The Masonic Lodge

In Freemasonry the term lodge has at least three meanings.  It can be  a room or a building in which Freemasons meet , the society of Freemasons that meets  or it may be the actual gathering of  that body of Freemasons.   In the days of   the operative masons,  our ancestors, the lodge was a structure erected on a building site ,  where the workmen spent their break, stored their tools and received instructions for the execution of the architect’s plans and designs.

The Ancient Charges tell us that “A Lodge is a place where Masons assemble and work” to improve themselves in the mysteries of their ancient art.   Nowadays, it is a place where like-minded men  meet  to work altogether ,in peace and love, towards a common goal, thus turning the lodge into a living organism, a creative body.   The lodge should also be a place for the instruction and improvement of  man, a place where the Freemason learns the ideals enshrined in the charges and lectures of our rituals and ceremonies. In other words the Lodge should be  like a classroom  wherein , at  every meeting ,  a mason can attain a small advancement into  masonic knowledge.

The lodge is constituted by a minimum number of members, it is rectangular  in shape  – although we have examples of it being circular and even triangular in the days gone – has the principal entrance facing east and can only be held in a venue sanctioned by its Grand Lodge.  But I will not expand further on this aspect for it is not in the scope of this article – which may be considered controversial by the time you finish reading it – to unveil all about a Masonic Lodge.  So I will close this section  by enouncing  that the word lodge  is clearly just an aphorism  for defining  the gathering of a group of men who share a common purpose and who believe in a common ideal.

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At the  opening of the second degree assembly,  the Worshipful Master declares that the   purpose of  the meeting  is the improvement and instructions of Craftsmen.  With those words he  is reminded that it is his duty to “employ and instruct the Brethren in Masonry” and his  success or failure depends entirely on his leadership ability and the support he will received from the Officers of his Team.

But is the Lodge still such a place ?  

I have some reservations because sadly a  Masonic meeting nowadays offers nothing more than an occasion for a friendly get together as  cheerful and pleasant as that occasion  may be. The realisation that the ritual can be a powerful tool for converging the psychic force of the participants  and channel it for the glory of the G.A.O.T.U. towards a good cause, has been lost in time.

Our expectations as a group of dedicated men  are not clearly explained to the brothers. Apologies for non  attendance are too easily offered and accepted,  but  if a Worshipful Master does not preside his meetings, if his brethren fail to attend the Lodge of Instruction , no teaching can be imparted.  The new brothers  are thus abandoned to themselves, they become like flies on the wall and they will feel being left at the periphery of  their Lodge,  eventually losing interest and dropping off.  Freemasonry will have thus miserably failed  them and thereafter a lack of retention will ensue and become a serious problem.

Freemasonry is an initiatory Order sharing the common purpose of the ancient mystery schools of early civilizations, like the  Egyptian and the Greek philosophy and therefore there is much more to Freemasonry than just sociability and  philanthropy. We should be changing men’s lives by taking good men and helping them to better themselves but certainly not  in the  social sphere alone !

How can improvement  be achieved ?

As speculative masons, we are to think seriously about the meaning of life. Where do we come from ? What is our purpose on earth ? Where are we going from here ? These are questions that can only be answered  by an intense study of our inner selves; a study that cannot be truly pursued  alongside  the chasing of honorifics, the accumulation of  Offices in the Order, the membership of multiple lodges and side Orders,  by a constant  charity work , by taking part to official as well as social gatherings.  “Know Thyself” was engraved over the entrance to the ancient temples of initiation and Alexander Pope (1688-1744) wrote the following words of admonishment:

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; The proper study of mankind is man.

Freemasons were at one time known as “the Sons of Light” where the light symbolises the “progression from ignorance to understanding”, a process also described as passing from “darkness to light”.

The famous American  Enlightenment figure  and our brother Thomas Paine (1737-1809) once wrote that through Freemasonry “we see with other eyes; we hear with other ears and we think with other thoughts that those we formerly used. The mind, once enlightened, cannot become dark again”,  because through that light,  I may add,  our  minds can then understand the divine.

Anyone who uses his lodge as a place to practice  networking and  self gain,  but fails to improve  by implementing the “knowing thyself” formula  , or fails to understand the meaning of Masonic symbols and teaching, can never fulfill his duty as a true Freemason or become a respected member of our Order.

“One for all and all for one” was the motto  that our Brother  Alexander Dumas gave to his  three Muskettiers  and that charge  must also become the rallying cry for all our brothers  and  the words that best describe the true spirit of a perfect lodge.

Happy 2019 wishes to all Tetraktys blog readers !

The Editor , Aldo Reno