by WB Oscar V. Badelles - Worshipful Master, Iligan Lodge No. 207
Fraternal Greetings My Brother
June 30, 2010, we saw our nation make a collective sigh of relief when P-Noy finally took his oath as the President of the Republic of the Philippines. For many, it was like a new dawn breaking through the dark clouds of suspicions and fear after a precarious and stormy night. Contemporaneously, local elected officials took their oath amid hopeful expectations for a better leadership and improved governance. And as we make another start in this great undertaking of nation-building, we join the Filipino People in prayer that the Great Architect of the Universe graciously bless, guide and inspire these elected men and women, including those appointed, that they will remain true and faithful to their sworn duty and live up to their promise with transparency and integrity.
A testimonial dinner was tendered last month by the district under DDGM Buenaventura Alipio to recognize the brethren who earned the people's mandate in the last election. It was a well attended and successful affair with our lodge as the lead lodge. We were honored by the presence of Municipal Councilor Arish Canonigo of Manticao, Mis. Oriental, Iligan City Councilors Frederick Siao and Moises Dalisay, Jr. The others failed to attned but they sent their apologies. Along this point, we take fraternal pride and delight in the appointment of many brethren to responsible positions in the P-Noy administration, specially VW Voltaire Gazmin of Maranaw Lodge 111 as Secretary of National Defense. You truly deserve it. Congratulations.
Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to the members of the conferral team who ably and proficiently conferred the third degree of Masonry upon Bro. Genesis W. Olandag last June 19, 2010. My appreciation likewise goes to VW Edward Banawa, as senior deacon for the second section, WB Rodolfo Montalvan, who conducted the proficiency examination and acted as chaplain pro tem, and Bro. Chito Bliss, who pinch hitted a junior steward.
Lastly, I would like to invite you to join us in the forthcoming activities of the lodge:
1. This Saturday, July 17, at 5:00 o'clock in the morning, we will lead the "WALK FOR YOUR HEALTH" - a brisk walk and plenty of talk with the brethren followed by a light breakfast at the UDLMC.
2. On July 31, Saturday, we will conduct the MASONRY: FOR YOUR INFORMATION, a revival of the "Bring a Friend" project of our lodge many years ago. It aims to expose and inform our friends, family and invited guests about our gentle craft. You have a crucial role in the project - of inviting and bringing your friend to the UDLMC at 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon. See you there.
- - - - - -
AGENDA FOR THE STATED MEETING - JULY 17, 2010
5:00 p.m. OPENING OF LODGE OF MASTER MASONS
5:30 p.m. MAIN BUSINESS
* Reading and Approval of the Minutes of Last Stated Meeting
* Reading and Approval of Secretary's Financial Report
* Reading and Approval of Treasurer's Report
* Reading of Communications
6:00 p.m. COMMITTEE REPORTS:
* Walk for your Health -
* Bring-A-Friend - WB Victor G. Mariano
6:20 p.m. MASONIC EDUCATION
6:35 p.m. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF VISITING BRETHREN -
6:40 p.m. Messages/Commentaries Visiting WMs, GLI, DGLs, and DDGM
6:50 p.m. CLOSING OF THE LODGE
7:00 p.m. Fraternal Dinner
- - - - - -
Greetings to our BIRTHDAY CELEBRANTS for the merry month of July...
VW Gerardo B. Padilla - July 10, 1924
Felicitations also to the love birds of Iligan Lodge on their WEDDING ANNIVERSARY...
Bro. Danilo and Sis Vigie Gonzaga - July 12
Bro. Elmer and Sis Bernadeth Marcella - July 29
- - - - - -
One of the most mysterious symbolisms in Freemasonry is that of...
THE LOST WORD
What it is that has been lost is not explicitly declared, but is implied and is stated to form "the genuine secrets of a Master Mason." It is sthe loss of a word, or rather of The Word, the Divine Logos, or basic root and essence of our own being. In other words the soul of man has ceased to be God-conscious and has degenerated into the limited terrestrial consciousness of the ordinary human being.
Walter Wilmshurst, The Meaning of Masonry
The Masonic Services Associationn its Short Talk Bulletin, May 1928, has the following to say about the Lost Word:
"The Lost Word symbolizes the kind of truth that cannot be acquired from reading books, that connot be obtained by paying so much money and listening to so many college lectures. It symbolizes a truth that must wrought out through the vicissitudes of life in personal experience.
If the Word stands for the personality, the attributes, the power and the glory of God, we must be satisfied with a substitute, because human life and ages of time are too short for a complete revelation of that high and holy Name.
The whole design of Masonic science is a quest for the truth. Divine truth is symbolized by the Logos, the Word, the Name. Through this symbol all other symbols of Masonry guide a man onward and upward to God."
And from Albert Mackey, The Symbolisms of Freemasonry, we read:
"The WORD, therefore, is the symbol of DIVINE TRUTH, and all its modifications - the loss, the substitution, and the recovery - are but the component parts of the mythical symbol which represents a search after the truth."
- - - - - -
MASONIC EDUCATION TIDBITS
Q - What do the three ruffians symbolize?
A - They symbolize those lusts and passions and failures of the spirit within our breasts and in the breasts of other men that make war on man's character, spiritual aspirations, and life. According to Rev. Joseph Fort Newton, they represent "the forces of evil, so cunning yet so stupid, which come up against the soul, tempting it to treachery, and even to the degradation of saving life by giving up all that makes life worth living." The GMHA, on the other hand, who chose rather to lay down his life than forfeit his integrity, reminds us that there is in man that "which is most akin to God, his love of truth, his loyalty to the highest, and his willingness to go down into the night of death, if only virtue may live and shine like a pulse of fire in the evening sky" (The Cabletow, vol. 83, no. 4. November - December 2006, p.23 citing The Builder, p. 199)
Q - Why did the three enemies of GMHA come from his own circle and not from outside?
A - Because the enemies to be feared by the soul are always from within, and which are nothing other than its own ignorance, lust, passions, and sins. As the Volume of Sacred Law reminds us, it is not that which has power to kill the body that we need most to shun but that which has power to destroy the spirit.(id
- - - - - -
"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." - Epicurus
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment