How Understanding the Ritual
Will Change Your Life
By Worshipful Donald L. McAndrews, PM, KYCH, OPC
The lesson for us is that the triads used in our rituals and in
our lectures are purposeful and helpful to us. Let us strive
for perfection by becoming better men in wisdom, strength,
and beauty.
One of the stated goals of Freemasonry is to make good men
better. The allusion we use to illustrate this process, taken
from the building trade, is the changing of a rough ashlar into
a perfect ashlar, suitable to be used in the construction of a
beautiful and sturdy building. This allusion is expanded with
an explanation of the many tools which are used to erect an
upright, square, and level structure. We strive to take good
materials and apply these tools to create a perfect structure.
We understand, of course, that these allusions refer to the
process of perfecting our lives (an endless process) and in
turn, helping to create a beautiful, pleasant, balanced, and
strong society of all mankind.
In Freemasonry we use ritual to transmit these lessons to our
members through allegory and symbols, and it is the primary
means by which we help men become better, and have a
more perfect life. Much has been said and written about how
we use the ritual to do this, but in these brief remarks, I want
to provide you with two “secrets” about how the process
actually works.
The first “secret” of the transforming power of our ritual is
an organic one. To be more explicit, it is in the very process
of memorization by which we teach our ritual. This may not
be evident to a new Mason, but over time the accumulation
of memorized ritual becomes a deep reservoir of memories
from which we may frequently draw in the future. There are
times when situations in our life, or teachings from other
disciplines, may remind us of segments of ritual – but only if
we have spent the time to memorize it.
This memory allows us to connect diverse facts and
teachings, a connection we would not be able to make had
we not taken the time to memorize the ritual. Memorization
comes easy for some and is more difficult for others but, for
all, the rewards are substantial. This is because the process
makes us more aware of, and better able to connect, diverse
information in the future.
The second “secret” is the secret of reflection.
In our current environment, few take time out of their lives to
simply sit and think. Many would even say this is a foolish
waste of time – but it is not. Reflection is an extremely
important process, and is absolutely necessary for any
serious seeker of light.
Eastern disciplines teach meditation to focus the mind.
Focusing our minds on any topic will give us greater insight
simply because we took the time to think about it, to reflect,
to examine, and consequently to better understand. This is
an essential process for deriving from our Masonic ritual a
better understanding of its hidden secrets which, in turn,
leads us to a better understanding of ourselves, our
relationship with God, and with others around us.
Finally, through the process of study and quiet reflection
these seeds grow and help us to attain light – that is the light
within us. In sum, what we achieve from Freemasonry is a
product of the fusion of ritual teaching, memorization, and
reflection. In today’s society with smart cell phones with
Internet connections, we may be allowing our minds to
become lazy.
Our mind is like our muscles in that the more we use it, the
better it works. But our mind is a much more precious
resource than our muscles. The failure of so many to
develop their minds could explain many of the problems we
see in modern society.
The use of our mind, guided by Masonic ritual,
memorization, and reflection, can improve our life and help
us to improve the world.
It is up to us, my Brethren, to use the moral and mental tools
given to us by the Great Architect through this gentle Craft
of ours. Using our ritual to its fullest will help us “break off
the rough corners” and turn this rough ashlar (our mind) into
a perfect ashlar – square, upright, and true, and fit for use in
that spiritual temple, that house (composed of all mankind)
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
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