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Article SECTARPANISM. ← Page 2 of 2 Article HISTORICAL TESTIMONY OF LODGE CEREMONIAL. Page 1 of 1 Article HISTORICAL TESTIMONY OF LODGE CEREMONIAL. Page 1 of 1
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Sectarpanism.
had formed a Masonic Lodge there ; the first charge ; n their Constitution is word for word as it is in tbe English Constitution . Nay , more ; he was even assured , or the word and honour of a gentleman and Mason , that then is nothing
in tbe ceremony or work that would conflict with has dnty to God or his conscience . Suppose , however , he found out , after his admission , that the Lodge was dedicated to the Holy Saint Dominic and the Holy Saint Loyola , thafc
these saints were Masonic parallels , & o . ; furthermore , that the Lodge prayers were addressed to the Virgin Marv , "The Mother of God , " and also to the Sabits . And suppose that with the addition of a qninhibit ? flourish ,
' ¦ Wisdom , Strength and Beaut y " were symbolically and allegorically taught to refer to the " Infallibility of the Pope , " to " The Real Presence , " and to the " Immaculate conception of the Virgin . " Suppose onr Brother of tbe
Voice of Masonry had been endowed with sufficient reason to perceive the significance of that process of symbol teaching . Suppose he had enough courage to call attention of the brethren to their violation of the solemn promises
g iven to him , and suppose , in reply to his remonstrance , they said , " Oh ! you are governed by blind zeal , and you grope in darkness . Yon forget thafc Masonry is a grand science of morality , veiled in allegory - , " & c , < vc . I ask , in
the name ot com re on sense , onr American apostle of Christianized Masonry whether ( after receiving such an answer from the Spanish Masonic luminaries ) be would nofc feel the utmost , contempt for Spanish Masons and Masonry , as well as for their reli gion ? BOSTON , U . S . 9 th March 1888 .
Historical Testimony Of Lodge Ceremonial.
HISTORICAL TESTIMONY OF LODGE CEREMONIAL .
IN the numerous articles which aro written now-a-days to strive to determine with some exactness , and win- o fullness of proof required in the profane world by modern scientific research , the real origin ancl beginning of ihis
Fraternity of ours , about whose early history the mists of antiquity hang like a cloud , too little attention , it seems to me , is paid to the value of the historical evidence of a
ceremonial , often repeated , yet intended from its start nofc only to teach a lesson , but to act as a memorial . Instances of such memorial observances among the Jews are far
from uncommon . The Passover itself was intended by its annual occurrence to bring to the minds of the children of Israel their marvellous escape from the land of Egypt , and the destruction of the first-born of tho E gypt it , ns " when the
angel of the Lord swept over the land , destroying on every side , and only passing over those houses where the blood of a lamb upon side posts and lintel of the door showed the dwellers therein to be God's favoured people . In those
days , when books and knowledge were confined to the priest , the annual recurrence of the memorial feast preserved the story fresh in the minds of the people better than any written records could have done . So , too , we read in
Judges xi . 39 , 40 , " Aud ifc was a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel meet yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah , the Gileadite , four days in fche year , " and b y this custom they retained in their memories the pathetic
story of the vow that Jephthah had made that he would sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord the first living thing that came out to meet him as he returned victorious
from his conflict with the children of Ammon . Can any one doubt that those four days of mourning and lamentation were a strong historical evidence of the truth of the Bfcory which had given rise to them ?
So , too , that most solemn of all the ceremonials of the Christian Church , the celebration of the Lord ' s-Supper , is an ever recurring evidence of a great historical facfc—an evidence which brings home to every partaker in that
solemn feast the remembrance of that supper in the upper room at Jerusalem , when the Master took such solemn leave of his disci ples ; and what , during the early persecutions of the Christian Churchwhen the heathen
, Emperors of Some sought to stamp and crush out of existence the feeble little body of believers in the new faith tended more to bring to their memories the Lord who had
given up His life for them , than that solemn feast of bread and wine ? The fact that it is a memorial service , and as snch has a historical value , is beautifally set forth in the words ot the service of the Episcopal Church : — " and did insti-
Historical Testimony Of Lodge Ceremonial.
tute , and in His Holy Gospel command us to continue , a perpetual memory o * thafc His precious death and sacrifice , until His coming again . For in the nig ht n which he was befraved , He took Bread ; " . . . " cL * this
ns oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance cf Me . ' This final phrase shows that to the mind of our Lord , when he first uttered it , must have been present the idea of a value of historical evidence iti the ceremonial . Now with
these other examples before us , showing the use of a ceremonial or observance to keep facts before the people to whom these ceremonials were addressed—especially when we consider that all of these examples are of Jewish origin
—does it nofc afford us , who have so often witnessed the impressive ceremonials of Freemasonry , an argument to apply toward the establishment of the verity of the legend of our history therein taught us , and impress upon us the
idea that thoso ceremonies are no unmeaning observances , bufc the actual representation to our minds of an historical occurrence , from which the third degree of Freemasonry takes its immediate origin ?—Keystone .
The General Committee of tne Boyal Masonic Institution for Boys met on Saturday Inst , at Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C . Bro . J . L . Mather occupied the chair , and there was a fair attendance of brethren present . Tho
minntes of the previous meeting having been read and con firmed , and those of the House Committee , and Special Court on the : ' 4 th ult ., read for information , two petitions were considered , and the names ordered to be
p laced on the list of candidates for the October election . Five applications for grants towards outfit were made ; of these one was not entertained , while in the case of one of the remaining four £ 40 was granted conditionally .
Notices of motion for the Quarterly Court , to which wo refer on another page , having been handed in , the proceedings terminated with the usual vote of thanks to the Chairman .
The Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institntion held its monthly meetiug afc Freemasons' Hall on Wednesday . Bro . Dr . Jabez Hogg P . G . D .
occupied the chair , and among the brethren present were Bros . James Brett , C . A . Cottebrnne , F . West , C . F . Hogard , Hugh Cotter , S . Brooks , C . J . Perceval , C . H . Driver , C . H . Webb , W . Hilton , A . H . Tattershall , W . M . Bywater ,
A . Fish , Alex . Forsyth , J . Newton , John Palmer , C . G . Hill , J . A . Farnfield , H . Cox , Charles Lacey , W . H . Ferryman , Thos . Cubitt , Dr . R . Turtle Pigotfc , W . Belchamber , J . J . Berry , and James Terry ( Secretary ) . The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and verified , the
Secretary reported the death of Bro . Edgar Bowyer , Treasurer and Trustee of the Institution , and it was unanimousl y agreed that a letter of sympathy with tho widow and family of the deceased should be written . The Secretary
reported the death of eight annuitants ( four males and four widows ) , and the Warden ' s report ; for the past month having been read , that of the Finance Committee was read , adopted , and ordered to be entered on the minntes . The
receip t of the nomination of two widows by "West Yorkshire was announced , and as these were on the list of approved candidates , the number from which the election will be made in May is reduced from 64 to 62 . The
application by a widow of an annuitant for tbe half of her late husband ' s annuity was granted . A Committee , consisting of Bros . J . A . Farnfield , J . Newton , and J . J . Berry , was
appointed to prepare the Annual Report of the Institution ; ancl it was resolved to invite the Stewards to pay their annual visit to the Asylum at Croydon . A vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings .
We are pleased to learn that the roll of Stewards for the Centenary Festival of tbe Royal Masonic Institntion for Girls has been largely augmented since we lasfc wrote ; and further , that the M . W . the Grand Master has given consent for Masonic clothing to be worn at the Albert Hall on the occasion of the celebration .
HOIXO-WAY ' S Puts . —Depression of Spirits , Debility . —Some defect in digestion is generally the cause of mental depression . On rectifying the disordered stomach , the long list of gloomy thoughts retires , and is succeeded by more hopeful and more happy feelings . Holloway ' s Pills have been renowned far and wide for effecting this desirable change without inconveniencing ihe
morbidly sensitive or delicate organism . They remove all obstructions , regulnto all -ecvetions , and correct , depravnd h amours by pur tying the blood and iri' -igoi-ating the stomach . Thoir medicinal virtues reach , relieve , nnd stimnlnto every organ am gland in tho body , wlicieby the fntire system is renovated . No medicine ever before discovered acts so beneficially upon thf blond and circulation ns > Tn ) ln \ v : iv " fl celebrated Till * .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Sectarpanism.
had formed a Masonic Lodge there ; the first charge ; n their Constitution is word for word as it is in tbe English Constitution . Nay , more ; he was even assured , or the word and honour of a gentleman and Mason , that then is nothing
in tbe ceremony or work that would conflict with has dnty to God or his conscience . Suppose , however , he found out , after his admission , that the Lodge was dedicated to the Holy Saint Dominic and the Holy Saint Loyola , thafc
these saints were Masonic parallels , & o . ; furthermore , that the Lodge prayers were addressed to the Virgin Marv , "The Mother of God , " and also to the Sabits . And suppose that with the addition of a qninhibit ? flourish ,
' ¦ Wisdom , Strength and Beaut y " were symbolically and allegorically taught to refer to the " Infallibility of the Pope , " to " The Real Presence , " and to the " Immaculate conception of the Virgin . " Suppose onr Brother of tbe
Voice of Masonry had been endowed with sufficient reason to perceive the significance of that process of symbol teaching . Suppose he had enough courage to call attention of the brethren to their violation of the solemn promises
g iven to him , and suppose , in reply to his remonstrance , they said , " Oh ! you are governed by blind zeal , and you grope in darkness . Yon forget thafc Masonry is a grand science of morality , veiled in allegory - , " & c , < vc . I ask , in
the name ot com re on sense , onr American apostle of Christianized Masonry whether ( after receiving such an answer from the Spanish Masonic luminaries ) be would nofc feel the utmost , contempt for Spanish Masons and Masonry , as well as for their reli gion ? BOSTON , U . S . 9 th March 1888 .
Historical Testimony Of Lodge Ceremonial.
HISTORICAL TESTIMONY OF LODGE CEREMONIAL .
IN the numerous articles which aro written now-a-days to strive to determine with some exactness , and win- o fullness of proof required in the profane world by modern scientific research , the real origin ancl beginning of ihis
Fraternity of ours , about whose early history the mists of antiquity hang like a cloud , too little attention , it seems to me , is paid to the value of the historical evidence of a
ceremonial , often repeated , yet intended from its start nofc only to teach a lesson , but to act as a memorial . Instances of such memorial observances among the Jews are far
from uncommon . The Passover itself was intended by its annual occurrence to bring to the minds of the children of Israel their marvellous escape from the land of Egypt , and the destruction of the first-born of tho E gypt it , ns " when the
angel of the Lord swept over the land , destroying on every side , and only passing over those houses where the blood of a lamb upon side posts and lintel of the door showed the dwellers therein to be God's favoured people . In those
days , when books and knowledge were confined to the priest , the annual recurrence of the memorial feast preserved the story fresh in the minds of the people better than any written records could have done . So , too , we read in
Judges xi . 39 , 40 , " Aud ifc was a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel meet yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah , the Gileadite , four days in fche year , " and b y this custom they retained in their memories the pathetic
story of the vow that Jephthah had made that he would sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord the first living thing that came out to meet him as he returned victorious
from his conflict with the children of Ammon . Can any one doubt that those four days of mourning and lamentation were a strong historical evidence of the truth of the Bfcory which had given rise to them ?
So , too , that most solemn of all the ceremonials of the Christian Church , the celebration of the Lord ' s-Supper , is an ever recurring evidence of a great historical facfc—an evidence which brings home to every partaker in that
solemn feast the remembrance of that supper in the upper room at Jerusalem , when the Master took such solemn leave of his disci ples ; and what , during the early persecutions of the Christian Churchwhen the heathen
, Emperors of Some sought to stamp and crush out of existence the feeble little body of believers in the new faith tended more to bring to their memories the Lord who had
given up His life for them , than that solemn feast of bread and wine ? The fact that it is a memorial service , and as snch has a historical value , is beautifally set forth in the words ot the service of the Episcopal Church : — " and did insti-
Historical Testimony Of Lodge Ceremonial.
tute , and in His Holy Gospel command us to continue , a perpetual memory o * thafc His precious death and sacrifice , until His coming again . For in the nig ht n which he was befraved , He took Bread ; " . . . " cL * this
ns oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance cf Me . ' This final phrase shows that to the mind of our Lord , when he first uttered it , must have been present the idea of a value of historical evidence iti the ceremonial . Now with
these other examples before us , showing the use of a ceremonial or observance to keep facts before the people to whom these ceremonials were addressed—especially when we consider that all of these examples are of Jewish origin
—does it nofc afford us , who have so often witnessed the impressive ceremonials of Freemasonry , an argument to apply toward the establishment of the verity of the legend of our history therein taught us , and impress upon us the
idea that thoso ceremonies are no unmeaning observances , bufc the actual representation to our minds of an historical occurrence , from which the third degree of Freemasonry takes its immediate origin ?—Keystone .
The General Committee of tne Boyal Masonic Institution for Boys met on Saturday Inst , at Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C . Bro . J . L . Mather occupied the chair , and there was a fair attendance of brethren present . Tho
minntes of the previous meeting having been read and con firmed , and those of the House Committee , and Special Court on the : ' 4 th ult ., read for information , two petitions were considered , and the names ordered to be
p laced on the list of candidates for the October election . Five applications for grants towards outfit were made ; of these one was not entertained , while in the case of one of the remaining four £ 40 was granted conditionally .
Notices of motion for the Quarterly Court , to which wo refer on another page , having been handed in , the proceedings terminated with the usual vote of thanks to the Chairman .
The Committee of Management of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institntion held its monthly meetiug afc Freemasons' Hall on Wednesday . Bro . Dr . Jabez Hogg P . G . D .
occupied the chair , and among the brethren present were Bros . James Brett , C . A . Cottebrnne , F . West , C . F . Hogard , Hugh Cotter , S . Brooks , C . J . Perceval , C . H . Driver , C . H . Webb , W . Hilton , A . H . Tattershall , W . M . Bywater ,
A . Fish , Alex . Forsyth , J . Newton , John Palmer , C . G . Hill , J . A . Farnfield , H . Cox , Charles Lacey , W . H . Ferryman , Thos . Cubitt , Dr . R . Turtle Pigotfc , W . Belchamber , J . J . Berry , and James Terry ( Secretary ) . The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and verified , the
Secretary reported the death of Bro . Edgar Bowyer , Treasurer and Trustee of the Institution , and it was unanimousl y agreed that a letter of sympathy with tho widow and family of the deceased should be written . The Secretary
reported the death of eight annuitants ( four males and four widows ) , and the Warden ' s report ; for the past month having been read , that of the Finance Committee was read , adopted , and ordered to be entered on the minntes . The
receip t of the nomination of two widows by "West Yorkshire was announced , and as these were on the list of approved candidates , the number from which the election will be made in May is reduced from 64 to 62 . The
application by a widow of an annuitant for tbe half of her late husband ' s annuity was granted . A Committee , consisting of Bros . J . A . Farnfield , J . Newton , and J . J . Berry , was
appointed to prepare the Annual Report of the Institution ; ancl it was resolved to invite the Stewards to pay their annual visit to the Asylum at Croydon . A vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings .
We are pleased to learn that the roll of Stewards for the Centenary Festival of tbe Royal Masonic Institntion for Girls has been largely augmented since we lasfc wrote ; and further , that the M . W . the Grand Master has given consent for Masonic clothing to be worn at the Albert Hall on the occasion of the celebration .
HOIXO-WAY ' S Puts . —Depression of Spirits , Debility . —Some defect in digestion is generally the cause of mental depression . On rectifying the disordered stomach , the long list of gloomy thoughts retires , and is succeeded by more hopeful and more happy feelings . Holloway ' s Pills have been renowned far and wide for effecting this desirable change without inconveniencing ihe
morbidly sensitive or delicate organism . They remove all obstructions , regulnto all -ecvetions , and correct , depravnd h amours by pur tying the blood and iri' -igoi-ating the stomach . Thoir medicinal virtues reach , relieve , nnd stimnlnto every organ am gland in tho body , wlicieby the fntire system is renovated . No medicine ever before discovered acts so beneficially upon thf blond and circulation ns > Tn ) ln \ v : iv " fl celebrated Till * .