United, we stand
Media
Part of The Cabletow
- Title
- United, we stand
- Creator
- Teves, Serafin L.
- Language
- English
- Source
- The Cabletow Volume XLII (No. 2) February 1966
- Year
- 1966
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- It has ever been thus. . United, TVe Stand By MWB SERAFIN L. TEVES Grand Master (Address given at the session of the Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Freemasonry of the Republic of the Philippines on February 12, 1966.) Illustrious Sovereign Grand Com mander, Illustrious Sirs, Brother Masters of Royal Secret: First of all, let me thank and con gratulate the Supreme Council for giving us the opportunity to be pres ent at the ceremonies of investiture of the rank and decoration of Knight Commander of the Court of Honor. It was indeed a most impressive presentation. Likewise, I congratu late the members of the team for their splendid work. We of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines are grateful to you, Illus trious Brethren of the Supreme Coun cil of Scottish Rite Freemasonry of the Republic of the Philippines, for your kind invitation to us to visit your annual session. Being Scottish Rite Masons ourselves, we do not have to be invited; it is our duty, where pro per, to be present at most meetings of the Supreme Council at this time of the year. Nonetheless, we reiterate our thanks for the invitation and for the fine motive that prompted it. Here in our country where we have both the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council, we should congrat ulate ourselves for the unity which can be seen and felt by all of us. Let me stress the word “unity” for that is the proper and correct word. We dare not use the term '“friendly relations” because of the possibility of uncertain and dubious connotations. Sufficient is the word unity for that is what we have in blue lodge and Scottish Rite Masonry in this country. If there was no unity between the Grand Lodge of the Philippines and the Supreme Council of the Republic of the Philippines, there would arise the ennervating feeling of one group proposing superiority over the other and their members would be in a constant state of jealousy one with the other. Since there is no such cold war, Master Masons and Scottish Rite Masons here feel the oneness, the unify, and the togetherness pervading all of us. We abhor vealousy because it is lousy like jellyfish. H'e arc one in worthy and worth while citizenship. As Masons, we are nor only expected to be good men and true within ourselves; we are also ex pected to teach others, by precept and example, the principle and practice of good citizenship by never countenanc ing smuggling, graft, corruption, rooted as they are in lawlessness. We are united for the proper exercise of our duties and responsibilities as worthy citizens in doing that which is good and not doing that which is evil. Good citizenship is helping the gov ernment and the governed. Turn to next February 1966 We are one in our concern that the poor and less fortunate enjoy a bet ter life. In this case, direct charity is only a temporary, stop-gap solution. So, the Supreme Council has been sup porting a couple of PRRM barrio im provement projects in Cavite to the end that the inhabitants thereof, through their own efforts, will earn more from their small farms, acquire a better education, practice health habits that will improve themselves and their surroundings. So, manv of our blue lodges are helping poor and deserving young ones through school and college for like reasons. Many of our blue lodges are spend ing their time and money in assisting the PRRM and the PACD in bring ing literacj’ to the people of the bar rios. Indeed, we do our part to make barrio life more efficient and enjoy able for, as the barrios arc, so is the nation. We are one in our concern for the moral uplift of our people. ‘We all realize that there is. more than any period in our history, so much decay in our morality; that there is so much warping of our sense of moral values. In our younger days we were raised to distinguish the right from the wrong; to see the thick black line bet ween good and evil and thereby avoid evil and always do what is right. Now adays, people no longer see the dis tinguishing line for in our sense of values, it is all but obliterated. This indifference to morality is a very serious matter. It concerns the welfare and future of our nation. Sb, our blue lodges and our Scottish Rite Bodies sponsor allied Masonic organi zations for our young people like the DeMolay, Rainbow and Job’s Daugh ters to teach them love of God, love of country, love and respect for parents and elders, and a continuous treading ajij jo tped avojjeu puc iq3ttj)s atp jo for bv so doing, they will learn to be morally straight. This, no doubt, is an auspicious beginning for us and our children. But this is not all. As Blue Lodge and Scottish Rite Masons, we are one in the realization that to teach right, we must ourselves be right. So, we begin with ourselves and our children. Because we love them, no matter how painful it is to teach them the right, we teach them anyway. So sincerely and so seriously do we want ourselves and our children to do the right that we wish them to love the right as part and parcel of their lives. As an author has said: “There is nothing more loveless than a par ent who abdicates his role and is fearful to limit, afraid to forbid, un willing to train.” If I must coin a word to stress this, let us do the teach ing and the training “sinceriously.” Illustrious Sirs, Brother Inspectors General Honorary, Brother Knights Commander of the Court of Honor, Brother Masters of the Royal Secret, and Brother Master Masons, “United, we stand; divided, we fall.” A GRAND LODGE OF THE PHILIPPINES, INC. 1140 San Marcelino, Manila To All Members: Notice is hereby given that the annual general meeting of this corpo ration will be held at the Plaridel Masonic Temple, 1440 San Marcelino, Manila, on April 26-28, 1966, for electing the directors and for the trans action of such other business as may properly come before said meeting. ESTEBAN MUNARRIZ Corporate, Secretary The Cablefow