Brethren,

Over the last several weeks, I’ve read on Facebook how many of my friends are giving up candy, caffeine, alcohol, shopping, and a myriad of other “excesses”  for Lent. It made me think about what Lent really is, and how the idea of ridding our lives of excess applies to Masonry. Lent, in the Christian faith, is a time when
people give something up as a way to prepare them for the life that is to come. Sound familiar? It should, because in the Entered Apprentice degree, we are taught that operative Masons used the common gavel to hew rough stones to prepare them for the builders use, but we use it to divest our minds and consciences of the  vices and superfluities of life, preparing us for that spiritual building. In a world where we are constantly bombarded by images of things we “must” have, and even in the current economy, it can be extremely hard to think about shedding the excess. But this is exactly what we are taught to do as Masons. Each of us, regardless of  religious or economic reasons, should make every effort to rid our lives of excess, so that when it comes time for us to join the lodge above, we are prepared.

Fraternally,
Christopher J. Buck
Worshipful Master