VWB C. Blair Leckie Deputy of the Grand Master in District 4 of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington for 2005-2007 Mailto: cblairl@excite.com

 (April 2007)

At the close of every meeting, Masons are cautioned about the “outer world” and reminded that it is not a place of “sacred retreat”.  The words in the Closing Charge strike a chord within us and, as we all know too well, the “concerns and employments” of the outer world make it a place of noise and distraction.  It is a place where the sacred gets lost in the profane.  Yet, even in the midst of the din and turmoil, if we allow ourselves to be still, or sometimes just by serendipity, we can catch a glimpse of purpose and meaning.   As if out of the corner of the eye of one’s awareness, unspoken clarity and direction appears then quickly disappears, leaving more of an impression than of substance. 

Masonry provides a structure, the principles of which, if lived, present us the opportunity for quiet reflection, for recognizing that which is sacred in our lives and for capturing those glimpses of meaningful insight.  As Masons, our goal is to make good men better and to live a life of integrity and substance.  We learn that life is not primarily a quest for pleasure or power, but a quest for meaning.  We hear the warnings concerning “intemperance and excess”.  We learn that humility is an “essential duty” and that envying the “preferment” of others should be beneath the standards of our “generous dispositions”.

Masonry is most definitely not a religion.  But, when quietly and sincerely explored, we see that it can provide for us, each in our own way, guidance for spiritual growth. In all of the great spiritual traditions in the world, service to others is touted as the pathway to a meaningful life and to the sacred.  Masonry teaches and encourages service to others; from the “brother who needs our assistance” to “every human being”.  We are instructed to serve.   Through some sort of incomprehensible, quantum physics reasoning, we become aware that the more we give of ourselves in service to others, the more comes back to us contributing to the value, purpose and meaning in our lives.   And so, though the outer world may be distracting and chaotic, we, as Masons, have a place to go, a “Sanctum Sanctorum” to pause and reflect and to participate in the act of becoming better men.

Thanks to both the District Deputy of the Grand Master in District 4, and the Masonic Monitor which publishes his articles for allowing us to reprint them.  The Masonic Monitor is published monthly (except August) under approval of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington.  The Masonic Monitor can be contacted at: 6619 132nd Avenue NE, PMB 237, Kirkland, WA, 98033-8627, USA.  Phone: (425) 822-4605 - FAX: (425) 822-2535 - Email: masonicmonitor@earthlink.net.