The Empty seats
Media
Part of The Cabletow
- Title
- The Empty seats
- Creator
- O’Brien, Robert P.
- Language
- English
- Year
- 1967
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- Do They Bother?. . . • WB Robert P. O’Brien, PM (142) * The Empty Seats Have you looked around the Lodge recently and observed the empty seats? One wonders where the bro thers are that should fill those seats. One wonders if they are sick; if they have moved away; if they have lost interest or even if they are ever com ing back. For those that could coine — and this includes non-member Masons so journing in the vicinity of the Lodge — an active Mason must be curious as to why they don’t. There are many answers I am sure and many faults to point the finger at. Maybe the first fault lies with the Lodge that raised the absent brother. Maybe there was something lacking, something left out that made the dif ference between an active and an in active Mason. Maybe the magic of the ritual was lost in a dry or un prepared recitation of the work. May be the language and actions of the brothers in the Lodge did not match the ideals taught by the degrees. The reverence invoked by the “G” Lec ture may have been shattered by the careless profanity of another brother. The magic and the “ties that bind” are there in the ritual. They have been tested and tried over the cen turies and they will work. The trans lation from the written to the spoken word, without feeling and without un derstanding is the pitfail for the care less or unskilled lecturer. Proficiency begins with memorizing but, it doesn’t end there. It must go beyond this. It must reach the point where me mory is unconscious and the work flow from an inspired image in the brain to a heart-felt conviction in the voice and must include, an inspira tional way of life and manner on the part of the lecturer. To mouth the ritual without this awe; this feeling of excitement; this desire to open up the candidate’s eyes to the beauty of the work; is to use a golden horse shoe to shoe a wild horse. All may well be in vain. The Lodge gains only initiation fees and dues for it’s efforts and loses an educated and de dicated Mason whose contribution to Masonry can not be measured in dollars. What is this Mason like that should fill these seats? Is it a brother with a Masonic ring but no Masonic con victions? Is it a part time brother who remembers his brothers when seeking help but forgets them when the Lodge seeks his help? It is none of these! It is a Mason who has learned to love the ritual and lessons for the benefit they have showered upon his life by showing him the path of Jacob’s Ladder. It is a Mason, who by the good that shines around hiijt in Lodge, in his family and his community is recognized for his own worth and not bv that bestowed upon him by the Craft. This is the Mason we seek to create and hold and the Lodges must mold and shape each new brother individually until he fits this image. The clay is soft and pliable at initiation and the mas ter design must be quickly and art fully applied before the clay hardens with doubts and disinterest and can no longer be shaped. Is the Lodge JUNE, 1967 at fault? The Lodge must examine itself with a critical eye and if the fault is there the Master’s task is plain to see and the remedies of study, practice, learning and precept are available. What happens when the brother emerges from his degrees with ad miration for the ritual, determination to strive for the better things in life and then his attendance dwindles and finally his seat is empty? What goes wrong and where does the fault lie? Many things can go wrong. Maybe he was looking for a challenge in the Lodge, some task that would enable him to take his own measure as a Mason. Many challenges are available for him. He can be re quested to present the working tools lecture or the apron lecture, to read a Masonic book and give a synopsis at a stated meeting, to understudy an officer, to learn a lecture or charge, Co be chairman or member of a com mittee. These tasks will chalfenge him to advance in Masonry, to con tinue his Masonic education and above all to consider himself a real and needed member of the Masonic Fraternity as represented by his Lodge. Another fault lies in too rapid a dispersion of a brother’s talents. As soon as he returns his proficiency he is avidly sought by York and Scottish Rites, by Eastern Stars, by tire Shrine and a multitude of affiliated frater nities and soon he is spread so thin he can no longer continue his Ma sonic education in the Blue Lodge and without a real knowledge of Blue Lodge Masonry he is in the position of a student studying algebra and geometry with no knowledge of arith metic as a foundation. He is trying to run when he hasn't learnt to walk; trying to fly- before he knows his des tination. Yes, there are many scats empty in Lodge and there are many rea sons why the brothers are not there. As active Master Masons each of us must do what we can do to overcome these faults and to fill the seats again. To restore the mystic glory to the ritualistic work, to bring inspiration and fraternal love to each meeting, and to mold the new candidates in the firmness of faith of the widow’s son and the glory of Solomon should be our constant goal and inspira tion. £ Pictured at left was taken on the oc casion of Angalo Lodge No. G3 pre senting Grand Lodge books to the Uni versity of Northern Philippines. In it are WB Amante Alconcel. WM; Mr. Julian Corpuz, Officer-in-Charge of the University; Bro. F. Aurellado and WB Graciano Pada, Sr., Lodge Secretary. Four boxes of books were donated. The Cabletow