic: “Allegory of the Cave.”

On occasion, this allegory has been said to be analogous to the three degrees of Freemasonry.  

     

‘The Story of Prince Hall—Told by Prince Hall’

    

Bro. Prince Hall will return to Odenton Lodge 209 in Maryland this spring. Not the real Prince Hall of course, but RW Stanley Conyer re-enacting “In Search of Light.”

     

‘Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?’

    

Click to enlarge.

Lunch is on me if you are able to research, write, and present an essay on the Brother Freemason mentioned in the newspaper story above.

This offer is open to members in good standing of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786, and the offer expires December 31 of this year. Expected is a biographical accounting of Rev. Sheville within and without Freemasonry. Original writing, thousand words minimum, proper citations as endnotes.

The newspaper clipping comes from the Thursday, August 13, 1873 edition of the Lawrence Daily Journal in Kansas.

After our meetings, we retire to a steak house around the corner for lunch, so a steak meal is on me. If you’re a vegetarian, have chicken or something. I don’t know.

     

‘Table Lodge: Freemasonry in Finland’

    

Finland Embassy

The American Lodge of Research is reviving our tradition of hosting a table lodge annually, so plan to join us Tuesday, March 26 as we begin New York’s hundredth anniversary celebration of the Grand Lodge of Finland.

Richard T. Schulz

Come to Masonic Hall’s French Ionic Room at 7:30 p.m. Right Worshipful Richard T. Schulz, Grand Secretary, will deliver the keynote, discussing Grand Lodge’s role in re-establishing Freemasonry in Finland after that nation secured its independence from Russia following World War I because. . .

March 26 will be the hundredth anniversary of the request by New York’s lodges in Finland for permission to organize their own sovereign grand lodge.

The dining fee is only $60 per person. Click here to book your seats.

Click here.

The Grand Lodge of New York will celebrate the centenary of the Grand Lodge of Finland mightily this year, including with a lengthy trip to The Land of the Thousand Lakes in September. I like to think of this ALR table lodge as the kick-off of New York’s salute to Finland.

I’ll bring the aquavit (and, no, you can’t mix it with anything).

     

‘MAGI is here!’

    

They’d been teasing it for an interminable three weeks but, several hours ago, Bob Cooper and Mark Tabbert finally gave us the gift of M.A.G.I.

A podcast, Masonic Authors’ Guild International is “for educational purposes and perhaps entertainment.” I’ll just share the publicity:

Welcome to the Masonic Authors’ Guild International (MAGI), where each week two historians review and critique books and other productions focused on Freemasonry, as well as discuss broader issues in historical research. Our mission is to promote the highest professional and academic standards in Masonic research, education, and publications. These podcasts begin the Guild’s mission by reviewing those that do, or do not, uphold high academic standards, and explain why they do, or do not.

The Guild members are Robert Cooper, Curator Emeritus of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, who lives in Edinburgh; and Mark Tabbert, former Curator at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, Alexandria, Virginia, who lives in Iowa. Both have published significant academic historical research, and have contributed to Masonic journals and magazines. Together they have more than 65 years as Freemasons, and are members of numerous Masonic research societies and Masonic lodges in Europe and North America.

For this launch, they very wisely uploaded five episodes of the podcast for our enlightenment, including examinations of David Stevenson of Scotland and Joseph Fort Newton of Iowa.

Click here and share the link with your brethren.

(Jesus wept. I hope they don’t critique this blog.)

     

‘Justice.’

    

Masonic Exchange Store

“Justice, the boundary of right, constitutes the cement of civil society. This virtue, in a great measure, constitutes real goodness and is therefore represented as the perpetual study of the accomplished Mason. Without the exercise of justice, universal confusion would ensue, lawless force might overcome the principles of equity, and social intercourse no longer exist.”

William Preston

Illustrations of Masonry

Eighth Edition, 1792

Page 55

“The law of Justice is as universal a one as the law of Attraction; though we are very far from being able to reconcile all the phenomena of Nature with it. The lark has the same right, in our view, to live, to sing, to dart at pleasure through the ambient atmosphere, as the hawk has to ply his strong wings in the Summer sunshine, and yet the hawk pounces on and devours the harmless lark, as it devours the worm, and as the worm devours the animalcule; and, so far as we know, there is nowhere, in any future state of animal existence, any compensation for this apparent injustice.”

Albert Pike

Morals and Dogma

“Grand Inspector Inquisitor Commander”

Page 829

“Justice as between man and man, and as between man and the animals below him, is that which, under and according to the God-created relations existing between them, and the whole aggregate of circumstances surrounding them, is fit and right and proper to be done, with a view to the general as well as to the individual interest.”

Ibid., Page 831

“A sense of justice belongs to human nature, and is a part of it. Men find a deep, permanent, and instinctive delight in justice, not only in the outward effects, but in the inward cause, and by their nature love this law of right, this reasonable rule of conduct, this justice, with a deep and abiding love. Justice is the object of the conscience, and fits it as light fits the eye and truth the mind.”

Ibid., Page 833

“The selfish, the grasping, the inhuman, the fraudulently unjust, the ungenerous employer, and the cruel master, are detested by the great popular heart; while the kind master, the liberal employer, the generous, the humane, and the just have the good opinion of all men, and even envy is a tribute to their virtues. Men honor all who stand up for truth and right, and never shrink.”

Ibid., Page 836

     

‘Library-museum seeks new director’

    

The Allen E. Roberts Library and Museum of the Grand Lodge of Virginia seeks a new Executive Director. (God, I’d love to be Executive Director of the Allen E. Roberts Library and Museum!) From the publicity:

GL of Virginia

Executive Director of the Allen E. Roberts Library and Grand Lodge of Virginia AF&AM Museum will be a scholar and manager active in all aspects of the Library and Museum and an integral and essential member of the team. The Executive Director will ensure the Virginia Masonic family and generally the world Masonic community is aware of and able to access the collections associated with this endeavor.

Incumbent will report to the Board of Directors of the corporation.

Application deadline: March 1, 2024.

Resumes can be forwarded to:

The Grand Lodge of Virginia

4115 Nine Mile Road

Richmond, VA 23223-4926

or emailed here.

Position

Executive Director of the Allen E. Roberts Library and Grand Lodge of Virginia AF&AM Museum.

GL of Virginia

The Executive Director will be a scholar and manager active in all aspects of the Library and Museum and an integral and essential member of the team. The Executive Director will ensure the Virginia Masonic family and generally the world Masonic community is aware of and able to access the collections associated with this endeavor.

Purpose

GL of Virginia

The Grand Lodge of Virginia Library, Museum and Historical Foundation, and the Allen E. Roberts Masonic Library and Museum of Virginia, Inc. is seeking a vibrant, enthusiastic and dynamic person to direct, organize and curate the Allen E. Roberts Library, the Grand Lodge of Virginia, AF&AM Museum and assist in the curating of such other Virginia Masonic collections as may come under the purview of the Corporation.

Responsibilities

Report to the Board of Directors of the corporation.

Approve, catalog and document all acquisitions including books, ephemera, recordings, furnishings and other items.

GL of Virginia

Create policies, including accession and declination policies, for the Library and Museum, including the preparation of such forms as may be necessary for such purposes, for review and approval by the Board of Directors.

Ensure that Library and Museum holdings are available for Masonic and scholarly use.

Assure proper stewardship of all Library and Museum materials and holdings.

GL of Virginia

Employ proper conservation techniques and methods to preserve and maintain all collections to make the same available for the longest possible time.

Represent the Library and Museum where necessary and as requested by the Board of Directors.

Increase engagement with members of the Masonic Fraternity.

Establish clear goals for the collection and share the same with the Board of Directors.

Deepen fraternal and public awareness of the Library and Museum and publicize its holdings to encourage use.

Serve as a visible and articulate spokesperson for the Library and Museum.

Assist in fundraising matters on individual initiative and at the request of the Board of Directors.

GL of Virginia

Supervise docents, interns and volunteers and manage the scheduling of such persons.

Prepare a budget and discuss budgetary matters with the Board of Directors.

Manage special use and restricted funds.

Assist in planning major purchases and capital expenses of the Library and Museum.

Prepare and oversee Library and Museum publications.

Manage the physical integrity and security of all Library and Museum spaces.

Grow the holdings of the Library and Museum.

GL of Virginia

Salary Range

$46,500 to $68,500

Requirements

GL of Virginia

A strong commitment to historical preservation, research and scholarship.

A strong commitment to working with a team and a Board of Directors.

Bachelor’s Degree in library science, history, museum science, related field or equivalent experience.

Ability to work independently.

A passion for history.

Ability to use Past Perfect computer software.

     

‘Scottish EA° Working Tools’

    

My lodge had the honor of initiating two candidates for the mysteries of Freemasonry Monday night. I’ve always enjoyed the variety shown in rituals around the Masonic world; the following example offers not only different language in defining the familiar Working Tools of the Entered Apprentice Mason, but also reveals a Working Tool unknown to lodges in the United States.

Under the Grand Lodge of Scotland, there is no single ritual promulgated by headquarters. Instead, lodges are free to customize the work. This doesn’t produce anarchy. Masons are responsible. It just means there isn’t a down-to-the-letter standardization of ritual.

What follows comes from The Scottish Ritual of the Three Degrees of St. John’s Masonry, printed by Lewis in London in 1895.

I now present to you the Working Tools of an Entered Apprentice Free Mason, which are, the Twenty-four inch Gauge, the Common Gavel, and the Chisel.

The Twenty-four inch Gauge is to measure our Work, the Common Gavel to knock off all superfluous knobs and excrescences, and the Chisel to further smooth and prepare the stone, and render it fit for the hands of the more expert Craftsman.

The Twenty-four inch Gauge is the first instrument placed in the hands of a workman, as it enables him to measure the work he is about to begin, so that he may estimate the time and labour it will cost.

The Gavel is an instrument of labour. Known to Artists under various appellations, it is still admitted by them all that no work of manual skill can be completed without its aid.

The Chisel is a small instrument, solid in its form, but of such exquisite sharpness as fully to compensate for the diminutiveness of its size. It is calculated to make impression on the hardest substances, and the loftiest structures are indebted to its aid.

But as we are not operative, but rather Free and Accepted, or Speculative Masons, we apply those Tools to our Morals.

In this sense the Twenty-four inch Gauge represents the twenty-four hours of the day,—part to be spent in Prayer to Almighty God; part in Labour, Refreshment, and Sleep; and part to serve a friend or Brother in time of need, that not being detrimental to ourselves or our connections.

The Common Gavel represents the force of conscience, which should keep down all vain and unbecoming thoughts, so that our words and actions may appear before the Throne of Grace pure and unpolluted.

The Chisel points out to us the advantages of Education and Perseverance, by which means alone we are rendered fit members of regularly organized Society. That the rude material can receive a fine polish from repeated efforts alone. From the whole we deduce this moral: That Knowledge, aided by Labour and prompted by Perseverance, will finally overcome all difficulties, raise ignorance from despair, and establish truth in the paths of Nature and Science.

I can’t locate this quotation, but it fits Aristotelian thought.

     

     

‘Remember the great objects of our association’

    

Chuck Dunning imparted something via Facebook last week that inspires me to share here. (Plus, it’s easier than writing something myself.) Enjoy.

Friends and Brothers,

Chuck Dunning

Here’s a traditional opening charge for Blue Lodges in the Preston-Webb tradition. It’s now rarely a mandatory part of ritual in many jurisdictions, and some no longer even include it as optional. I regard it as highly instructive and inspiring, and it would be wonderful if more lodges included it.

Charge at Opening

The ways of virtue are beautiful. Knowledge is attained by degrees. Wisdom dwells with contemplation: there we must seek her. Let us then, brethren, apply ourselves with becoming zeal to the practice of the excellent principles inculcated by our Order.

Let us ever remember that the great objects of our association are the restraint of improper desires and passions; the cultivation of an active benevolence; and the promotion of a correct knowledge of the duties we owe to God, our neighbor and ourselves.

Let us be united, and practise with assiduity the sacred tenets of our Order. Let all private animosities, if any unhappily exist, give place to affection and brotherly love. It is a useless parade to talk of the subjection of irregular passions within the walls of the lodge if we permit them to triumph in our intercourse with each other.

Uniting in the grand design, let us be happy ourselves and endeavor to promote the happiness of others. Let us cultivate the great moral virtues which are laid down on our Masonic trestleboard, and improve in every thing that is good, amiable, and useful.

Let the benign Genius of the Mystic Art preside over our councils, and under her sway let us act with a dignity becoming the high moral character of our venerable Institution.

     

‘Learn the Secret Teachings in the Reading Room’

    

Manly P. Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages covers many subjects, but one of the passages on Freemasonry will be the topic of discussion in the Reading Room, a feature of Craftsmen Online, this spring. At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, the panel will look into “Freemasonic Symbolism.” A taste:

The sanctum sanctorum of Freemasonry is ornamented with the gnostic jewels of a thousand ages; its rituals ring with the divinely inspired words of seers and sages. A hundred religions have brought their gifts of wisdom to its altar; arts and sciences unnumbered have contributed to its symbolism. Freemasonry is a world-wide university, teaching the liberal arts and sciences of the soul to all who will hearken to its words. Its chairs are seats of learning and its pillars uphold an arch of universal education. Its trestleboards are inscribed with the eternal verities of all ages and upon those who comprehend its sacred depths has dawned the realization that within the Freemasonic Mysteries lie hidden the long-lost arcana sought by all peoples since the genesis of human reason.

Click here for the text. Click here to join this meeting via Zoom when the time comes.

     

‘News from the Philalethes Society’

    

Great news from the Philalethes Society during Masonic Week:

✓ Adam Kendall is President for the two-year term.

✓ Chris Ruli is the new Third Vice-President.

✓ Michael Poll, made a Fellow in 2003, has been chosen Dean of the Fellows of the Society.

Steve McCall, owner of Macoy Masonic Supply Co., was the keynote speaker at the luncheon yesterday, discussing the history of his company in “175 Years of Serving the Craft: Publishing, Regalia, and Masonic Supplies.”

The Philalethes Society was founded in 1928 to serve as a nexus for serious thinking and a source for real scholarship on Masonic subjects. Grand lodges were not places to find research and education, so brethren motivated to fill that void organized independent bodies to publish enlightening papers and articles for the fraternity’s advancement in Masonic knowledge. The Philalethes Society was neither the first nor the only such group from that era, but it is the one still breathing at the close of the first quarter of the twenty-first century.

Congratulations all!

Okay, okay. I’ll rejoin. Stop browbeating me.

(Hey guys, how about updating the website, yeah?)

I wonder if I can revive Knickerbocker Chapter.

     

‘Terra Masonica is on YouTube now; sequel is planned’

    

Terra Masonica is available on YouTube now. The two-hour (in two parts) documentary from 2017 was uploaded several days ago, and can be enjoyed free of charge—legitimately. And keep reading for word about a sequel. From the movie’s publicity:

What is Freemasonry today? Who are the Freemasons? Since 1717, Freemasonry has expanded worldwide. Throughout the centuries, this phenomenon has become impregnated with the different local cultures on the five continents. On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Freemasonry, this extraordinary world tour in 80 lodges unveils, for the first time, these ancient and fascinating communities. Terra Masonica takes us to meet Masons in everyday life, sharing their history and vision of a changing world.

It’s impressively photographed and smartly edited. The film is at its most poignant during the segments shot in Scotland, Norway, Ukraine, Mali, and Spain, although the stops in India and Israel leave impacts as well.

A sequel, Terra Masonica 2: The Widow’s Son, is forthcoming. (Has nothing to do with the motorcycle club.) Click here to visit the Terra Masonica YouTube channel.

     

‘The Masons that Made the Tarot!’

    

This month, the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge of New York will bring to the lectern Bro. Oliver Ash, who will present “The Masons that Made the Tarot!” From the publicity:

Tarot cards can be found everywhere in modern culture. There are hundreds of decks available all over the world, and the global tarot card market is expected to keep growing. Despite their popularity, many people are unaware of tarot history and, in particular, they are unaware of the profound influence that Freemasons have had on its creation.

Oliver Ash

Join Oliver Ash for a dive into the history of tarot cards, with special attention paid to those Masons who helped to begin one of the most intriguing modern spiritual traditions.

Oliver Ash is currently completing his Master’s Degree in Theological Studies at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester. He is constructing his thesis around tarot history, which he has been studying for five years. He received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Champlain College in Vermont.

Ash was initiated into Masonry in 2022, and is acting as junior master of ceremonies in his mother lodge. His interests include Masonic ritual and history, Western esotericism and occultism, mystical spirituality, and interfaith studies. He has worked with institutions in the past related to tarot education and stimulating interfaith dialogue.

Click here to register. Photo ID is required to enter Masonic Hall. The library is located on the fourteenth floor.

     

‘It was sixty years ago today’

    

Walter Shenson/Subafilms

At this hour sixty years ago, the Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show.

While there are a few Freemasons depicted in the cover art of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, there aren’t Beatles-Craft connections that I know about, except. . . In 1965, the group filmed their second movie, Help!, which includes this quick, silly exchange between Ringo Starr and Alfie Bass:

Ringo: “Does this ring mean anything to you?”

Doorman: “Freemason?”

Ringo: “He’s from the west!”

Doorman: “Nah, east—Stepney!” 

The Beatles previously had been Quarrymen, but they never were Freemasons. It’s not too late! I’m sure Chelsea, St. Cecile, or any lodge would love to have Ringo or Paul.

     

‘It’s beefsteak season!’

   

Mariners 67

Mariners Lodge 67 in the First Manhattan District will host its famous Beefsteak Dinner later this month, which I mention here to urge you to attend. These are unforgettable banquets for enjoying course after course of terrific food (and not just beef), libations, song, and a camaraderie I don’t think can be found elsewhere. It’s a rite of passage unto its own.

This will take place Saturday, February 24. From the publicity:

Maritime Festive Board

and Beefsteak Banquet

February 24 at 6:30 p.m.

Masonic Hall, Jacobean Room

Attire: Tuxedo (preferred) or Business Formal, and everyone gets a Butcher’s Apron. This event is open to Masons and male guests only. Doors open at six; gavel at 7:30.

Tentative Menu:

First Course

Iced Shrimp, The Ancient Mariner’s Cured Salmon, House Pickles

Second Course

House-Smoked Brisket Pastrami with Rye Toast, Roast Pork with Rolls, Tomato-Braised Lamb Meatballs

Third Course

Memphis-Style Dry-Rubbed Pork Ribs, 72-Hour Braised Beef Short Ribs, Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

Fourth Course

Strip Steak, Lamb Chops, Roasted Potato Wedges

Fifth Course

Assorted Dessert Platters

Draft beer from the legendary Bronx Beer Hall.

Click here to book your seats. This is a perfect group activity for your lodge.

Granted, the ticket price is a lot of money, but if you plopped down in a restaurant and ordered those dishes, you’d have to wash dishes to get back out the door.

Click here for coverage of the last time I attended.

Make time to read Joseph Mitchell’s legendary story from 1939, originally in the New Yorker, titled “All You Can Hold for Five Bucks.” Click here and turn to Page 291.

     

‘The return of Macoy’s Masonic Monitor’

    

Front cover, I assume, of the book.

Macoy Masonic Supply Co. of Virginia (formerly of New York City) will publish a seminal work by its founder soon in commemoration of the business’ 175 years, and thoughtfully invites us to purchase the painstakingly reproduced historic volume. This is Robert Macoy’s Monitor from 1867. From the publicity:

Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply is celebrating 175 years of serving the Craft this year. It all starts with a collector’s limited edition of one of Robert Macoy’s first books: Macoy’s Masonic Monitor.

Our team has gone to great lengths to honor this book and Robert Macoy, by meticulously retyping each word and restoring the more than 300 images to their original beauty.

This is not just a photocopied reproduction found on the internet. On top of that, we have had a special die made so each copy of this book will be hand gold stamped by Macoy craftspeople.

Why should I buy this book?

▶︎ Limited Edition — We will print only a select number of this book. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.

▶︎ Each cover will be hand stamped in gold leaf.

▶︎ Own Masonic history — This monitor is like the monitor, manual, or presentation manual you use today. You’ll be shocked by how the words you say today are so similar to what Masons said 175 years ago.

▶︎ Learn about the York Rite — All degrees are covered in the book.

Brief history and explanation of Masonic Monitors:

According to Coil’s Encyclopedia, “A monitor is a book of esoteric ritualistic matter. Virtually all…of the moral and ethical instructions of Freemasonry is contained in the published…monitors and manuals issued by various Masonic authorities. Such publications (are not) the secret parts of the ritual. The most prominent of the monitors were Preston’s of 1772; Webb’s of 1797: Cross’ of 1819: Tannehill’s of 1824; Mackey’s of 1852; and Macoy’s of 1867.

Brent Morris writes: “So what’s the difference between a monitor and a ritual book? It might help to start with an analogy. One can think of Masonic degree ritual as a sort of morality play, in which the candidate is the main protagonist and other members of the lodge take on other dramatic roles in the cast. Ritual books contain the scripts to these ‘plays,’ and contain material that is considered either secret or not intended for non-members. Monitors, on the other hand, contain the non-secret excerpts of rituals, lectures, and other ceremonies. In other words, monitors include extracts of parts of Masonic ritual that, when read, may give the reader a general sense of the ritual while including neither the text of the ritual itself, nor the passwords, signs, grips, etc. that are a part of what Masons pledge not to reveal to non-Masons.

“Monitors exist for the Craft degrees (i.e. the first three degrees), Scottish Rite, York Rite, and various other degrees. Monitors…often include descriptions of how the lodge room or stage is decorated and often contain an outline of the narrative story of the degree. Monitors of the Craft degrees usually contain excerpts from the various ‘lectures’ in which the metaphorical meaning of various Masonic symbols is explained.”

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