XIX Martyrs Lodge No. 342 - Free and Accepted Masons

December stated meeting and election of officers for ensuing masonic year 2024….

WM ELECT - Bro. Andrew Alcedo
SW ELECT - Bro. Lydwin Cortes
JW ELECT - Bro. Jones Mendoza
SECRETARY ELECT - WB Jose Januario Bassig Jr.
TREASURER ELECT - WB Adzo Salaver
AUDITOR ELECT- VW Bob Alcedo
HARMONY OFFICER - VW Gomer Canoy

VW Bob Alcedo for the 2nd time is taking in charge of the East. The 22nd Inastallation of Officers of our lodge.

ccto

remembering the 160th birthday of Bro. Jose Rizal, a great Filipino patriot ❤️

Here is a post that put my heart to rest about the situation we are in: profound and quite stirring. Something to reflect on as we start another week...

*Boats in a storm*

We are all navigating a storm, but not in the same boat

The waves may capsize yours while gently rocking mine

Or vice versa

For some, quarantine is a moment of reflection, of re-connection. Easy, in flip flops, with a glass of whiskey in hand

For others, this is a desperate crisis

Some experience it as loneliness and isolation

Others a time of reconnection with family and friends

Some lament the absence of a brand they love

Others worry about bread for the weekend, or if the noodles will last a few more days

Some work in their "home office"

Others have lost their homes and offices

We criticize those who break the quarantine

But some have no choice, they have to pay the bills.

Others choose to escape. To their country homes or favorite vacation destinations

Some have experienced the virus, some have already lost someone from it, some are not sure their loved ones are going to make it

And yet there are some who don't even believe this is a big deal

Many are getting vaccinated. Some have faith in God and miracles. Others lack faith in science

Some think the storm is passing, others think the worst is yet to come

So, friends, we are not in the same boat. We are in the same storm. How we perceive it depends on the boat we are on

And when the storm passes, each of us will emerge, in our own way. Some stronger, some unscathed, some scarred, some on a stretcher, and some will not make it.

It is very important to see beyond our own experience

See beyond our politics, beyond religion, beyond race, beyond the nose on our faces

Do not underestimate the pain of others even if we do not feel it ourselves

Do not judge the good life of one nor condemn the choices of the other

Let us not judge the one who lacks, nor the one with possessions

We are all simply on different boats

Let’s navigate our routes with respect, empathy, understanding and responsibility.

Good day, for some goodnight and have a blessed week ahead!

Reflections🙏

The Cable Tow Vol.97, No.03 The Cable Tow Vol.97, No.03 October - December 2020

a repost ...

REPOSTING:

MASONIC WORK

Quoted from “Masonic Matters” of Brother Ed Halpus

“There were those who thought that the power of Masonry lay in her secrecy; some think so still, not knowing that its real power lies in the sanctity of its truth, the simplicity of its faith, the sweetness of its spirit, and its service to mankind, and that if all its rites were made public today it would still hold the hearts of men.”
—Brother Joseph Fort Newton

It has been said that the purpose of Freemasonry, as a fraternity, is not to get more men into Masonry but rather to get more Masonry into men. While it is believed that is a true statement, it is also believed that getting more Masonry into our members does not need to be exclusive of bringing more men into Freemasonry. Freemasonry is an important and worthwhile institution and every man who would like to be a Freemason should have the opportunity to petition a Lodge.

Some time ago a Mason said that the purpose of Freemasonry was to make more Masons. He said we were expected to bring in new members; that was the work we were here to do.

Remember an old story about a new Mason who had seen nothing but degree work since he had been made a Mason? One day he met with the Master of his Lodge and asked him when he would begin learning the work of a Mason. He said, “Since I’ve taken my degrees, I’ve seen quite a few other men take their degrees, that’s all we’ve been doing in Lodge since I joined, and I’ve been wondering when I will begin the work of a Freemason?” “Well,” the Master said, “this is the work of a Freemason, taking part in the degrees and bringing more men into Masonry.” The new Mason said “I thought there was more to the work of a Mason.”

Have you heard that before? The point of the story was that there was more to Masonry than degree work. In fact, there has been over the years a feeling that learning the proficiency was not that important when it comes to learning about Freemasonry, and one can hear it suggested that the degree work is not that important, and that it could be read out of a book just to satisfy the formality of degree work and after going through the degrees, the new Mason could then get down to the task of learning about Freemasonry.

From the beginning of the ritual of the First Degree the Candidate is told that Masonry is a Course of hieroglyphical and moral instruction. It is true that “Masonry teaches in signs and symbols, in pictures and parables”. We were told in the charge of the First Degree that if we are to improve in Masonic Knowledge we are to converse with well-informed Brethren, who will be always as ready to give as we will be ready to receive instruction, to keep sacred and inviolable the mysteries of the fraternity, as these are to distinguish us from the rest of the community, and to mark our consequence among Masons. Consequence in this context means “The act, or fact, of following as an effect or result upon something antecedent.” That implies that we as Masons need to LEAD and to TEACH our new brethren in the explanations of the allegories of Masonry. When we joined Masonry we did so to learn, to improve ourselves, and to subdue our passions. We Freemasons no matter how long we’ve been in the craft, still have an eager and receptive mind when it comes to learning what Freemasonry has to teach us.

It is fairly well known in education circles that a receptive mind is affected by suggestion and repetition. The rituals and the degree work of Freemasonry provide constant repetition of the ‘most beautiful and dramatic lessons in Moral Science — provided , and this is important, provided that the Mason seeing the degrees and ceremonies knows what the symbolism of those ceremonies mean.’ “Where the meaning of the symbolism is not known, Masonry is but little more than a mere fraternal organization and her transcendently beautiful, dramatic lessons are almost if not entirely wasted.”

When the meanings of the ceremonies, symbols and degree work are being learned and are known by Freemasons this constitutes ‘Masonic Work.’ The constant training and learning, by watching and participating in the degree work and rituals of Freemasonry, along with instruction and learning, of what all of that along with the symbolism contained in them, is the Masonic Work being taught by suggestion and repetition. Understanding and contemplation of our rituals helps the Freemason to be able to translate the actions and the words of our degree work into those real teachings which he can use to affect his own life. When that happens he is in possession of that ‘Masonic Light by which Masons work and then, and not until then, is he able to do real Masonic Work,’ which is the changing and alteration of his subjective mind by the understanding and intelligent repetition of the lessons to be learned in that Course of Hieroglyphical and Moral instruction, taught according to types, emblems, and allegorical figures.

The mysteries and the secrets of our “Gentle Craft” are hidden rightly enough — they’re hidden in plain sight. Where better to hide something than in plain view where it will be overlooked by most, even those who should know. Masons are searching and aching for leadership to lead the way and explain the lessons and mysteries to them, so that they may improve themselves and their lives.

“The Mason on the sidelines must understand what he sees, or it cannot produce any impression which could sink down into his subjective mind there to add itself to other previous and similar impressions and, so become part of his character.”
—Brother Prentiss Tucker

Origins of the Freemasons Kevin K. Main takes us back to a time during the Middle Ages where organized lodges for operative masons served as trade guilds and where the first Grand Lod...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PX7KG7B/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_t1_d-f0FbVJRH7TD

Pope who was a Mason Pope who was a Mason

FREEMASONRY DEFINED

MasonicWorld.com Masonic Articles, Graphics, Newsletters, Blog, and News

MATERIA/ FOR FURTHER MASONIC EDUCATION/N/IGHTENMENT
May 7, 2015

GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE LAWS OF MASONRY
by eF.R.eN

Like the laws of any nation, the laws of Masonry are both unwritten
(the “common law”) and written. The written laws, based on the “General Regulations” and the “Old Charges,” are the Constitution and By-Laws of our own Grand Lodge, its resolutions, and edicts, as well as the by-laws of your own Blue Lodge. In some jurisdictions, the ancient Landmarks are written, while in others, they are a part of the unwritten law.

When he is in a foreign Jurisdiction, a Filipino citizen is, or should be, amenable to the laws of that Jurisdiction as well as those of our own Jurisdiction. In this duality of allegiance, Masonry follows the civil law. For instance, a Filipino citizen residing in California, is, or should be, amenable to the laws of that State and at the same time expected to obey the laws of his own nation, such as its income tax laws. Similarly, when a Master Mason belonging to the Jurisdiction of the Philippines is sojourning in a foreign Jurisdiction, say, California, he is not exempt from the laws of the M.W. Grand Lodge of the Philippines.

“General Regulations” as set forth in “Anderson’s Constitution of 1723” were adopted shortly after the formation in 1717 of the First or Mother Grand Lodge in England. The work was first published under the date of 1724. Unquestionably, it embodied the laws of Masonry as they were known to the members of the four old Lodges that formed the first Grand Lodge, and hence have the respectability of an antiquity much greater than their printed life of more than 290 years.

In general, it may be said that the “Old Charges” are concerned with an individual Brother and his relations to his Lodge and his Brethren; that the General Regulations are concerned with the conduct of the Craft as a whole; and that the General Regulations permit their own alteration by Grand Lodge, while the Old Charges do not.

The Old Charges very evidently deal with both the Operative and Speculative sides of Masonry; some of their phrases are concerned with “the Lord’s work.” The text shows that it is not the Lord God who is here meant, but the particular nobleman for whom building construction is undertaken.

Law in Masonry is so much more a matter of the heart than of the head, so much more concerned with setting forth conduct than in assessing penalties, that, to understand it thoroughly, we should, each of us, be willing to revise our ideas of law, as we understand the enactment of legislatures.

Many civil laws are provided with measures of enforcement and penalties for infringement; Masonic law knows but four penalties: reprimand, definite suspension, indefinite suspension, and expulsion or Masonic death. These Masonic penalties for serious infraction of Masonic law may be ordered after a Masonic trial and a verdict of guilty, but the punishment is usually made to fit the crime, and mercy is much more a part of Masonic than of civil law. Infractions of Masonic law resulting in trial and punishment are rare, compared with the number of Masons the vast majority of whom are so willing and anxious to obey the laws that “enforcement” is seldom required.

There is no universality in Masonic law in all jurisdictions. Different latitudes, different characters of people, different ideas, have all left their marks upon Grand Lodges and their enactments. In the majority of essentials, Grand Lodges are one, although in some particulars, they hold different views. A large majority of Grand Lodges adhere to the spirit of the “Old Charges,” and – so far as modern conditions permit – to the sense of the “General Regulations.” Therefore, if we desire to understand the laws by which the Craft is governed and the legal standards by which Grand Lodge measures its “laws, resolutions, and edicts,” we should read both the “Old Charges” and the “General Regulations of 1723.” We should know, for instance, that the 39th or last of the “General Regulations” is stated thus: “Every Annual Grand Lodge has an inherent power and authority to make new Regulations, or to alter these, for the real benefit of this Ancient Fraternity; provided always that the Old Landmarks be carefully preserv’d.”

The “old landmarks,” or the Ancient Landmarks as we customarily call them, are thus stated to be those foundations of the laws of Masonry which are not subject to change. Had the Grand Lodge which first adopted these General Regulations formulated the “Ancient Landmarks,” it would have saved much trouble and confusion for those newer Grand Lodges which come after. Apparently, however, the unwritten law of Masonry – the common law – was so well understood and practiced then that it was not thought necessary to codify it.

There is still a great body of unwritten law which Masons customarily observe – our “ancient usages and customs” – which are not specified in print now any more than they were then. But the Landmarks have been reduced to print and made a part of the unwritten law in many Jurisdictions.

Mackey’s list of Ancient Landmarks has been adopted as official in many Masonic Jurisdictions, including ours; others have condensed this list into lesser number, still keeping all his points; a few Jurisdictions have a greater number of Landmarks, including some not specified in Mackey’s list. (Nathan Roscoe Pound refined Mackey’s list of 25 Landmarks to only seven, while Dr. George Oliver expanded it to 40.)

Those Jurisdictions which do not include a printed list of the Ancient Landmarks in their written law usually follow and practice them as part of their unwritten law. In a few instances, some of the Landmarks as listed by Mackey are not recognized as such. For instance, Mackey’s Eighth Landmark, the inherent right of a Grand Master to “make Masons at sight,” was specifically abrogated
by an early Grand Lodge in California. In general, however, whether written or unwritten, Grand Lodges adhere to the spirit of all points in Mackey’s list.

The Landmarks may be regarded as bearing the same relation to Masonic law in general, including the “Old Charges” and the “General Regulations,” as the provisions of Magna Charta bear to modern constitutional law. Just as Magna Charta specified some of the inherent rights of men which all laws of all governments should consider and respect, so the Landmarks crystallize in words the inherent characteristics of Masonry – those fundamentals which make Freemasonry what it is, and without which it would be something else.

Like many other Jurisdictions, our own sovereign Jurisdiction uses Mackey’s list of Ancient Landmarks is used. According to Mackey, the Landmarks are as follows:
1. The modes of recognition.
2. The division of Symbolic Masonry into three degrees.
3. The legend of the third degree.
4. The government of the fraternity by a presiding officer called a Grand Master, who is elected from the body of the Craft.
5. The prerogative of the Grand Master to preside over every assembly of the Craft, wheresoever and whenever held.
6. The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant dispensation for conferring degrees at irregular times.
7. The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant dispensation for opening and holding lodges.
8. The prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons at sight.
9. The necessity for Masons to congregate in Lodges.
10. The government of every Lodge by a Master and two Wardens.
11. The necessity that every Lodge, when congregated, should be duly tiled.
12. The right of every Mason to be represented in all general meetings of the Craft and to instruct his representative.
13. The right of every Mason to appeal from the decision of his brethren in Lodge convened to the Grand Lodge or General Assembly of Masons.
14. The right of every Mason to visit and sit in every regular Lodge.
15. That no visitor, not known to some brother present as a Mason, can enter a Lodge without undergoing an examination.
16. That no Lodge can interfere in the business or labor of another Lodge.
17. That every Freemason is amenable to the laws and regulations of the Masonic Jurisdiction in which he resides.
18. That every candidate of initiation must be a man, free born, and of lawful age.
19. That every Mason must believe in the existence of God as the Grand Architect of the Universe.
20. That every Mason must believe in a resurrection to a future life.
21. That a book of law of God must constitute an indispensable part of the furniture of every Lodge.
22. That all men in the sight of God are equal, and meet in the Lodge
on one common level.
23. That Freemasonry is a secret society in possession of secrets that cannot be divulged.
24. That Freemasonry consists of a speculative science founded on an operative art.
25. That the Landmarks of Masonry can never be changed.

With these as the foundation (the “Old Charges” for precedent and the first “General Regulations” for organic law), Grand Lodges write and adopt their constitutions and by-laws, and particular Lodges write and adopt their by-laws, which are subject to approval by Grand Lodge, Grand Lodge Committee, or the Grand Master. Grand Masters, ad interim, formulate and issue edicts and make decisions; often, these are later incorporated by the Grand Lodge into the written law of the Jurisdiction. All of these together,
except where they conflict with (as some of the earlier “General Regulations” necessarily conflict with later enactments made to supersede them) form the legal structure of Freemasonry.

Undeniably, it is much looser than the similar body of law for the government of a nation. If Masonic law were interpreted wholly by the letter – as is necessarily the case in civil law – the government of the Craft might often be as loose as its statutes. But, as a matter of fact, the Craft is well governed. Its “ancient usages and customs” so soon win their way into the hearts of the new brethren that there is a great resistance to any attempt to change the old order, unless necessity shows that it is inescapable. Masons much prefer to whisper good counsel to an erring Brother, rather than subject him to Masonic trial, whenever the gentler method can be made effective.

We should ever remember that the newly-passed Brother is charged in part as follows:

“You are not to palliate nor aggravate the offenses of your brethren. But in the decision of every trespass against our rules, you are to judge with candor, admonish with friendship, and reprehend with justice.”

The various concerns of the Craft at all levels are managed and conducted by concerned brethren in accord with a more or less loosely woven body of law. Yet the Fraternity as a whole can take pride in the undoubted fact that it is orderly, well governed, almost completely law-abiding, and very reluctant to make any more new laws for itself than are absolutely necessary. The reason, of course, is found in the answer to the classic question: “Where were you first prepared to be made a Mason?”

Correlatively, we should take into serious consideration the Ancient Laws of the Fraternity reprinted on pp. 243-264 of our Masonic Law Book or the Constitution of the M.W. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, Centennial Edition (1912-2012). They are the Old York Constitution of 926, the Constitutions of Edward III, the Regulation of 1663, the Ancient Installation Charges, the Ancient Charges at Makings, the Regulation of 1703, the Regulation of 1717, the Regulation of 1720, the Charges Approved in 1722, and the “Old Regulations” in 1721.

We should also weigh and consider the longer versions of the Landmarks or the Unwritten Law, by Albert G. Mackey, found on pp. 265-273 of our Masonic Law Book, and then govern ourselves accordingly.

As mentioned above, Mackey, Pound, and Oliver have their differences in regard to the number of Landmarks, but all of them agree on the existence, intent, and criteria of the same. Let’s get a little acquainted with each of them.

Mackey was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1807 and buried in Washington, DC in 1881. Graduating with honors from the Charleston Medical College in 1834, he immediately entered the busy practice of his chosen profession, which chiefly occupied his time until 1854, when his literary and Masonic labors engrossed his efforts. In 1841, he was initiated, passed, and raised in St. Andrews Lodge No. 10 at Charleston, South Carolina. Soon afterwards, he affiliated with Solomon Lodge No. 1, which he served as Master in 1842. Eventually, he was coroneted with the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction, where he was an active member of the Supreme Council and served as Secretary General for many years. It was during this time that he was closely associated with another notable American Mason, Albert Pike.

Although he was professionally a medical doctor, he is best known for his authorship of many well respected books and articles about Freemasonry. Between 1845 and 1875, he wrote 12 Masonic books, including Jurisprudence of Freemasonry (1856) and Code of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the District of Columbia.

He also contributed to, as well as edited, at least six Masonic periodicals.
Pound was born on October 27, 1870 and died on June 30, 1964. He was a distinguished American legal scholar and educator, a Freemason, and a member and Past Master of Lancaster Lodge No. 54, A.F. & A.M., in Lincoln, Nebraska.

His Lectures on Masonic Jurisprudence provides an important legal analysis of the Landmarks that helps the reader to understand the Landmarks from legal, historical, and philosophical standpoints. In this work, Roscoe Pound traces the history of the term Landmark as applied directly to Masonry back to Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723; this was six years after the Great Revival of 1717, when the first Grand Lodge of England was formed as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster. According to him, Anderson stated that “The Grand Lodge may make or alter regulations provided the old landmarks be carefully preserved,” but he did not provide any explanation of the Landmarks.

Gven below is Roscoe Pound’s list of Landmarks; the number of Mackey’s Landmark is given along side of each.
1. Belief in God (Mackey’s 13th).
2. Belief in the persistence of personality (Mackey’s 2th).
3. A book of law as an indispensable part of the furniture of every lodge (Mackey’s 21st).
4. The legend of the third degree (Mackey’s third).
5. Secrecy (Mackey’s 11th and 23rd).
6. The symbolism of the operative art (Mackey’s 24th).
7. That a Mason must be a man, freeborn, and of age (Part of Mackey’s 18th).

Oliver was descended from an ancient Scottish family of that name, some of whom went into England in the time of James I and settled at Cliptone Park, Nottinghamshire. He was made a priest in the Church of England in 1814, and he graduated as Doctor of Divinity in 1836.

He inherited a love of Freemasonry from his father, the Rev. Samuel Oliver, who presided over his initiation into Masonry in 1801 at Saint Peter’s Lodge in the city of Peterborough. Subsequently, he was exalted as a Royal Arch Mason. Then in 1813, he was appointed a Provincial Grand Steward; in 1816, Provincial Grand Chaplain; and in 1832, Provincial Grand Master of the Province of Lincolnshire. He was conferred the honorary title of Deputy Grand Master by the M.W. Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

A prolific Masonic writer, he wrote such works as the following:

1. Signs and Symbols of Freemasonry (1841);
2. The Star in the East;
3. Theocratic Philosophy of Freemasonry;
4. The Antiquities of Freemasonry; and
5. Freemasonry’s Treasury (1863) , in which he discusses 40 Landmarks.

… I believe that the essence of the 14th Landmark bears witness
as the most important and timeless Landmark in defining my personal identity with Freemasons: brotherhood. Threat of removal of such recognition is often the deciding factor in any Masonic trial. In all cases, be they legal or situational, it would seem to me that he right to sit peaceably with a brother, break bread and meet freely is without a doubt one of the most important and foundational to understanding what it means to be a Mason. After all, what are we if not brothers? -- BROTHER BRIAN CHESNEY
________________________________________________________________
References

Centennial Monitor. Manila, Philippines: Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippnes, 2013.

Chesney, Brian. “A Fellowcraft’s Introduction to the Ancient Landmarks,” in The Voice of Freemasonry, June 2010. (This is the official publication of the M.W. Grand Lodge of Washington.)

Constitution of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, Centennial Edition. Manila, Philippines: Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, 2013.

Tried and Proven. USA: Masonic Service Association, as reprinted by the M.W. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines.

sharing from Kuyang Flor Ramos Nicolas ...

MATERIA/ FOR FURTHER MASONIC EDUCATION/N/IGHTENMENT
May 7, 2015
ON SOME OF YOUR DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES, AS WELL AS RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES, AS A MASTER MASON by eF.R.eN

Kuyang, to become a worthy and exemplary member of the Craft, you must, among other things, know your rights and privileges, as well as your duties and responsibilities, and therefore take into serious consideration, as well as strictly obey with all your heart, Article XVII (Membership, Rights and Obligations), Sections 1-22, of the Constitution of our M.W. Grand Lodge, Centennial Edition, pp. 74-78.

Bear in mind, however, that your rights and privileges, as well as your duties and responsibilities, are not stated and numbered anywhere, but they are scattered here and there – some in symbols, others in the form of customs, and still others in laws; some are explicit, while others are implied. But, clearly, unless you live by, as well as act consistently with, your obligations, duties, and responsibilities, you cannot claim your rights and privileges.

Clearly, as a Master Mason, you must fulfill your legal and moral obligations, one of which is to pay your share of the financial costs of the Fraternity promptly and ungrudgingly, whether in the form of dues or assessments.

The Masonic Service Association (MSA) discusses of some of your rights and privileges as a Master Mason in TRIED AND PROVEN, pp. 57-59.

First of all, you have the right of affiliation. If you are unaffiliated, you have the right to petition for membership in some Lodge. You may choose the Lodge to which you make your petition, but you should seek for membership in some Lodge. If you move permanently to some other community, you are not required to maintain membership at a distance in your first Lodge, but may petition for membership in a more convenient Lodge.

Secondly, you have the right and privilege to visit a Lodge of which you are not a member. This is a right in the sense that as a Master Mason, you may seek admittance into any regular Lodge; it is a privilege in the sense that admission into that Lodge is contingent upon your being vouched for, or examined, and being permitted to enter by the Worshipful Master. If you are not permitted to enter some Lodge at a certain time, the fact does not cancel your right to seek to visit it at another time or to seek to visit any other Lodge. If you seek to visit a Lodge, you have the privilege of being vouched for if some member of it has sat in Lodge with you, so that you are not compelled to undergo examination every time you seek to visit.

Thirdly, you have the right and privilege of Masonic relief . As a Master Mason, you have the lawful right to ask for it upon need, without derogation to your dignity or endangering your standing. You may ask some Lodge or some Master Mason. It is a privilege in that neither a Lodge nor a Master Mason is compelled to give relief. The Lodge is not an insurance society, an organized charity, or a death benefit association, nor is any guaranty given any member that he will receive what he asks. Each Lodge and each Mason is under obligation to heed the call for relief, but each is free to use judgment whether or not to extend relief, and if so, in what form.

Fourthly, you have the right to ask for a dimit or a transfer certificate. If you are clear of the books and no charges have been or are about to be preferred against you, the Lodge must accede to your request for a dimit. It is not compulsory that, as a Master Mason, you shall remain in a given Lodge; for if it were, membership might be degraded into a penalty. You may hold your membership where you are happiest, or where it is most convenient, provided you are elected to membership in that Lodge.

Fifthly, you have the right of appeal to the Grand Lodge. You have this right if you are brought to trial in your own Lodge on charges of un-Masonic conduct and found guilty. It is your guaranty against possible injustice, more particularly against local prejudice or spite ful persecution by some private enemy.

Sixthly, you have the right to Masonic funeral. If you are a Master Mason in good standing at the time of your of death, your family has the right of requesting this honor. This right is of more importance than may at first appear. If without giving cause, your Lodge refused to give Masonic Honors at your death, the community naturally would think that some secret disgrace attached to you, known only to your Lodge, and both your name and your family would suffer accordingly. It is, however, the rule of some jurisdictions that you yourself had requested Masonic burial.

You have, in addition, the right of trial by his peers, under regulated conditions, with freedom to present evidence. This assures you that your Lodge cannot degrade you without a fair trial. Neither your Lodge nor any office or member thereof can remove you out of malice or spite; nor can you be made to suffer the penalties of Masonry out of idle gossip or hearsay. Right of trial guarantees you all the securities of justice.

Since a Master Mason’s privileges vary much and depend on local conditions, they are to be described in principle and in spirit rather than in detail.
As a Master Mason, you have a right of voice in your Lodge, a vote, and to hold office. You have also the privilege of giving Masonic service, one of the principal sources of the joy of Masonic life.

Depending on its own ability or according to the wishes of its members, a Master Mason’s Lodge, like any other Lodge, may do many things which are neither required nor prohibited by law These include holding social affairs; giving special entertainments; fostering some Masonic educational enterprise; sponsoring scholarships for poor but deserving students; offering livelihood programs for residents in the community; having a library of its own; and maintaining its own ward in a hospital, temple, or even cemetery.

The MSA further states, “Beyond all these specific duties, rights, and privileges stands a more general region in which all are mingled together; the whole domain of Masonry’s teachings, her Ritual and symbols, her history, her jurisprudence, her philosophy, her literature, the whole Royal Art. That Royal Art includes truths, ideals, and teachings. To be faithful to them is a duty incumbent upon you and any other Master Mason. To be taught that Royal Art, as well as to have it in its fullness, is your right, as well as the right of any other Master Mason. It is yours to enjoy all the privileges which that Royal Art offers to the spirit, the mind, the heart. All that Freemasonry is, all that it means, all that it has to offer, belongs to you in the same way and to the same extent as to all other Master Masons. However onerous your duties may prove to be, or however rigidly your rights may at times appear to be regulated, such burdens sink into nothingness by comparison with this one privilege, that Freemasonry in all her height, and breadth, and length, and richness belongs to you to use and enjoy.”