Love The Greatest.

LOVE THE GREATEST .

In Oration by Bro . Sir JTiujh McCurdy at the Dedication of the Michhjan Masonic Home , at Grand Rapids , % Sth January 1891 .

A BOOK has recently appeared called , " The Greatest Thing in the World . " This greatest thing is love . Greater than eloquence , greater than martyrdom , greater than charity , and greater than faith . " Take , " says the writer , " nuto your sphere of labour , where yon are laying

down your life , that simple charm , and your life-work must succeed . " In this beautiful home , our home , built here by loving hands , what » proof wo have of the greatness of brotherly love!—thafc love whicb is tbo chief corner stone of every temple we as Freemasons build ,

whether it be a temple built as this with hands , or the temples built in hearts by kindly deed or brother ' s word . Other foundation for every deed doth no Freemason lay than that is laid , the Fatherhood of God nnd tho Brotherhood of Man . This simple charm , my brothers , you have

indeed taken into your sphere of labour here , and this your noblest Masonic work has been crowned with a triumphant success—a success for which you hardly dared to hope . Love to ono another—that love which is the fulfilling of

Masonic faith—has in this work been tho master builder ; ifc issued its command and , delighted , every builder heard the Master ' s word , for his heart was in his work , and tbe heart giveth grace to every art .

Ah , what a wondrous thing it is to note how many wheels of toil thafc master builder can sot in motion ! Where is the brother ' s heart , or the true heart of mother

sister , wife , friend , thafc did nofc beat responsive to that command to bring hither its tribute , great or small , that the walls of the beautiful home might bo builded in strength and beauty ?

How skilful growa the hand , Thafc obeyeth Love's command ! Ifc is fcho heart and not the brain , That to tbe highest doth attain , And he who followeth Love ' s bshosfc Far excolletfa all fche rest . "

At the laying of the corner-stone , 21 st May 1889 , wo spoke of this home as a memorial of our faith in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man ; and now , as with a look of joy and a thrill of pride we stand to-day before its open door , open to receive and gladden

the lives of those for whom ifc has been planned and built , what act more hallowed than this act of dedication—a freewill offering to those who shall dwell in peace and quietness within its walls ! How eloquently these open doors shall voice our truth , it is more blessed to give than to

receive , for such giving is a most sacred keeping ! The dwellers here will be ours—our own—nofc our wards , bufc members of the one family , of which our one faith in a common Father is the touch of nature that makes all kin . He is most my brother who most needs me ; this is

Masonic creed , and to this Masonic home he will ever bo most welcome who most needs a welcome home . As his brother ' s necessity has ever been the key to open every Mason ' s heart , so will the doors of this home spring most

quickly open fco him who knocks in greatest need . Let me be understood here . In the Masonic creed there is no such word as charity , save as it means fraternity—no such word as otherness , save as it means brotherness .

" We believe thafc God and Nature linked the general frame , And bade self love and social be the same . " When you speak of a mother ' s charity for her hel plesa child—a husband's charity for his wife , a son ' s charit y for

his mother—then may you think of charity as between Masons and his brother man . Otherness—we know no such word . For charity we read brotherly love , for otherness we coin a word , brotherness .

" 'Tis the sublime of man—Our noontide majesty , to know ourselves , Parts and proportions of ono wondrous whole . This fraternises man , this constitutes Our charities and bearings . "

Those who shall dwell here are our own , and in caring for them we are caring for ourselves as tenderl y and as devotedly as the mother for her child , the trne son for his venerable mother , and the loyal husband for his wife . Every true woman—every true man—knows full well that the more fche objects of their care need them the more

Love The Greatest.

devotedly and tenderly are they ministered nnto . Their very necessities are love ' s opportunity to pay its tribute , to offer its noblest and its best . Hither may those who need come with the assurance thafc they shall receive the

constant healing , beautiful ministrations of spirits bright with something of angel light . Here Masonry bids" Each on other for assistance call , Till one man ' s weakness grows the strength of all . "

Thus broad and deep have the foundations of this home been laid by the broad guaged and large hearted brothers who conceived and have brought to such graceful completion this memorial of Masonic faith . Thus broad and deep its welcome ; thus tender and constant the

ministrations of those who shall give loving thought and gentle care to bring sunshine to all who enter here . Our Masonic Home : What repetition in these three words ; for these three words are one ! Tell me what there is in the three great lights of Masonry that may not be found

in these three words ? Our . The first word npon the lips of the little child as he kneels in prayer at the mother ' s side—the first word upon every Freemason ' s lips as he kneels in prayer before the open Book npon the sacred altar- —the first word of that last prayer which men breathe and are

not afraid to go forth into that homo of a Father ' s love . Our : Write ifc upon tho lintels of these doors that every one of the thirty thousand Free and Accepted Masons of this State , their wives and children , may see it written here and say Ours—our birthright for our children and for our children ' s children for all time . Masonic : The

building fraternity . Here , brothers , in very deed is the perfection of your building . Here is a living stone with a new name written upon it—a name which no man knows save him who has received it . An affirmation of your

belief that Freemasonry has not only a past but a present ; that tie world has practically ceased to ask what do yon believe , and is persistently asking what do you do ; that the world has ceased to ask how far-reachine * - into

the past is your history , and is ever asking what is the depth and heighth and breadth of your love for one another . In this homo men may find an answer to every question as to Masonic faith and works . "Bear ye one another ' s burdens . " This is the command that theso

devoted women who have borne so large a part in this noble work havo so gently beard and so cheerfully obeyed ; and this is the spirit which inspired every man's heart to give freely to this practical experience of his life and teaching .

Our Masonic Home * . In this trinity of words thero is ono word which ia the key that unlocks the casket in which we find our jewels—every jewel thafc makes life precious in our faith . The word Home : For this we kneel in prayer ; for this we take our vows . The Masonic faith

is from first to last a household principle . Its cardinal proposition is fellowship . It emphasises the teaching that we are members one of another . It asks every man , " Where is thy brother ? " and if a man answers back ,

" Am I my brother ' s keeper ? " it responds in thunder tones , " Yes , you are . " Every man is his brother ' s keeper ; every man is either giving his brother more darkness or further light .

Freemasonry demands of every man the use of his gifts in positive achievement for God , man and the truth . It means the recognition of relationship , the discharge of obligations between man and man , husband and wife , parent and child . It means that man shall live according to his vows in all the relations of life . Ifc touches a man ' s

whole life if it touch him at all . It makes him a better citizen , a more upright and honest man , a kinder father and a truer husband . It says to every man , you never can be a more faithful Mason than you are neighbour , brother friend . It teaches man the inner and mosfc sacred meaning

of all things—the meaning of wealth , of talents , of all gifts . It says to him , If you have gifts , you have received them for man . The true test of your character is the use you are making of your gifts . The highest form of gratitude for a gift is in its consecrated use . If God has

given one man a home , it is that he may help some poor homeless one to find a home . If he has taken away your sorrow , your want or loneliness , it is that the lonely , the sorrowful , those in want all abont yon , may be comforted by the radiated comfort of your happy soul . In recognition of these principles and teachings , yonr noble men , devoted women and happy children , nave brought hither your gifts to gladden the hearts of those