The Brotherhood of free men

Title

Creator

De La Cruz, Alberto

Language

English

Year

1966

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

Ute* WB ALBERTO DE LA CRUZ, WM Magat Lodge No. 65 Distinguished Guest of Honor, Officers of the Grand Lodge, Digni taries of the East, Fellow Masons, Ladies and Gentlemen: We are again here assembled to night to observe with profound sol emnity the traditional investiture of Masonic mantle upon those who shall in the year to pass, shoulder the task of spreading the tenets of the Ancient Craft of Freemasonry so that those heretofore, have labored in the dark as to its true message and purpose shall no longer walk in the dim path of ignorance. The Ancient Craft or Freemasonry has, thru centuries of its noble exist ence, been the subject of so much rid icule, criticism, constructive or other wise, some meant to debase and de grade the Craft while others sought to destroy the institution itself. In deed, there are countless people in cluding Petitioners to the fold who have no conception of what Freema sonry is or seeks to do and who use it only as a springboard from which to gain a prestige symbol. There are those who claim that ours is too secretive a society which no one can just penetrate to under stand the inner workings of the or ganization and thereby lead to charges of heresy, anti-religion, an association comprised of Godless heathens whose every guiding princi ple contradicts religious dogma and teachings. All these imputations are obviously a case of misinformation, a lack of proper understanding of the workings of Freemasonry. It is a policy borne out of necessity that the right to carry the Masonic symbol, the right to be a Freemason is a mere privilege granted only to those deserving and worthy of the Craft. It is not a natural right which all men can demand. To belong to the fold is a great privilege because to be accepted to the Fraternity is evi dence that the Petitioner is possessed with spiritual and moral traits of the highest order. Only those worthy, those whose breeding and character can best exemplify Freemasonry are extended the privilege of wearing the Masonic emblem. And it is because not all can enter the portals of Ma sonic Lodge, not all men can have the privilege of joining this frater nity that we are thus charged of being some sort of a secret society whose principles must necessarily contra vene the accepted norms of social or der. It behooves therefore upon us Freemasons not to remain complacent and indifferent to the accusations and hencefort strive to enlighten the pub lic of the real philosophy of Freemasonry. It is a pity that so many of those who do not belong to the fold have found fault with an organization whose fundamental principle is the promotion of fraternal brotherhood of men — the Fellowship — that sweet and precious jewel which we ought to share with our fellowmen so that, in the words of a great Grand Mas ter, we can stand together in times Turn to next page March 1966 of adversity, rejoice in prosperity, do things together — But Always To gether. And we can achieve this grand design of Freemasonry if we can erect a moral edifice within the heart of man because as aptly stated, the entire philosophy of Freemasonry is built around the individual. Indeed, the Ancient Craft of Freemasonry will always withstand any tempest of time because if we can make an in dividual wiser, better and consesequently happier, there will be no more room nor reason for a man to lose that feeling of fraternal brother hood towards his fcllowmen. Even the nations of the world with clashing ideologies, creed, and culture have seen fit to band together into one gigantic structure like the United Nations in order to give validity to man’s aspiration for human dignity. Today, racial conflicts between peo ple of divergent races and colors and wars between nations of contrasting ideologies are daily' bread to our "news thirsty minds. These wars on race and ideology arise because of man’s incessant desire to be treated with human dignity by his fellowmen — that he is co-equal with any man alive and that he is entitled to the same degree of respect and consider ation irrespective of whether his skin is white, yellow, brown or black. These conflicts will easily come to pass if all men shall treat each other as Brothers, if all the people on earth shall render due respect to the dignity of his fellowmen. And if we shall al ways be guided by a sense of fellow ship towards others, if we shall pro mote, at all times, fraternal unity among brothers, if we shall always be in constant awareness of God’s com mandment to “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself”, perhaps this world will never find itself in constant turmoil and wars shall be a thing of the past. It is in the light of present day events where we find the greatest need for all people to understand Freemasonry. Because if men shall abide, as we do, by the principles and teachings of Freemasonry these racial and ideological conflicts will not find any root from which to grow. It is one of the doctrines of Ma sonry that before one can be a Ma son one has to pass the standards by which a Petitioner ought to measure himself not only in terms of the mo ral and the material but principally in terms of the spiritual. And so it is said that to “be a Freemason you have to inquire into your own heart and conduct and keep careful watch over yourself that you go not astray. If you harbor ill-will and jealousy, if you are hospitable to intolerance and bigotry and churlish to gentle ness and kind affections, opening wide your heart to one and closing its por tals to the other, it is time for you to set in order your own temple, or else you wear in vain the name and in signia of a Mason, while yet unin vested with the Masonic nature.” Indeed, Freemasonry acquires greater significance because it accom plishes charitable acts or deeds without anv fanfare or the blare of trum pets. This absence of any ostenta tious display of acts of charity spells the difference between Masonic char ity from the rest of the civic organi zations of the world. It is not a meaningless or tasteless gesture for it springs from the very ultimate of our human existence — The Heart of Man. And so we can claim that ours has greater wisdom and signi ficance because it is extended borne out of Love for our fellowmen. I am happy therefore, that my humble self has been extended the rare privilege of steering our Masonic Lodge. And I shall assume the dis charge of my office not with an eye to fame or any prestige symbol but The Cabletow I shall take it as a challenge ever conscious of the fact that I am here to serve and not to be served by my fellowmen. This office surely can lend me what the world calls Fame, but for myself I seek not the fame because to paraphrase a writer, I shall always look upon fame as some thing to be used in accomplishing good. But it is not only the performance of charitable deeds or acts of mercy that we ought to concern ourselves within the limits of our Masonic Lodge. We shall likewise try to pre serve and see to it that Freemasonry is ever a Pearl of Great Price, “worth a great deal of effort, a great deal of sacrifice, a great deal of waiting,” in the words of the Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Indiana. The The fellowship of Freemasonry can not be achieved if we shall take lightly that fraternal unity among brothers. “There can be no genuine brother hood without mutual regard, good opinion and esteem, mutual charity, and mutual allowance for faults and failings.” It is those only who learn habitually to think better of each other, to look habitually for the good that is in each other and expect, al low for, and overlook, the evil, who can be Brethren one of the ether, in any true sense of the word. Those who gloat over the failings of one another, who think each other to be naturally base and low, of a nature in which the evil predominates and ex cellence is not to be looked for, can not even be friends, and much less Brethren. And to you my brethren let me give this pledge that in plating this hood of office upon my shoulders I shall always place my heart and mind to the tenets of Freemasonry ever mindful of what is written — “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’’ A A A A LIST OF NEW BRETHREN FOR JANUARY 1966 Name Lodge Address Date Raised 1. Robert Samuel Adams 2. Jerry Lynn Larsen 3. Amos Ray Fields 4. George H. Jones 5. Daniel B. Sta. Ana G. Harvey Horita 7. Willard Shockley 8. Robert Peig 9. Manuel Severo 10. Roberto C. Alarcon 11. Dante Z. Evangelista 12. Horace Theodore Cole 13. Florentino C. Concepcion 14. Martin G. Espina Loo Choo Lodge No. 172; Koza, Okinawa Loo Choo Lodge No. 172; Koza, Okinawa Pilar Lodge No. 15; Imus, Cavite Pilar Lodge No. 15; Imus, Cavite C. Norte Lodge No. 107; Daet, C. Norte L. Wood Lodge No. 105; Clark Air Base L. Wood Lodge No. 105; Clark Air Base Abra Lodge No. 86; Bangued, Abra Abra Lodge No. 86; Bangued, Abra Pintong Bato Lodge No. 51; Bacoor, Cavite 1/22/66 Pintong Bato Lodge No. 51; Bacoor, Cavite 1/22/66 Kanto Lodge No. 143; Tokyo, Japan Kasilawan Lodge No. 77; Manila Kasilawan Lodge No. 77; Manila 1/6/66 1/6/66 1/8/66 1/8/66 1/8/66 1/14/66 1/14/66 1/15/66 1/15/66 1/26/66 1/29/66 1/29/66 March 1966

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