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Even a stranger, entering a Masonic Lodge room, as he may do
on a public occasion, must be struck by a mysterious Letter which hangs in the center of the Lodge
Room. No one needs to tell him its meaning; it is a letter of light and
tells its own story. Yet no stranger can know its full import, much less how
old it is. Indeed, few Masons are aware of all that it implies, either as a
symbol or history. There it shines, a focus of faith and fellowship, the emblem of the
Divine Presence in the Lodge.
When the Lodge is opened, the mind and heart of each member
should also be opened to the meaning of the great symbol, to the intent that its light and
truth may become the supreme reality in our lives. when the Lodge is closed, the memory of
that Divine initial and its august suggestions ought to be the last thought retained in
the mind to be pondered over.
There it shines in the center of the ceiling of the room,
over the Altar, and the Lodge is grouped around it, rather than assembled beneath
it. Below it, is the checker work floor, symbol of the vicissitudes of life,
above which hangs the white light of the Divine guidance and blessing, so much needed in
our mortal journey.
In the Degrees its use is more impressive. In the First and
Second Degrees the symbol is visible in the roof, or sky, of the Lodge, like a
benediction. In the Third Degree it is hidden, but its presence is still
manifest, as every Mason knows, since the light of God is inextinguishable even in the
darkest hours. Thus, in the course of the Degrees, the great Letter has
descended from heaven to earth, as if to show us the deep meaning of
Masonry. In other words, the purpose of initiation is to bring the
Supreme Being and man together, and make them one. God becomes man that
man may become God, a truth which lies at the heart of all religion, and most clearly
revealed in our own. Every form of faith is trying to lay hold of this truth,
for which words were never made.
In all the old houses of Initiation, as far back as we can
go. A letter of the alphabet stands out as a kind of Divine Initial. In
the Egyptian Mysteries it was the solar "Ra", symbol of the
spiritual Sun shining upon the mortal path. In the Greek Mysteries at Delphi
it was the letter "E" Eta the fifth letter of the Greek
Alphabet, five being the symbol of man, as evidenced by the five senses., also the
pentagram, or five pointed star. In olden time Fellowcraft Masons worked in
groups of five, and five Brethren now compose the Lodge of a Fellowcraft.
Plutarch told that in the Greek Mysteries the Letter "Eta"
was made of wood in the First Degree, of bronze in the second Degree,
and of gold in the third, showing the advance and refinement of the moral and spiritual
nature, as well as the higher value to the truth.
Many meanings and much history are thus gathered into the
Great Letter, some of it dim and lost to us now. In our Lodges, and in the
thought of the Craft today, the Letter "G" stands for Geometry but
also as the initial of our Word God. Now for one, now for the other,
but nearly always for both, since all Masonry rests upon
Geometry. In the oldest Charges of the Craft, as in its latest
interpretations, it is agreed that Masonry is moral geometry. In all its
lore Geometry is the way to God.
For Masonry, The Supreme Being is the first
truth and the final reality. Yet, as a fact, Masonry rarely uses the name of
God. It uses, instead, the phrase, the Great Architect of the
Universe. Of course such a phrase fits into the symbolism of the Craft, but
that is not the only, or perhaps chief reason why it is used. A deep, fine feeling
keeps us from using the name of the Deity too often, lest it lose some of its awe
in our minds. It is because Masons believe in the existence of a Supreme
Being, that they do not repeat the name "GOD" so frequently, and some
prefer the Masonic way in the matter. Also, we love the Masonic way of
teaching by indirection, so to speak; by influence and atmosphere.
Masonry, in its symbols and in its spirit, seeks to bring us into the presence
of that Supreme Being, and detain us there.
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Carmel
Lodge No. 680 F.&A.M.