My Brother,
Our Fraternity is about Making Good Men Better. This is not a fancy marketing slogan or sales pitch but is simply a statement of fact. In each of our degrees our character is tested, our trust is reaffirmed, and our faith is on display for all to see.
The Entered Apprentice Degree is the first step in all our journey’s. For some it marks the first step into a Fraternity that may help enrich their personal life, some may hope it will help professionally or politically, and some do it for the greater good of man. While it would be naïve to think everyone does it solely for the greater good I believe everyone does it for a combination of all three without realizing it will make them better men by just being engaged and learning what our Fraternity is about…Hope, Love, and Charity.
As we enter the lodge blindfolded we are entering a new stage in our life. A stage of acknowledgment that we are always on a journey…a journey for more light. Not everyone is ready to make this journey, therefore not all men make it, but no one who does ever makes the journey alone. As when we were children our family guided us, now as adults we have friends and Brother’s to help guide us.
During the degree, and degrees, we are blinded not for keeping secrets but so when we are brought to light we are shown the goodness all around us without all the distractions of everything happening. The sharp instrument illustrates the fragility of our character and that it is always being tested. We travel in an Easterly direction, towards the light, always seeking more light. It also symbolizes us searching towards the heavens for true enlightenment.
All Brethren, new and old, should always seek light and will always need some guidance as there are many who “think” they know about Masonry but can only assume because they are still in darkness. Always seek light my brother and it is always better to do it amongst friends so the journey will not get lonely.
Fraternally,
Jonathan Murray, WM
