We touched on a few things in the last post concerning our readiness as we move forward. As we talked, January finished strong. There has been a strange mix of events in terms of the degree work. Great examples of brilliance with some not so brilliant.
My belief is that the ritual is what separates us from the rest of the fraternities. Men throughout the ages have craved and sought esoteric and philosophical teachings concerning how to live a profitable life. We are richly blessed that the words laid down in our esteemed little black book hold many answers and raise many questions for us to ponder as we journey through this adventure called life.
It has been said many times in this blog that the authors of our ritual were extremely gifted in how they put the ritual together. It wasn't easy getting to the point we now enjoy, but the end result is remarkable. The authors were highly skilled in their choice and placement of words, for example the meaning of a single word may take 10 words to explain.
It pains me greatly when such little care and respect is given to the words of our rites and ceremonies. There are examples of brothers feeling they don't like the way the ritual is written and feel they can insert their own words and convey the same meaning. That is totally preposterous given the fact that they can't deliver the words that are written....why should they be trusted to insert their own words when they don't comprehend the ones that have been passed down through the ages
We or I should say, I am bantering around the word "ritual" quite a bit....in our area we Masons refer to the written text of our three degrees as the ritual....this word has different uses and variations, it kind of reminds me of the mother of all swear words because of it's different uses. For example, I always take my ritual with me to lodge, we enjoy visiting that lodge because they do great ritual work, he's known to be quite the ritualist,
In reality the word ritual mean a solemn ceremony....or another definition can be a "rite of passage". Actually we are going to a solemn rite of passage at ABC Lodge and we will be carrying our black books which describe the ceremony and how to perform it.....thank goodness we can just say ritual.
Sorry about the tangent but I think I picked up a new subject for the blog....so we had the case of wanting to rewrite the ritual because someone didn't like the style. We also have the case where many young officers busted their hump to make their degree a very successful evening....then we have the lodge who seemed woefully unprepared and completely lost at times. The old cliché was mentioned that my goodness we give the appearance of having never practiced this degree to be followed up by another....there is so much brass here tonight, I froze and completely lost my bearings, and my dog ate my homework.
Also we saw some true leadership displayed by a Grand Lodge Officer, with the newly initiated brother out of the lodge room, he addressed the very poor performance of portraying the EA degree. It was done professionally, politley but firm. He said that the degree is for the candidate not us. We have but one chance to make a good first impression. His question was, how impressed do you think the candidate was, and that it was a true injustice to the candidate to have not presented him with the best degree possible.
This leads to ask, "Are We Ready?" if we aren't how do we get ready? With anything that is done well there are a few things that can be done in preparation not only for degrees but anything we do in life that we want to do well.....we had a series of training tapes here at work and his favorite thing was Practice, Drill, and Rehearse.
When it comes to degree work, the lodge officers need to study on their own, work with a close brother or brothers to get the words out in the open, and if the lodge knows they are shaky they need a practice degree working together to work out the kinks and rough spots.
It's an involved process. Much studying and preparation needs to be done by each individual officer. The time to study is not on the way to lodge and walking into the lodge room. The hours required depends on the person, but I know I have logged countless hours studying my work.
It is possible for everyone to study individually and come together on the night of the degree and pull it off......if they have some experience in degree work, otherwise it behooves the lodge to actually practice the degree beforehand.
According to the Great One, WB Bennie King....when studying a part, always recite it out loud to yourself or the steering wheel while driving or your dog....many dogs have received many fine lectures over the years....but, yes verbalize it....this will enhance one's practice.
As mentioned above we get one chance at a first impression. Imagine if you will, a young man discovers his grandfather was a Mason. He begins his research into the mysteries of Freemasonry, usually this is done online. Many things are unearthed, secret handshakes, certain gestures known as signs, many of the founding fathers of this great country were Masons. Mystery, intrigue, and suspense. The young man stumbles on to the Michigan Grand Lodge site, and after a few emails and phone calls and spending some time with men who are unknown to him. He's investigated maybe some of his friends and business acquaintances are contacted......then he finds himself at the lodge. After arriving he is prepared for initiation and is led into the lodge room. He finds himself being quizzed and his escort or conductor is supplying the answers .....and then it happens, the conductor and the one asking questions quite clearly have no idea what they are talking about. The candidate surely asks himself, is this why it's a secret....it's so secretive that they don't know how to communicate it to each other.....or is it that they don't care to the point it makes them look like bumbling fools......there goes the first impression out the window.
All of the mystery and intrigue are gone as the Wardens and Senior Deacon stumble around trying to communicate the word, the handshake and the sign. Suddenly the prospect of these men ruling the world and being movers and shakers is gone. I'm not suggesting that we are movers and shakers but we should be proud enough of our fraternity that the modes of recognition is something we highly regard and treat them with the respect that their history and heritage deserve.
This is why practice, drill, and rehearse has to be part of our routine. The questions and responses to the Wardens before and after the obligation need to be routine and come so natural the impression is given that they have been practiced so much that they come off as second nature. If you've ever talked to someone who was in military service, regardless of how long they've been out they can rattle off their number in the blink of an eye, they never forget and they know how to recite it instantly.
There are a few keys to being ready to move forward. First, the work...the ritual needs to be impressive to the candidate. Secondly a brother needs to take the newly made Mason under his wing, mentor and guide without pushing. Get the new Brother involved doing something, even a small job or a small part in a degree, get them involved. Be sure to include the newly made Brother in all things, invite him to travel...make him feel that he is a part of something, because he is.
