We Are Never Alone: Honoring Our Departed Brothers

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor

Todd E. Creason

Used with permission of Living Stones Magazine

As a Lodge Secretary, I can tell you that one of the most important duties I perform is reporting the passing of a Brother to the Brethren, and when the family requests it, helping to organize the Masonic Funeral Rites.  I wanted to tell you a story about an experience I had a few months ago that demonstrated just how important Masons take this final responsibility to our Brothers.

I received notice one evening some months ago that one of our members had passed away.  He was in his 90s, and hadn't been to lodge in years.  Only a few of our members were old enough to remember him, but Masonry had been a very important part of his life in his younger years and he'd been very active in the lodge, and in the Shriners.  The family requested the Masonic Rites performed after the visitation (that's generally how its done where I'm from), and we were happy to do so. 

We never have a problem turning out a good showing for the Masonic Funeral Rites.  In fact, we have a regular group that performs the Rites with great skill.  If you've never seen a Masonic Funeral Rite, it's probably one of the most emotionally moving and meaningful ceremonies you're ever likely to see.  In addition to the Rites, the family needed some help with another detail.  They wanted to know if I could line up some pall bearers as well. 

It's a wonderful thing to live a long and active life, but one of the costs of living so long is that very often you outlive all your friends, much of your family, and sometimes even your children--and that was the case with this Brother.  There just weren't enough close friends and family left.

The funeral was during the day, and during the middle of the week. To be honest, I was a little concerned about the request when I first agreed to line up six Masons.  We're a small lodge in a small Midwestern town.  I knew most of our members who would be available for the funeral weren't much younger than the Brother who passed away, and those who were able worked during the day.  I put the word out to Masonic Lodges far and wide that we needed pall bearers because I knew it was going to be tough to find able-bodied Masons during the workday. 

But I was completely wrong about that.  I needn't have cast my nets so far and wide--within an hour I had my six lined up and about another dozen on standby.  We wound up with the Master of the Lodge, Treasurer, three 33rd Degree Masons, and an Assistant Area Grand Master as pall bearers--and three of the six missed work to attend.  That's how important that obligation is.

I learned something from that experience--I wasn't taking that responsibility of a Master Mason seriously enough.  It's easy sometimes to skip a Masonic Funeral Rite by saying "I didn't even know him" or "it's been a long day."  But that Rite isn't just for the departed Brother--it's for the family.  And in those cases where the Brother lived a very long life, it can be very meaningful to those family and friends that remain to see this large group of Masons show up dressed in suits and wearing white aprons and gloves, many of which never knew the deceased, and perform this touching tribute in his memory.  It leaves a long and lasting impression on them.

It's not a task, and it's not a chore--it's an honor.  And it's comforting to know that when our time comes, the same will be done for us. As my new friend and Brother Robert Herd said, "In Brotherhood we find comfort in knowing we are not alone, even upon the occasion of our death."

I'd like to thank Bro. Robert Herd and Living Stones Magazine for letting me use his graphic quotation at the opening of the article.  I'd just about finished this article when I saw it on Facebook, and realized it would be a perfect compliment for this piece.  I contacted Bro. Robert Herd and asked his permission, and as expected, he basically said "what's mine is yours, Brother." 

~TEC

Todd E. Creason, 33° is the original founder of the Midnight Freemasons blog, and author of several books and novels, including the Famous American Freemasons series.  He is member of Homer Lodge No. 199, and a Past Master of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL).  He is a member the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, the York Rite Bodies of Champaign/Urbana (IL), the Ansar Shrine (IL), Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees, and Charter President of the Illini High Twelve in Champaign-Urbana (IL).  He is also the author of the blog From Labor To Refreshment . . .

How America's Most Notorious Traitor Nearly Was One Of Its Greatest Heroes

By Steven L. Harrison, PM, FMLR

Benedict Arnold

     The name Benedict Arnold (1741-1801) has become synonymous with the word "traitor."  Arnold was an active member of Hiram Lodge 1, New Haven, Connecticut and is known to have visited other lodges as well. Having been a commander in the American Revolution Arnold became disgruntled when, in 1777, the military promoted several lower ranking officers ahead of him.  During the next few years, Arnold fell on hard times financially, and came to need a substantial amount of money to pay debts he had incurred.  Although finally promoted and given command of West Point, the American fort on New York's Hudson River (and also the future site of the Armed Forces military academy), Arnold's resentment and debts continued to grow.

     Now in charge of West Point, Arnold contacted the British with an offer to surrender the fort in exchange for the enormous sum of £20,000 and a significant position in the British military.  He sealed the pact with British Major John Andre but the plot was foiled when Andre was captured and executed.  This turn of events exposed Arnold, who fled to the British side, where he commanded a few battles, and then returned to England.  In return for his actions, the British made Arnold a Brigadier General, gave him a pension and an additional sum of  £6,315 (They did not pay the full amount since the plot failed).  He died in relative obscurity some twenty years later.

     After the West Point incident Arnold became a despised figure among colonists and remains known today as a vile traitor to his country.  Even his own Masonic Lodge and other Lodges he had visited had his name stricken from the records.

     Prior to the events leading to his act of sedition, however, Benedict Arnold had been an inspiring soldier.  At the very outset of the war, he helped Ethan Allen capture Fort Ticonderoga.  He then led an unsuccessful campaign to capture Quebec but rebounded and commanded troops that stopped another British invasion.  He also stopped the British in the Mohawk Valley, and forced British General John Burgoyne's surrender.

     Arnold was severely wounded in his effort to seize Quebec and again at the Battle of Saratoga.  His left leg was shattered in both instances.  He was wounded a third time in the same leg at the second battle of Saratoga in October, 1777.  The third wound was so severe it  nearly killed him, Arnold himself saying it would have been better if he had been hit in the chest.  After the third injury Arnold refused to have his leg amputated and the crude repairs to his wound left the leg two inches shorter than the other.  Seven months later in May, 1778, Arnold went back to service at Valley Forge and made a heroic entrance to the wild cheers of the troops who had served under him at Saratoga.

Comic Book "Benedict Arnold,
American Hero & Traitor"

     It was only after Benedict Arnold's battlefield successes, heroic actions and severe wounds at Saratoga that his financial and military troubles started.  Without question, had that final leg wound he received at Saratoga been fatal, he would today be remembered as one of America’s greatest revolutionary heroes instead of its most notorious traitor.

~SLH

Steve Harrison, 32° KCCH, is a Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri.  He is the editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine, author of the book Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, a Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research and also its Senior Warden.  He is a dual member of Kearney Lodge #311, St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite, Moila Shrine and is a member of the DeMolay Legion of Honor.

In Search Of The Lost Word: Part III

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor

 James E Frey, 32°

 

Part 3 of 3: The Word Revealed

In a Secret Vault, deep beneath the ruins of the Temple there is a treasure. This treasure is not of gold, nor embedded with jewels, it is a word that no mortal tongue can speak, spoken only in silence and flame. It is a treasure of knowledge, the true name of God. This truth was hidden away from those unworthy to know it. For this word belongs to the master, which had fallen, this word hidden from those who have been taken into captivity.

After King Cyrus, founder of the Persian Empire, conquered Babylon and by means of a mysterious dreams he frees the captives to return back and rebuild their temple. This was achieved through the actions of a Prince Mason known as Zerubabel, who would lead his people back to the Promised Land. The Knight Masons, York, and Scottish Rites have degrees, which deal with the period in time in which Zerubabel led his people back to the Promised Land and the rebuilding the Temple. During the rebuilding the Samaritans kept attacking the builders causing them to labor with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. It was not until Zerubabel traveled to Persia to gain favor with King Darius, the new King of Persia after Cyrus, to send an order out to protect and aid in the building of the Temple. Zerubabel is challenged to a contest of philosophy in which he outwitted the wisest satraps from the furthest reaches of the empire winning favor with the King gaining his support for the construction efforts. (Ezra 6: 3-13)

It is soon after this time Zerubabel leads an excavation effort to rebuild the temple and upon clearing the ruins of the old Temple then discover a secret vault. Upon digging deeper they discover the lost word and revere its glory. In Royal Arch Masonry the Name is composed of the Hebrew Letters Yod Heh Vau Heh within a triangle encased by a secret codex to preserve its secrets from the uninitiated. 

          To seek the name of Divinity is to understand the ineffable. As Masons we strive as men of different religions, races, social statuses, to unite in the search for what unites us, our inner divinity. Upon receiving the word in this Pinnacle point of Masonic teaching, the seeker must pass through the veils of space and time itself. The Passing of the veils was first adopted in Scottish Royal Arch Masonry but was soon spread as a strong experience for the Royal Arch Mason who must pass through the veils of the temple. It is pointed as the way the Tabernacle in the wilderness was situated with different compartments. But this is rather symbolic of the nature of High Priesthood. The High Priest would have to purify himself with ritualistic ceremony before beholding the Ark of the Covenant in the Sanctum Sanctorum. These ceremonies involved the Priest passing through the various furniture of the temple. 

The First veil is engraved with an Ox, which is representative of the Table of Shrew Bread, which the Priest would partake of. This is also representative of the element of Earth as found in part of the Cherubim found in Ezekiel’s vision. (Ezekiel 1) This also has a astrological correspondence with Taurus the bull.  The Second Veil that of a man, which represented the Laver of Brass where the priest would ceremonially bath and purify himself. This represents the water element within the Cherubim, and has a strong astrological correspondence with Aquarius the water barer. The Third Veil is the Eagle and is associated with the Altar of incense the Priest would make a sacrifice on and burn the remains to smoke that would rise to the heavens. This is related to the Air element within the Cherubim and is associated with Scorpio the risen Eagle.  The Forth veil bears the Lion representative of the Twelve Branch Candle Stick the Priest would meditate upon. This veil is associated with the Fire element of the Cherubim and is associated astrologically with Leo the Lion. 

          Each emblem is also representative of a dominant tribe of Israel, such as the Tweleve Branch Candle stick represents the Twelve Tribes of Israel. But astrologically this can be interpreted as the four astrological seasons and the twelve zodiacs. It is interesting to note that the what appeared on Mizram’s tablet taken from the ruin’s of Enoch’s Stone Pillar is the rule “As Above, So Below” which means that the material world is a reflection of the heavens primarily the astrological alignments to express an ancient connection to the divine. This spiritual journey of the Priest was to show his spiritual advancement to be worthy and balanced enough to behold the presence of God to pray for the sins of his people.

“But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” (Hebrews 9:7)

Now the Priest stood before the Sanctum Sanctorum, to view with all connection to God the ineffable name and the Ark of the Covenant in its fullest glory. This process was used as a metaphor to show the divine connection we have through Jesus death this is representative to the spiritual purity of the Christ to die for our sins just as the High Priest would purify himself and pray for the sins of his people. “the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.” (Hebrews 6:19-20)

To behold the name of God in the climax of the Royal Arch is to follow in the steps of Christ, to balance one’s true self between heaven and earth, the material elements and the spiritual elements. As Christ is both man and God so must the Seeker of the word recognize his inner divinity is a connect to God.

“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place” (Hebrews 9:24-26)

The unity the Seeker discovers is represented by the cherubim atop the Ark of the Covenant no long segmented into an ox, man, eagle, and Lion but unified and represented as one angelic being which represents spiritual ether. The Cherubim guard the Ark and the Word just as the Cherubim first guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden the Pathway to the Tree of Life, which has a strong connection to Kabalistic principals. This unity of the spiritual and the material is a great awakening within the Seeker of the word, clearly he now he recognizes the unity of nature with God, now he sees the beauty of the living arch stretching from the earth to the heavens. 

James E Frey, 32° is a Past Sovereign Prince and current librarian of Valley of Danville AASR. Founder of the R.E.B.I.S Research Society he sits on two Blue Lodge Education committees as well as a guest lecturer on Occultism and Esoteric studies in masonry. He is also a Member of the Oak Lawn York Rite, Medinah Shriners, and Golden Dawn Collegium Spiritu Sancti. He also works as a counselor with emotionally and behaviorally challenged children.

Freemason Wisdom: Harry S. Truman On Becoming A Politician

by Midnight Freemasons Contributor

R. W. B. Michael H. Shirley

In July1954, little over a year after he ceased being President, Harry Truman wrote a memorandum in which he set out his understanding of the requirements to be a great politician. A young man who chooses to take up politics as a profession should, he wrote, study the lives of great leaders throughout history, including their ethics and their motives. He should study state and local history from its beginnings, and should know thoroughly his county and city governments and their workings. He should prepare constantly and thoroughly, because to be a successful politician required great knowledge and sacrifice, for great politicians do not seek greatness for themselves, but for others:

A great politician is known for the service he renders. He doesn’t have to become President or Governor or the head of his city or county to be a great politician. There are mayors of villages, county attorneys, county commissioners or supervisors who render just as great service locally as do the heads of the government.
No young man should go into politics if he wants to get rich or if he expects an adequate reward for his services. An honest public servant can’t become rich in politics. He can only attain greatness and satisfaction by service.

As a farmer, a soldier, a politician, a husband and father, above all as a man, Harry Truman gave his life to service. It would be tempting to say his innate honesty and commitment to public service derived from being a Freemason, but it would be wrong. It was the other way around. Harry Truman was prepared to be a Freemason in his heart long before he petitioned Belton Lodge No. 450 in 1909. When he died in 1972, after sixty-three years as a Mason and a lifetime of service, both public and private, he hadn’t become rich, but he had attained greatness and satisfaction.

~MHS

R.W.B. Michael H. Shirley is the Assistant Area Deputy Grand Master for the Eastern Area for the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F. & A.M. He is the Past Master of Tuscola Lodge No. 332 and Leadership Development Chairman for the Grand Lodge of Illinois. He's also a member of the Illinois Lodge of Research, the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, Eastern Star, and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon. He's also a member of the newly-chartered, Illini High Twelve No. 768 in Urbana-Champaign. The author of several articles on British history, he teaches at Eastern Illinois University.