MASONIC EDUCATION

By: L. Wade, PM, MD 32o KCCH (sent in by S. W. Glenn Cupit)
St. James Lodge No. 47 Baton Rouge Valley of Baton Rouge

Charity Defined -- One Man's Opinion

"Charity is a distinguishing characteristic of every Mason" (Louisiana Masonic Monitor, p. 49). "Charity is the brightest jewel in the Masonic Crown…the radiant spark of love emanating from God, the source of all love" (ibid., p. 149).
But how are we to know that we truly understand Charity? We know, for example, that Masonic Charity is not, "…circumscribed by the narrow limits of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, or binding up the wounds of the afflicted…" (ibid., p. 149). But does that fully define Masonic Charity?
As a fledgling student of The Enlightenment, I am convinced that Masonic Charity is inseparably bound up in the principles of that cataclysmic intellectual revolution -- that virtual upheaval in humanity's conception of knowledge, of authority, and of humankind, itself.
Dr. Allan Charles Kors, a leading historian of The Enlightenment, describes that prior to The Enlightenment (i.e., prior to the 30-year period from 1785 to 1815), the overwhelmingly dominant prevailing attitude throughout all of Western civilization held that spiritual matters, alone, were important -- that physical human suffering (and conversely, physical well-being) were quite literally of no consequence, whatsoever. There were bigger fish to fry -- spiritual ones. What of it, if people suffered? Surely, physical suffering could best be understood as a process of spiritual purification and therefore not only acceptable but even desirable. Under this pre-Enlightenment rationale, universally prevalent throughout Western Europe, "torture as spiritual purification" made perfectly good sense. (Of course, the difference between pre- and post-Enlightenment thinking is so radical that it is now nearly impossible for us to imagine such a thing.)
Just as we say, " Geometry, or Freemasonry -- originally synonymous terms…" (ibid., p. 118), we might just as well say, "The Enlightenment, or Freemasonry -- originally synonymous terms…," because The Enlightenment and Freemasonry are so thoroughly intertwined in the history of the late 17th and early 18th centuries that it is not in any way erroneous to think of "The Enlightenment" and "Freemasonry" as interchangeable terms -- indeed, it seems that the more closely we examine the history of that era, the more difficult it becomes to separate them.
And, it was this "Enlightenment, or Freemasonry" that -- in the 30-year period between 1685 and 1715 -- totally reversed the priorities of Western Civilization. After 1715 (and who can miss the proximity of that date to one so well known to all Masons), it was no longer acceptable to theorize about spirituality, while ignoring human suffering. For the first time in history, concern for the physical well-being -- even the comfort -- of humans took priority over spiritual abstractions. Freemasonry -- The Enlightenment -- is, then, the fountainhead of all Charity, the beginning of freedom and Brotherly Love.
Masonic Charity is a willingness to relate to the objective world of human existence -- to take our gaze away from the stars and to concern ourselves preeminently with the quality of our own lives and the quality of each other's lives. It is the recognition that we serve the GAOTU by administering to our own needs and to the needs of his other Earthly creatures. Masonic Charity is, truly, "…that broader, grander, nobler Charity that regards all men as brothers" (ibid., p. 149).

 

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WORDS OF WISDOM… OR NOT

A guy is 75 years old and loves to fish. He was sitting in his boat the other day when he heard a voice say, "Pick me up."
He looked around and couldn't see any one. He thought he was dreaming when he heard the voice say again, "Pick me up." He looked in the water and there, floating on the top, was a frog.

The man said, "Are you talking to me?"

The frog said, "Yes, I'm talking to you. Pick me up. Then, kiss me and I'll turn into the most beautiful woman you have ever seen. I'll make sure that all your friends are envious and jealous because you will have me as your bride."

The man looked at the frog for a short time, reached over, picked it up carefully, and placed it in his front breast pocket.

Then the frog said, "What, are you nuts? Didn't you hear what I said? I said kiss me and I will be your beautiful bride."

He opened his pocket, looked at the frog and said, "Nah, at my age I'd rather have a talking frog."

 

 

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