spring

Lux in Tenebris-Maundy Thursday in Freemasonry

March 13, 2016 by Greg Stewart

Knight of the East and West Morals and Dogma — Knight of the East and West

This seems fitting giving the present state of things in Freemasonry. Lux in Tenebris – From Darkness Comes Light.

Maundy Thursday, or also known as Covenant Thursday or simply Holy Thursday, is the annual Christian holy day that occurs on the last Thursday before Easter. It is a remembrance day for the last supper that Jesus and his twelve apostles, as was described in the canonical gospels, it is also for remembering The Maundy, which was the washing of the feet, particularly the Maundy that Jesus performed.

The moment when the Word was recovered; when the Cubical Stone was changed to the Mystic Rose; when the Blazing Sun reappeared in its entire splendor; the Columns of the Temple were re-established; and the Working Tools of Masonry restored; when True Light dispelled the Darkness and the New Love began to rule upon the earth.

On this day, Christians all around the world take time out of their day to reflect on the life of Jesus Christ, leading up the point of the last supper where he sat down with his apostles and shared food and wine, proclaiming that it was his body and blood.

The actual date of Maundy Thursday is between the 19th of March and the 22nd of April, however, these dates can fall on specific days depending on if it was the Gregorian calendar or the Julian calendar that is used. Eastern churches are generally using the Julian calendar and thus, celebrate Maundy Thursday between the 21st of April and the 5th of May.

In Western Churches, Maundy Thursday is when the Chrism mass is celebrated in every diocese, usually held in each diocese’s cathedral. This mass involves a bishop blessing chrism oils, oil of catechumens and oil of the sick. The Oil of chrism and catechumens will be saved until Easter Saturday where they will be used to bless the attendees of the mass.

There is an ancient tradition that on Maundy Sunday, you should visit 7 different churches, this is called the seven churches visitation, and this practice originated in Rome and is now practiced in many countries around the world.

The term Maundy is said to be a corruption of the Latin word mandatum – meaning “command.”

In a Masonic parlance, the Maundy Thursday is envisioned as a ceremony to commemorate the Extinguishing of the Symbolic Light, more specifically the crucifixion of the Christ in the gospel telling. On the immediate Sunday, there is a follow-up observance aptly called the Relighting of the Symbolic Light which marks the resurrection. The key point of this observance is to remember those brethren who have passed on in the preceding year. Where once these events were mandatory attendance events for Knight Rose Croix, in most locations they serve as remembrance events open to all.

While an observance event, the Maundy gathering in some respect serve to supplement the Rose Croix Chapter of the Scottish Rite in the 17th (Knight of the East and West) and 18th (Knight Rose Croix) degrees, both of which attempt to invest candidates with an understanding of Religion, Philosophy, Ethics, and History. While seemingly a religious (Christian) observance, it’s been written that the observance seeks to “to commemorate the death of our most wise and perfect Master – not as inspired or divine, but as at least the greatest of humanity.” In one description of the event, Arturo De Hoyos says,

The Ceremony of Remembrance and Renewal, including the Mystic Banquet, is not a religious observance. It is neither the Feast of Passover nor a Sacrament of Holy Communion, although it commemorates the spirit of both days. Annually, the observance is held near the vernal equinox.

From the Builder Magazine, April 1924, the observance is thus described,

The ceremonies of Maundy Thursday made obligatory on each Rose Croix Chapter of the Scottish Rite, is a festival almost as old as the world, for it has been observed in some form or other from time immemorial. It began with early man’s naive wonder at the coming of spring, an event to him of the very greatest importance since it represented the return of the sun god from the death of winter to the resurrection of the vernal equinox. “The years at the spring,” that was his feeling, and this feeling took a thousand forms of expression, some of them magical, some religious, some of them a joyous human merry-making. Whatever the form the kernel of feeling remained the same; the god of light, warmth, and life, whatever may have been his name Mithra, Attis, Cama, Osiris, Ormuzd, Dionysus had been dead through the winter time, and now he had come back to life again, and would bestow life on his people, therefore there were solemn rejoicings.

Of the ceremony itself, it says,

The Symbolic Lights are Re-lighted; it is a time of rebirth, rehabilitation, regeneration and renewal of life and energy. Death and darkness have departed and the earth sings its joy of Love and of Living. What before was desolation of spirit and of thought, has the crucible of Light and the revivification of those for whom life had lost its meaning.

Just as the dark ages in Europe were followed by the Renaissance of learning, so had the new light of Easter come, bringing with it the new life of Love and understanding.

The new Commandment has been fulfilled.

This is a time, then, for each of us to search our Souls and see if we truly and devotedly are living the Life of Love —Not just in mere outward similitude. But in our innermost, personal, private lives. Are we — in business, at home, in our pastimes — living the life of the New Commandment? If we weigh ourselves in its light and find ourselves wanting. Then it is time for us to do something sincerely and devotedly about it.

Let us at the Symbolic Relighting of the Lights, dedicate ourselves to duty, renew our vows, so often repeated in our Rite, and lead the Life of Love, one to another, that our light will shine among men in the world, that we may be known truly as men and as Masons who mean eternal truths learned in our Rituals and who, by our personal acts and conduct, portray those meanings to their ultimate fulfillment.

Flyover Country

March 26, 2012 by The Euphrates

Ferris Thompson sat on the airplane, passively listening to Brother Dave’s chatter. They belonged to the same Masonic lodge and happened to be on the same connecting flight to Denver. Dave was not a very active member in the lodge. He had been the Senior Steward at one time, but had lost interest in attending meetings over the past two years. He had not seen Ferris in quite some time and was anxious to discuss all of the lodge’s problems with him.

“Boy, I tell you what Ferris! I am just disgusted by what has happened to that lodge. There seems to be some sort of dramatic argument at every meeting about the lodge’s finances or how our new members should have to prove up on the degrees. I just can’t stand it. And the bad part is if you get on the internet and have a look around, everybody seems to be in the same predicament. Lodges are falling apart, Masonic organizations are having feuds, and just about everyone seems to complain that nothing’s going on in their lodge!”

“Is that so?” Ferris responded without interest.

“Yup, there just doesn’t seem to be much that could get me back to lodge,” Dave continued as he looked out the window at the Kansas prairie far below the plane. “Would you look at that! The ground down there looks pretty boring, I guess that is what they call flyover country. Can you imagine living in such a depressing place?”

Ferris briefly leaned toward the window to contemplatively observe the scenery before settling back into his seat.

“From up here, the Great Plains do not seem very exciting. You may wonder was made the pioneers even consider stopping there.”

“You got that right!” exclaimed Dave.

“But you obviously haven’t spent much time in the region, because you would know that miles below us is some of the most beautiful scenery on the continent. It is spring time and the seasonal rains produce clear, glittering streams cutting through fields of green grass. Beautiful wildflowers of violet, yellow, and blue are blooming all over. The soil is fertile and the food for grazing cattle is plentiful. It must have seemed like paradise to those early settlers. And even though the summers could be insufferably hot and the winters were bitterly cold, every spring they were reminded of the beauty of the land that they inhabited.”

“Well, I guess I haven’t ever visited the prairie in the spring time,” Dave said apologetically.

“You know Dave, you may find that the concept of spring time on the prairie also applies to Masonry.”

“How so?”

“Well, much like the winter on the prairie, Masonic lodges can become dull and lead the Brethren into discontent. But just as the prairie experiences its own rebirth in the spring, you can experience a Masonic rebirth by attending a degree ceremony, a new lodge, a Scottish or York Rite reunion, a lodge dinner, or reading a book on Freemasonry. Make a connection with some new Brothers or learn something new about your fraternity. You will find that you can create your own Masonic spring time. Maybe you can spread a bit of it back to the lodge by providing refreshments for fellowship or presenting some Masonic education. I challenge you to find the beauty in what you described as a dreary Masonic landscape.”

“Boy Ferris, that is what I always liked about you. You always find a way to relate to something symbolically,” Dave responded with enthusiasm.

Ferris chuckled, “Well, my craft is veiled in allegory.”

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The Masonic Equinox

March 20, 2010 by Masonic Traveler

The great architect and the movement of the sun

The spring equinox is upon us, and in this present age, the tilt of the planet is of little concern. But in this period of the equinox, an interesting thing happens. for the briefest moment of time the planet becomes suspended in place, A point when the earth is neither closer to or further away from the sun.

The equinox’s, vernal (spring) and autumnal(fall) are the middle points to the summer and winter solstice. This is an echo to the balance of all points, and from each of those compass points, there is a center, a middle aspect of the compass from which the needle point pivots.

The middle space is similar to the point in which a pendulum on its back and forth motion for the briefest of instances touches an absolute 0 point, the moment between the furthest of its arc’s reach. At that middle point, some say, is where miracles happen, where for the briefest of moments the motion of balance is in perfect harmony before the plumb line swings away in its motion. it also suggests that at these instances of the pendulum 0 point are the high (or low) points of our lives, the punctuated moments of transition between two periods.

From a Masonic perspective, we can equate this time of year, this equinox to the measuring of our point within a circle, the plumb line achieving that 0 center point in its swing up to its furthest reaches. Tradition tells us that the plumb measures our vertical, but when given motion, even something so slight

as the earths rotation, it can also demonstrate the path of our circumference, our diameter, and our rotational motion around our axis (see Foucault’s Pendulum). As the plumb traces its circumference, in the space of the sphere, the plumb also orients back through the center of the circumference, when marking the furthest points of our radius.

In a more metaphysical aspect, the idea of the equinox could be viewed as a more than the transition point, but the idea of the position movement, the transition from one place to another, from one idea to another. And in an even more profound way, this can be seen as at once not being initiated, to being initiated encompassing the start of transition from one inner idea to another, the growing path of our thought and its sway of our own internal gravity. In this point of view, we can easily see the similarities to the ideas of alchemy and the changing of states.

One caution, however, is that there is no definition of what the states are, or if they are up into a higher realm or down into a lower attitude. Remember, Jacob’s ladder was both a a way to ascend to heaven and a way to descend to earth (and possibly sub-terra). In reflecting on this, it is good to keep in mind that your mental state defines your position, and with some exertion, you can manifest the power of your position.

Adoration of the Mystic Lamb – Jan van Eyck

In more traditional celebration, the Equinox is as much a means to reflect on our relative state as it is a means to celebrate our resurrection and means to create life (fertility). Following close behind the first day of spring is the celebration of Palm Sunday, Passover, and Easter, and in the months to come the celebrations of Beltaine, Walpurgis and Floralia, each of which from Pagan (Roman era) celebrations of the blossoming spring renewal and the return of the sun.

What ever your celebration, welcome to the spring, and the renewal of life. Welcome the vernal equinox and our changing of states.