The Jewels
Author Unknown
You wear the Square! but have you got
That thing the Square denotes?
Is there within your inmost soul
That principle which should control
Your actions, words and thoughts?
The Square of virtue,--is it there,
Oh, you who wear the Mason's Square?
You wear the Compass! Do you keep
With that circle due
That's circumscribed by law divine
Excluding hatred, envy, sin,--
Including all that's true?
The Moral Compass draws the line,
And lets no evil passion in!
You wear the Trowel! have you got
That mortar, old and pure,
Made on the recipe of God
Divulged within His ancient Word,
Indissoluble, sure?
And do you spread, `twixt man and man,
That precious mixture as you can?
You wear the oriental G!
Ah, Brother, have a care!
He whose All-seeing Eye surveys
Your inmost heart, with open gaze,
Knows well what thoughts are there!
Let no profane, irreverent word
Go up t' insult th' avenging God!
Dear Brother! if you will display
These emblems of our Art,
Let the great morals that they teach
Be deeply graven, each for each,
Upon an honest heart!
Then they will tell, to God and man,
Freemasonry's all perfect plan!ver the earth in stranger lands,
Where distant peoples dwell,
The eye, the grip, the life, the lip,
Of love unchanging tell.
Ten Master Masons
Author Unknown
Ten Master Masons, happy, doing fine;
One listened to a rumor, then there were nine.
Nine Master Masons, faithful, never late;
One didn't like the "Master," then there were eight.
Eight Master Masons, on their way to heaven;
One joined to many clubs, then there were seven.
Seven Master Masons, life dealt some hard licks;
One grew discouraged, then there were six.
Six Master Masons, all very much alive;
One lost his interest, then there were five.
Five Master Masons, wishing there were more;
Got into a great dispute, then there were four.
Four Master Masons, busy as could be;
One didn't like the programs, then there were three.
Three Master Masons, was one of them you?
One grew tired of all the work, then there were two.
Two Master Masons with so much to be done;
One said "What's the use," then there was one.
One Master Mason, found a brother -- true!
Brought him to the Lodge, then there were two.
Two Master Masons didn't find work a bore;
Each brought another, then there were four.
Four Master Masons saved their Lodges fate;
By showing others kindness, then there were eight.
Eight Master Masons, loving their Lodges bright sheen;
Talked so much about it, they soon counted sixteen.
Sixteen Master Masons, to their obligations true;
Were pleased when their number went to thirty-two.
So we can't put our troubles at the Lodges door;
It's our fault for harming the Lodge we adore.
Don't fuss about the programs or the "Master" in the East;
Keep your obligation by serving even the very least.
| A Mason
Bro. Carl W. Mason
A Mason's hand is a hand that helps,
That lifts the fallen one,
That comes, in need, with a kindly deed
To him whose strength is gone.
A Mason's heart is a heart that loves The best that is good and true
He stands the friend, his best to lend,
Under his banner blue.
A Mason's eye is an eye that smiles
And his a cheering voice;
He spreads the light, dispels the night
And makes the world rejoice.
Over the earth in stranger lands,
Where distant peoples dwell,
The eye, the grip, the life, the lip,
Of love unchanging tell.
Am I A Builder? Author Unkhown
Contributed by Chris Voorhis
Morristown Lodge No.193
Morristown, Indiana
I watched them tearing a building down, a gang of men in a busy town.
With a ho-heave-ho and a lusty yell, they swung a beam and the sides fell.
I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled?
And the kind you would hire, if you had to build?"
And he gave me a laugh and said, "No indeed, just common labor is all I need.
I can easily wreck in a day or two, what other builders have taken a year to do."
And I thought to myself as I went my way, "Which of these roles have I tried to play?"
Am I a builder that works with care, measuring life by the rule and square?
Am I shaping my deeds to a well made plan, patiently doing the best I can?
Or am I a wrecker who walks the town, content with the labor of tearing down?"
By the Work You Did Today
Charles L. Mead 33°
Boynton Lodge #236
Can you say tonight in parting
with the day that's slipping past
That you helped a single brother
of the many that you passed?
Is a single heart rejoicing
over what you did and said?
Does the man whose hopes where fading,
Now with courage look ahead?
Did you waste the day or lose it,
Was it well or poorly spent?
Did you leave a trail of kindness,
Or a scar of discontent?
As you close your eyes in slumber,
Do you think God will say,
You have earned one more tomorrow,
By the work you did today
|
The Toast to the Visitors
WSW Mike Bauer
Portobello Lodge No. 226
Edinburgh , Scotland
Tonight I have the pleasure
To all I must confess
To Give to you this toast
To Our Visitors and Our Guest
The fellowship that you bring tonight
Is something that can't compare
You know we like to see you
And glad that your always there
The Harmony, the chat and jokes we have...
With our old and new found friends
We wish it could last for hours
And somehow never end.
But ....... all good things must come to an end
And we go our separate way
We hope you enjoyed yourself tonight
And return again someday
And now I ask the members
To raise a glass in cheer
To toast to all our visitors
Who Supported us this year
The Level and the Square
Brother Rob Morris
Poet Laureate of Freemasonry
We meet upon the Level and we part upon the Square.
What words of precious meaning, those words Masonic are!
Come, let us contemplate them! They are worthy of a thought;
In the very walls of Masonry the sentiment is wrought.
We meet upon the Level, though from every station come,
The rich man from his palace and the poor man from his home;
For the rich must leave his wealth and state outside the Mason's door,
And the poor man finds his best respect upon the Checkered Floor.
We act upon the Plumb - 'tis the orders of our Guide.
We walk upright in virtue's way and lean to neither side;
The All-Seeing Eye that reads our hearts doth bear us witness true
That we still try to honor God and give each man his due.
We part upon the Square, for the world must have its due;
We mingle with the multitude, a faithful band and true.
But the influence of our gatherings in memory is green,
And we long upon the Level to renew the happy scene.
There's a world where all are equal - we are hurrying toward it fast,
We shall meet upon the Level there when the gates of Death are past;
We shall stand before the Orient, and our Master will be there
To try the blocks we offer with His own unerring Square.
We shall meet upon the Level there, but never thence depart.
There's a Mansion - 'tis all ready for each trusting, faithful heart.
There's a Mansion, and a welcome, and a multitude is there
Who have met upon the Level and been tried upon the Square.
Let us meet upon the Level, then while laboring patient here;
Let us meet and let us labor, though the labor be severe;
Already in the Western sky the signs bid us prepare
To gather up our Working Tools and part upon the Square.
Hands round, ye faithful Brotherhood, the bright fraternal Chain.
We part upon the Square below to meet in Heaven again!
What words of precious meaning, those words Masonic are --
We meet upon the Level and we part upon the square
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