…presented at St. John's Lodge No. 35, Cayuga, October 6, 2005.

The Importance of the Ritual

One of my duties as your District Deputy is to make sure the ritual of the Masonic book of the work is preformed the way it is laid out. I would like to give you some reasons why I think it should be performed that way.

Ritual is defined as "a prescribed form or method for the performance of a religious or solemn ceremony."

I remember sitting in lodge when I was very young to Masonry and thinking to myself "why are they so particular with the work during the degrees?" Why are they so upset if there is a book open in the lodge? At the time it seemed a little bit ridiculous to be such a stickler for detail. I was to learn very quickly that the ceremony is indeed very solemn and is meant to be performed with the utmost fidelity.

As a young person of twenty-four when I was initiated, life was in a hurry all the time and yet these guys in the lodge seemed to think I had all the time in the world. What do you mean there are three degrees that I have to go through to join this Brotherhood? Lets get on with it and move on to the next degree right now. The process of moulding an individual into the best person he can be takes time and effort on the part of all the people involved. This is not something that can be rushed or taken lightly. Taking good men and making them better is a long drawn out affair with tremendous satisfaction for all taking part in the transformation.

We must always keep in mind that we are not to make innovation into masonry. Any deviation from the ritual could be considered innovation. We have a committee of Grand Lodge of very eminent masons appointed to look after the changes that need to be made. The old joke is "How many Masons does it take to change a light bulb?" The answer "nobody knows because Masons don't change anything." When you have something that works as well as the Ritual in Free Masonry you do not have to change much. Can you think of any other organization that has done more for the betterment of man than Free Masonry?

We use the ritual as a means to an end. We want to allow men to be free to think on their own with the direction for their life coming from the symbolism that is presented to them in the book of the work. All Brethren are allowed the freedom to apply masonry as they see fit to their life. Develop their own appreciation for the way the symbolism applies to their particular situation. All the symbolism in Masonry point to a better life for all who are strictly obedient to its precepts. Nothing in the Ritual points to things that you would be ashamed of or be something that you could say was justified because of the teaching of Free Masonry that are contrary to the laws of God or man. We are setting down the moral standards that every Brother should try to live his life by so that we can arrive at the door of the Great Architect of the Universe, unspotted by sin and unstained by vice.

The reasons are simple. First, it is a proven recipe for the improvement of the human race for the past 300 years. Secondly, can you think of any better way to impress the newly initiated Brother than to perform the Ritual the best it can be so he can see the degree of perfection he should aspire to attain as he progresses through Masonry. He will then try to live his life to those high standards and appreciate even more why the Ritual is so important when he takes part in some of the work. Thirdly, if we let down our guard to the performance of our Ritual, it will not take long before the whole foundation of Masonry will be eroded and the things that make it so dear to our hearts will be lost for future generations.

We end every Installation with this, "And may the genuine tenets of our time honoured institution be transmitted through your lodge, pure and unimpaired from generation to generation." It is extremely important that we do not vary from the prescribed ritual laid down for us in the book of the work. It is a tried and proven recipe for success with every new candidate for Masonry.

Keep in mind "If it is to be, it is up to me."