When is a Man a Mason

When Is A Man A Mason?

George Washington, P.M.

by Joseph Fort Newton

     When he can look out over the rivers, the hills, and the far horizon with a profound sense of his own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope, and courage -- which is the root of every virtue.

When he knows that down in his heart every man is as noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic, and as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, to forgive, and to love his fellowman.



     When he knows how to sympathize with men in their sorrows, yea, even in their sins -- knowing that each man fights a hard fight against many odds.

When he has learned how to make friends and to keep them, and above all how to keep friends with himself.

When he loves flowers, can hunt birds without a gun, and feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when he hears the laugh of a little child.

When he can be happy and high-minded amid the meaner drudgeries of life.

When star-crowned trees and the glint of sunlight on flowing waters subdue him like the thought of one much loved and long dead.

When no voice of distress reaches his ear in vain, and no hand seeks aid without response.

When he finds good in every faith that helps any man to lay hold of divine things and sees majestic meanings in life, whatever the name of that faith may be.

When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin.

When he knows how to pray, how to love, how to hope.

When he has kept faith with himself, with his fellowman, and with his God; in his hand a sword for evil, in his heart a bit of a song -- glad to live, but not afraid to die!

Such a man has found the only real secret of Masonry, and the one which it is trying to give to all the world.

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by Rev. J. O. Skinner.

The aims of Freemasonry are not limited to one form of operation, or one mode of benevolence, its object is at once moral and social. It proposes both to cultivate the mind and enlarge and purify the heart.

If you have traveled from west to east, in search of further light;

If you still feel that friendly grip that raised you to the upright;

If you have helped a Brother in need, in sickness, or distress;

Or rejoiced for one who has excelled or become a great success;

If you have seen a Brother err, and whispered in his ear,

to offer him wise counsel for he alone to hear;

If you have prayed not only for yourself, but also for a Brother,

and asked of God to give you strength to never wrong another;

If a Brother has said, “1 will tell you this, but never tell a soul”,

and you listened to him in confidence, and never repeated, in part or in whole;

If you have sat in Lodge to watch a Brother brought to light,

and felt a warmth and happiness to share in his delight;

If you have mourned a Brother dear and felt within your heart,

that when he left this Mother Earth, from you he took a part;

If, with a Brother, you have shared in sorrow and despair,

or dreams fulfilled and happiness that permeates the air;

Then you have spread the cement of Brother Love that

unites us into one Sacred Band,

and with head held high you can proudly say,

“I am a Mason; I am a Man”.

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