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Editor: RWBroGeorge Tapley

March 2013

Vol. 78, No. 3

Johann Wolfgang von GoetheIn this Web Extra article rom Caliornia Freemason Online,1 DeputyGrand Master John L. Cooper III discusses the lie o Goethe and Masonictheme o Faust.

Ote n c a l l e d the G e rma nShakespeare, Johann Wolgang vonGoethe was born on 28 August 1749 atFrankurt am Main, Germany. His atherwas a man o means, and Goethe hadthe early advantage o private tutorswho taught him Latin and Greek, inaddition to the modern languages oEurope such as French, Italian and

English. His early exposure to literaturein many languages would later leaveits mark on his writings. As you mightsuspect, he was an avid reader, and waswell-acquainted with the great workso Western literature, beginning withHomer.

Goethe was a lawyer by proession,but his true passion was literature. Hisworks are too numerous to list here,but he wrote novels, poetry and plays,as well as shorter works, throughout

his lie. But his greatest workwas the epic drama, Faust.He worked on versions o itthroughout his lietime and,indeed, the nal version wasonly published ater his death.

Faust is the story o ahighly successul scholar, aman o great learning, who

has an uncontrolled anduncontrollable ambition tohave unlimited knowledge andto experience all the worldlypleasures that come with beingat the top o the heap. He makesa deal with the devil hissoul in exchange or achievinghis ambition. Dr. Faust neverrealizes until it is too late thatthe devil is getting the best othe bargain.

The Masonicthe me o F a u s t i sunmistakable . At thebeginning o a Masonsjourney he is taught thata lie that is truly ulllingwill have to be one inwhich he learns how tolimit his passions. Passionsthat are out o control aredestructive, not only o usas individuals but to thosearound us. Ambition isgood until it so dominateseverything else that we lose

all perspective. All thatmakes good sense untilwe remember that it is soeasy or good sense to goout the window when welet ambition and selshnesstake control o our lives.

This problem is aparticular one or Masonicscholars. Freemasonry doesnot consist o knowingeverything possible about

Freemasonry, nor having read every

Masonic book ever published. In actFreemasonry is not about knowledgeat all. It is about reshaping our lives sothat we live them or others. In Masonicterms, it is about the importance obrotherly love as a rst priority. Unlesswe rst love God, and the others that Godhas placed in our lives, Freemasonrywont benet us very much. At thebeginning o the Fellowcrat degree wemake it clear to the advancing candidatein these classic words rom St. Paul:

Though I speak with the tongues omen and o angels, and have not charity,I am become as sounding brass, or atinkling cymbal.

Goethe became a Mason in LodgeAmalia at Hamburg in 1780. He diedon 22 March 1832. His last words wereMore Light! He was a Freemasonto the end, or that is our pursuit asMasons not more knowledge, butmore understanding.

1https://www.reemason.org/newsEvents/article.htm?id=10538

Johann Wolgang von Goethe (17491832 at age79 (1828); oil on canvas by Joseph Karl Stieler(1781-1858) at Neue Pinakothec, Munich.

Caption: Fausts pact with Mephisto, 1840 engravingby Julius Nisle.

https://www.freemason.org/newsEvents/article.htm?id=10538https://www.freemason.org/newsEvents/article.htm?id=10538https://www.freemason.org/newsEvents/article.htm?id=10538https://www.freemason.org/newsEvents/article.htm?id=10538

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Provided to Freemasons o Alberta and the NorthwestTerritories west o the 4th Meridian who are members o

The Grand Lodge of Alberta, A.F. & A.M.

330 12 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2R 0H2

Tel 403-262-1140 Fax 403-290-0671www.reemasons.ab.ca

Grand Master MWBro David A. RothDeputy Grand Master RWBro John CameronSenior Grand Warden RWBro John SladeJunior Grand Warden RWBro Chris BattyGrand Secretary RWBro Jerry W. Kopp

Published each month except July and August by

The Grand Lodge of Alberta, A.F. & A.M.

Editor: RWBro George Tapley339 Whitefeld Dr NE, Calgary, AB T1Y 5S2

Tel 403-280-6776 Fax 403-290-0671e-mail: editor@reemasons.ab.ca

The Committee on the Grand Lodge Bulletin

RWBro George Tapley (Chairman);MWBro Robert E. Juthner, Editor emeritus;

WBro Garth Cochran; WBro Loren Kline;Bro Trevor Morris; Ex Ocio: Grand Master,

Deputy Grand Master & Grand SecretaryAnnual subscription rate or non-members o the GLAis C$10.00 plus mailing costs. Republication rights aregranted to other Masonic Jurisdictions, but acknow-ledgement o the source is requested. The Editor reser vesthe right to accept, reject and re-write material submittedor publication. Deadline or copy is the 1 st day o themonth, two months prior to the month o issue.

Juno Beach Added to 2013 Grand Masters CruiseThere is still time to book passage

or the 2013 Grand Masters Cruise andTour (220 August 2013) around theBritish Isles being planned by the DeputyGrand Master, RWBro John Cameron andhis wie, Dorothy. Now there is a newoptional add-on Juno Beach, whereCanadian soldiers landed in the 1944

Normandy invasion.Juno Beach is an exclusive Canadian

day tour oered on 15 August 2013through Exotik Tours/Thomas Cook (notthe cruise line). From dockside at LeHavre, the rst stop is Juno Beach itseland the Juno Beach Centre, a museumand cultural centre which opened atCourseulles-sur-Mer, France on 6 June2003. The Centre, the only Canadianmuseum in Normandy, presents theentire war eort made by all Canadians,civilian and military alike.

Following lunch at a local restaurant,the next stop is the Beny-sur-MerCanadian War Cemetery at Reviers,Normandy. There are 2,049 headstoneshere, enclosed by pines and maples.Among the interred are those who diedin the D-Day assault on Juno Beach, atthe battle or Caen in early July 1944 andsome o the Canadian Prisoners o Warillegally executed at Ardenne Abbey.

France gave these well-kept grounds toCanada in perpetuity.

The day tour concludes with a visit tothe 17th century port o Honfeur beorereturning to the cruise ship at Le Havre.

The 2013 tour, departing rom Calgary(connecting light rom Edmontonarranged) on 2 August begins with

arrival at Heathrow and a night in aSouthampton hotel overlooking theharbour. Departure on the CaribbeanPrincess is 17 00 h on 4 August. Cruisestops include: Guernsey; Cork, Ireland;Dublin; Glasgow; Belast (with a tour othe Titanic Museum); Orkney Islands;Invergordon; Edinburgh (with tour o

Rosslyn Chapel); Le Havre (Juno Beachavailable); and return to Southamptonearly on 16 August.

The return to London by coachincludes a stop at Stonehenge andbegins our nights in Englands capitalcity. While in London you will take in thechanging o the guard at Buckingham

Palace, tour the Grand Lodge o Englandon Great Queen Street and check outWindsor Castle and Kensington Palace.The event concludes with a dinner cruiseon the Thames.

This tour is open to Masons, theiramilies and their non-Mason riends. Formore inormation on this exciting tour,contact Murray Pay at 403 241-7140 or1-877-511-5511, e-mail murray43@shaw.ca or go online at www.mvptravel.ca.

Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetary isvery well kept by local townspeople.. Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh.

Juno Beach Museum, Normandy.

Grand Masters ItineraryMarch

7 Exemplar No. 75, Fraternal Visit;Edmonton Freemasons Hall

16 Eastgate No. 192, Taste o the Orient21 Jasper Park No 143, Fraternal Visit;

Jasper Masonic Hall

30 Harmony No. 75 & Excelsior No. 80100th Anniversary; Sedgewick

Lodges Jointly Celebrate CentennialHarmony Lodge No. 75 and Excelsior Lodge No. 80

Harmony Lodge No. 75 at Sedgewickand Excelsior Lodge No. 80 at Dayslandare celebrating their Centennials in2013 and we would love to share ouraccomplishment with all o you. Thecelebration will be held in Sedgewick,Alberta on 30 March 2013.

We will be holding a ladies program sobring your wives and signicant otherswith you to take part in the celebrationas well.

We scheduled the day a little earlierthan normal so that Brethren travellinggreater distances can get home at areasonable hour. The agenda:

14 00 h Lodge tyles. Ladies programcommences upstairs in the Hall

16 00 h Cocktails upstairs in theSedgewick Community Hall on adonation basis

17 00 h Supper and good ellowship18 00 h Program and silent auction

Banquet tickets are priced at $30.00each and can be obtained by contactingone o the ollowing:Sean Sheedy: (780) 384-4108 (day) or

(780) 384-3098 (evenings); e-mail:ssheedy@fagsta.ab.ca

Greg Lemay: 1-800-668-3594; e-mail: al@persona.caPlease Note: Banquet tickets must

be purchased prior to 15 March 2013.

Richard Conrad, Worshipul MasterHarmony Lodge No.75

http://www.freemasons.ab.ca/mailto:editor@freemasons.ab.camailto:murray43@shaw.camailto:murray43@shaw.cahttp://www.mvptravel.ca/http://www.mvptravel.ca/mailto:murray43@shaw.camailto:murray43@shaw.camailto:editor@freemasons.ab.cahttp://www.freemasons.ab.ca/

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Queen Victorias Golden Jubilee inJune 1887 provided just the right contextor the celebration o the renewed closerelationship between the Royal amilyand the Crat. The major event wasalways going to be a Special Meeting o

Grand Lodge, at the Royal Albert Hall, tomove a loyal Address to the Queen, buttwo additional ideas were put orwardearly in that jubilee year, only to adeaway in the ollowing months.

First, the Prince o Wales, with theQueens approval, decided in 1886 thatthe nation should commemorate theJubilee by erecting an Imperial Instituteo the United Kingdom, the Colonies,and India, and he called on institutionsand individuals to subscribe to the Fundhe had set up or that purpose. So in

January 1887, Lord Carnarvon, the ProGrand Master, dutiully wrote to eachlodge under the English Constitutionto ask it to consider his suggestionthat it make a voluntary subscriptionto the Fund o not more than a guineaper head (about 85 in todays money).Although he announced in April that theinitial response was largely in avouro the idea, and the intended Masoniccollection was then announced in The

Times , the amountactually collectedappears to have beenso insignicant that theMasonic contributionreceived no urther

mention either inGrand Lodge or at theAlbert Hall meeting,the pro c e e ds o which were donatedinstead to the MasonicCharities rather than tothe Imperial Institute.

The second idea wasmore imaginative buthad an even shorter lie.At the March QuarterlyCommunication the

Master o MizpahLodge moved that

to pe rpe tua tethe memory o the Jubilee it beresolved that theGrand Lodge o

England do prepare orthwith aFoundation Stone to be ultimatelyplaced, i possible, upon the ground

in or near the original site o KingSolomons Templeand that the rebuildingo the said Temple asa House o Prayeror all Nations shallbe proceeded withas soon as necessaryunds be provided.

Although the pro-poser claimed that theexpense to Grand Lodgewould be but 25, anddespite his argumentthat Queen Victoria wasquite equal in gloryto King Solomon, the

Minutes o the meetingrecord that The motionnot being secondedell to the ground. Onthe other hand, and tosupport needy regaliamanuacturers, GrandLodge then proceededto carry the motionThat Past Mastersbe entitled to wear adistinctive Collar.

T h o u s a n d s o Freemasons attendedthe Special Meetingon 13 June 1887.The Prince o Walespresided as Grand

Master. At his side sathis younger brother,the Duke o Connaught(who happened to beboth the ProvincialGrand Master orSussex and the DistrictGrand Master orBombay, and whom hehad also appointed asa Past Grand Master).The Senior Wardenwas none other than

the Grand Masterseldest son, PrinceAlbert Victor. HisHighness the Maharajao Kuch-Behar addedimperial lustre to theoccasion, and the

wider universality o the Crat wasdemonstrated by deputations rom theIrish and Scottish Grand Lodges, a PastDeputy Grand Master rom New YorkCity, a general rom Hawaii, and a bishoprepresenting the Grand Lodge o BritishColumbia. In opening the proceedingsthe Grand Master reminded the Brethrenthat Loyalty and Philanthropy weretwo o the Crats proudest tenets. Hethen invited the Grand Secretary toread the proposed address, and, asthis extract will show, loyalty was itskeynote:

We, your Majestys most loyal andaithul subjects most respectullydesire to assure your Majesty oour ervent and unabated attachmentto your Throne and Royal person.

Founded as our ancient Institution is

on principles o unswerving loyaltyto our Sovereign and fdelity to ourcountry, we rejoice to think that the

great increase o our Order in allparts o your Majestys Dominionsis in unison with the welare o thenation and the maintenance o theestablished Institutions o the landIn moving the motion, the Pro Grand

Master, Lord Carnarvon, declared thatin English Freemasonry order andlaw and loyalty to our Sovereign are

Royal Jubilees and Loyal Freemasons Part 2: 1887RWBro Dr J.W. Daniel, PJGW, United Grand Lodge o Antient, Free and Accepted Masons o EnglandGiven at the Quarterly Communication, 13 June 2012

The Duke o Connaught (l) and

HRH Albert Edward, Prince oWales (later Edward VII), theGrand Master, in ull regalia. ThePrince presided over both QueenVictorias Jubilee celebrationsheld by English Masons.

Grand Masonic Gathering in the Royal Albert Hall inHonour o the Queens Jubilee, rom The IllustratedLondon News, 18 June 1887, engraving by AmdeForestier (18541930).

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the pillars o our ancient Institution.He reminded the audience that the

Queen was the daughter oa Freemason, that her uncleshad been in Freemasonry,that her Royal sons areFreemasons, and that shehas a Grandson in theOrder, and he repeatedthe claim that o all her

subjects there are nonewho are animated with moreheartelt loyal devotednessto her Throne than theFreemasons o England.The Address was adoptedunanimously amidst loudcheering. Having signed it,the Grand Master calledon the Brethren or threecheers or Her Majesty andthen joined in the singingo all three verses o the

National Anthem, led bythe Grand Organist, noneother than Brother SirArthur Sullivan. A GoldenJubilee Jewel had alreadybeen commissioned or allmembers o the Crat at thetime o the celebration, and,in urther support o mytheory that the Crat wasdesigned by and or regalia

manuacturers, the Grand Master endedthe Jubilee celebration by appointing

and investing about 100 deservingBrethren with Past Grand ranks.

When that loyal andduti u l address waseventually presented tothe Queen at Osborne bya deputation rom GrandLodge, led by the Prince oWales, she received it withpleasure and commented:

I observe that the Societyo Freemasons increases innumbers and prosperity in

proportion as the wealthand civilization o my

Empire increases. I heartilyappreciate the charitableeorts which have alwaysdistinguished your Society. Ithank you sincerely or youraectionate devotion to mythrone and person.

And just to round o

a remarkable year, GrandLodge, in September 1887,gladly accepted the GrandMasters suggestion thatProvincial and DistrictGrand Masters be allowedto award a number o PastProvincial or District Grandranks.

To be concluded next

month

Geometry and the Divine RatioThe Rev RWBro David R. Ritchie, The Short Talk Bulletin, Vol 90 No 7, July 2012

As Masons we have a special tie togeometry and, oten, this tie is coupledwith the divine.

Why do we as Masons see Godshandiwork in mathematics? In theFellowcrat charge we are told thatgeometry or Masonry is o a divine ormoral nature. Later in the same chargewe are told that mathematics not onlyproves the wonderul properties onature but that it also demonstratesthe important truths o morality.

In the beautiul G lecture, again romthe Fellowcrat degree, we are told thatthrough geometry we can trace naturethrough her various windings and ndout natures most hidden secrets. Fromthe same lecture, we nd that again,through geometry, we can discover thepower, the wisdom and the goodnesso the Grand Articer o the Universe.We can view with awe and delight theproportions o this vast machine.

That sounds like a lot to expect out

o geometry.I you were like I, geometry was one o

those classes in school that you neededto get through, but with the theorems,proos and constructions, geometrywas ar rom my avorite class. The onlyperson who was ever excited was theteacher. So why as Masons are we soexcited by geometry? Why do we viewit as o a divine nature?

The answer is twoold. First, whenSpeculative Masonry was beginning in

the late 1600s and early 1700s, man wasunolding the mysteries o nature andscience at an unprecedented rate. Thiswas the Age o Enlightenment. Themen o science and mathematics werelooking to tie these new discoveries intotheir aith. The thing they rediscoveredhad been known to the ancientEgyptians, Romans and Greeks. TheOriental cultures had been using it orcenturies. It was used extensively bythe great minds o the Renaissance. This

discovery that seemed to tie everythingtogether was a number, 1.618, whichwas represented by the Greek letterphi.

This number 1.618 is actuallya ratio and is reerred to as the goldenratio, the golden mean, the divine/golden section, the divine mean, orthe divine proportion. There is a longequation and some in-depth math thatexplains the number, so I will let youlook that up yoursel. Dan Brown in hisbooks talks about this divine proportion.The amazing thing about this number iswhere and how it shows up.

This divine ratio is ound in

architecture rom the pyramids, statues,and tombs o Egypt, Chinese andJapanese temples and gardens, theNotre Dame Cathedral in Paris andthe Empire State Building in New York.The most amous example, though, isthe Parthenon in Greece. The buildingcontains hundreds o examples o thisgolden ratio throughout. The shape othe building is according to this ratio; thepillars, the space between the pillars, thestatues that line the top, etc., all conorm

In this photograph o the royal procession during the GoldenJubilee celebrations 21 June 1887, Queen Victorias carriage hasjust passed under a sign proclaiming loyalty to her. Millions ospectators crowded the streets o London to watch the procession.

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to the divine mean. The buildings ratedas the most aesthetic worldwide are allexamples o this ratio. So, as builders, weMasons should nd this ratio intriguing.But where does the divine come in?

This same ratio is ound in the waysunfower seeds align on the ace o thefower, all the key eatures o a penguin,the branching o trees, the numbero petals on a fower, the breeding o

rabbits, plant growth, the alignmento the planets in our solar system, thechambers in a nautilus shell, and thearms in a spiral galaxy. The list o wherethis ratio appears seems endless.

The human ace contains hundredso examples o the divine ratio, romour smiles to the distance between theeyes to the chin, etc. The surprisingthing is that the closer ones eaturesconorm to this ratio, the more beautiulor handsome the person is deemed. Theurther o this ratio, the more homely.

The human body contains thousandsmore. Policets statue o Aphrodite, otendeemed the masterpiece o emininebeauty; Botticellis painting, The Birtho Venus; or the amous Venus De Miloby an unknown artist o Antioch, areall constructed almost perectly withthis ratio.

DaVinci, Michelangelo, Raphael,Furner and Seurat all used the divinesection to create their masterpieceso art. The keys on an organ or pianoare laid out according to the ratio, thengerboard on a guitar, musical scales,

musical requencies and most stringedinstruments conorm to the divine ratio.

The perect shape or a musicalamplier is a rectangle which is basedon this ratio.

A cross section o human DNAcontains at least ten instances o thegolden mean.

For the men o the Enlightenmentthe answer was obvious. Wherever God

placed his hand, the number 1.618,phi, or the divine proportion, was letbehind. Whatever the Grand Architectcreated eathers on a bird, seeds ina fower or the arrangement o theirpetals, the beauty o the human ace, thealignment o the planets and the starsthemselves the golden section wasevident. Wherever the Grand Articero the Universe inspired, the Cathedrals

and gardens, music, painting andsculpture, man was able to nd this ratio.

Like an architect draws up hisbuilding, so the Grand Architect musthave drawn up his plans or the fower,the nautilus shell, the human orm, theplanets, and the stars. Gods beauty andblessing is refected in geometry. Tostudy the liberal art o geometry wasto study the divine nature o all things.

Today, science has explained mucho what was a mystery in the 1700s. Thegolden ratio is no longer held to be proo

o Gods existence or plan, but the sheernumber o times it appears in things

natural and man-made is staggering.It is with little wonder why our

Brothers o this time ound that by astudy o this ratio, or geometry, wediscover the power, the wisdom andthe goodness o the Grand Articer othe Universe and view with delight theproportions which connect this vastmachine.

The Reverend and RWBro Ritchie is

serving as Grand Chaplain o the GrandLodge o Wisconsin and writes a regularcolumn, Thoughts or the Journey, orthe Wisconsin Masonic Journal. He is amember o two Lodges in Wisconsin, isactive in the York Rite, Scottish Rite andOrder o Eastern Star, and is a member othe Shrine. Rev Ritchie serves as Pastor oWaldwick Community Church in Waldwickand also arms in rural Darlington. Ed.

Working Tools of the Third Degree: A Masons Finishing ToolsWBro Reg Whitely

Freemason, the Ocial Journal o the United Grand Lodge o New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory, December 2012

Freemasonry is described in ourritual as a Progressive Science, thestudy o three degrees intended to teachmaking good men better men, moreuseul to their amily and the societyin which they live.

The rst two degrees are preparatory:the rst teaching the basic lessons oaith and the principles o morality, truthand charity by which men are judged.

The second deals with culture and thedevelopment o the intellect to prepareman or a productive lie as a respectedand useul member o society.

The third is quite dierent. It has todo with conduct through adult lie andthe search to discover the prooundmysteries o humanity, the need or aithand the understanding o the principlestaught in the earlier degrees as the guide

or our lies work. Its working tools giveclear instructions on how, by assiduouseort and dedication to the immutableteaching o our Crat, we each can erectour own spiritual temporal building.The rst o our nishing tools [as inour Canadian Rite] is the Skirret, anancient implement used to determineand mark out with precision the outerlimits o a building and its important

Illustrations: From each corner o nature,the universe whispers to us a unique andharmonically aesthetic code: the DivineProportion or the ratio o 1:1.618The ratio is ound in adjacent numbers

o the Fibonacci series, beautiullyillustrated by the two whorls o the seedsin the sunower (above). The ancientParthenon (bottom let) fts into a goldenrectangle. Further classic subdivisionso the golden rectangle align perectlywith major architectural eatures o thestructure.The shell o the nautilus (toplet) exhibits the Divine Proportion. in thesize o each successive growth chamber.

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Southern Alberta TartanDegree Team

We are pleased to inorm you we have a ew openingsavailable or Brethren to participate and continue the traditiono the Southern Alberta Tartan Degree Team or all Degreesin both the Canadian and York Rite rituals. Please be awarethe Degree Team perorms all rituals wearing traditionalHighland dress.

The Degree Team began in 1993 when a group o enthusiastic

Brethren ormed to exempliy the 1917 Entered ApprenticeYork Rite Ritual to raise awareness and unds or the AlbertaMasonic Foundation. Since that time, the team has donatedtens o thousands o dollars rom unds generously donatedat perormances o the ritual in Alberta, British Columbia,as well as Montana!

I would like all members or prospective members to inormme o your continued or new interest. Please contact WBroJoe Bratton, Secretary o the Southern Alberta Tartan Degree

Team at grfc@telus.net or more details.We hope to be up and running again in the New Year.

WBro Joe Bratton

parts. Symbolically, the Skirret is a vehicle o instructionin how to conduct ourselves according to the teachings oour aith and our Crat; to clearly appreciate and apply inour daily lives the sacred principles o morality, truth andvirtue; and to demonstrate to the world the goodness o theuniversal principles o charity and benevolence we proessas Freemasons.

The Pencil, whilst serving to delineate buildings and theirparts, teaches us that we must take note and record our words,deeds and actions and to take care that we do not deviate

in our conduct and actions rom the principles contained inearlier degrees. Most importantly, to know that our thoughtsand transgressions are recorded by the Most High to whom,at that ateul day, we must render an explanation o our lie,being solely accountable and responsible or our behaviourand actions through our mortal lie.

The Compasses is one o the three sacred symbols o ourCrat, denoting the unerring justice and impartiality o ourMaker, who has set or us, by his word in the Volume o theSacred Law, the universal rules or charity and benevolence,good and evil. These we are challenged to choose or neglectin our daily lives in the rm belie that reward or punishmentwill ollow at our inevitable day o judgment. It also symbolizes

the continuing challenge that by our example and behaviouras Freemasons, we may improve the morals and correct menin society and demonstrate in all our actions the universalbenets o charity and benevolence.

How to use the Compasses is one o the nest o all arts,asking or the highest skills o a Master Mason. I he is properlyinstructed, he will rest one point on the innermost centre ohis being, and with the other, draw a circle beyond which hewill not go until he has properly prepared himsel to go urther.Within this wise limit he will live and labour and grow untilhe reaches the rim, then he will draw another and progressto a ully balanced and beautiul lie o service attaining theobjective that Freemasonry plans or all mankind.

The symbolism o the mosaic foor o our lodge rooms

becomes clear in this degree. The golden cord o the Skirretsymbolises the limit o behaviour o a Mason. The tassels

at the our corners represent the our cardinal virtues Temperance, Prudence, Fortitude and Justice. Crossingthe alternate black and white tiles o the chequered foor,where white denotes good and black evil, is to remind us othe diculties and unending challenges we daily ace whenmaking decisions aecting our actions.

It is on the chequered foor that is revealed the ultimatepurpose o the degree; that ultimately we all ace that lastand greatest trial by which alone we can be admitted to thesecrets o the Master Masons degree. This demands we

refect on our past and contemplate our inevitable destiny,the termination o mortal lie. There within the walls o oursymbolic temple, overseen by the blazing star, we learn thereal meaning o brotherhood, the ve points o ellowship,and are challenged to renew our commitment to our aithand the essential principles o our Crat, brotherly love andtruth and the practice o every moral and social virtue.

The Masonic writer W. Kirk MacNulty, in his bookFreemasonry, a Journey through Ritual and Symbolism, chosethe ollowing opening sentence: Throughout all history andin all civilizations, men and women have sought to acquireknowledge about human nature and the purpose o humanexistence.

The Third Degree is the climax o such a journey in whichthe teachings o the Volume o the Sacred Law and o ourinallible Working Tools reveal the intellectual beauty andultimate purpose o Freemasonry.

mailto:grfc@telus.netmailto:grfc@telus.net