The Masonic ritual as an educational tool by wri worshipful brother Aubrey L Burbank past Grandmaster of Maine brought to you by Masonic audiobook Library thank you for watching the Masonic ritual as an educational tool if you’re interested in learning more about Freemasonry I highly recommend subscribing to the Masonic audiobook
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One-of-a-kind book on esoteric Freemasonry Secrets details on how to win will be revealed at the end of the video so make sure to watch until the very end don’t forget to subscribe to the Masonic audiobook library and thank you for your support this from a thought-provoking paper presented at the
7th annual Northeast conference on Masonic education and libraries in 1962 by past Grandmaster Aubrey L Burbank of Maine the subject calls for an appraisal of the place of the ritual in the program of education and implies that its future is in some measure at least dependent upon its growth and
Development past and present the inference therefore is that we begin at the beginning and that while the intent is to think in terms of the speculative craft we cannot detach ourselves from Antiquity we must necessarily begin with the operative Guild which gave us birth Masonic ritual in the broadest sense
Incorporates any and all ceremonies or rights from the opening of The Lodge to its closing including the conferring of degrees to trace the beginning in either particular would be next to Impossible and it is not our intent to dwell in the past we can be reasonably certain however that the first speculative
Lodges inherited their modes and Customs from the operative guilds and thus began their existence with a ritual sufficient for their needs a ritual which probably provided for a ceremony of opening and closing and the administering of an oath of Allegiance this is understandable in view of the fact that medieval lodges
Opened with prayer after which each Workman had his daily labor assigned him and received the necessary instruction to complete the work in detail we further learn that in or near that same period an investure with Masonic Secrets the building secrets that is was perhaps originally confirmed in one of the Abbey
Rooms near which the cathedral or other sacred edifice was being erected until the Super structure had so far Advanced as to cover the church Crypt and offered a safe Asylum for the craft to congregate in for the purpose of working the rights app pertinent to the several
Masonic degrees with the passing of time the working tools of the operative craft became the symbols of the speculative and in order that they might be understood and their significance properly related to The Living of a life acceptable to God and in a more perfect relationship with one another it became
Necessary to devise a means of instruction which gave rise to ritualistic form as speculative masonry grew and spread to other parts of the old world and eventually to America its ritual became further enriched with allegory and symbols to the point where it became an art in itself but never
Losing its original purpose and intent that of imparting knowledge to the initiate there have been times in the history of The Craft however when ritualism became the whole aim and end of Freemasonry the effects of War which made its Mark upon society and life in general found no exception in the
Masonic fraternity lodges became likened to six Mills in turning out Masons or numbers and the ritual suffered as a result due partially to haste and partly to indifference and ineffectiveness on the part of undedicated officers then too in America there has been a tendency to lengthen the ritual to accommodate
The so-called ritualistic orators and a further tendency to exploit the ritual for the amusement of the Brethren at the sacrifice of the more important task of imparting knowledge in more recent years through various programs of candidate instruction with the ritual as the foundation and basis of that instruction
There has been a growing tendency to restore the ritual to its proper place in the total program of masonic education newly raised Masons today have at their disposal a greater understanding and appreciation of the historically and life- molding significance of the ritual and the emphasis in rendition is gradually
Changing from the eye daughter and the T Crosser to the more meaningful rendition which causes men to think to feel and to act this is not to condemn good ritualism the preservation of ritual in its purest form is most important and imperative good ritualism is an honor poor ritualism is always pernicious good
Ritualism is worth the best efforts and highest aspirations of any Master poor ritualism is Unworthy of any Master good ritualism is one of the great assets of a lodge and a potent advertising medium poor ritualism is an efficient hypnotic however our subject does not concern itself with ritualistic rendition but
Rather the place of the ritual in an educational program we have already indicated the tendency on the part of many Grand jurisdictions to initiate a program of candidate instruction and it is our opinion that such instruction cannot divorce itself from the ritual as the basis and Foundation of that
Instruction as for its place in the future it is our feeling that there are unexplored resources in the symbolism and allegory of our ritual commensurate to and of about equal magnitude with the space age in which we live resources which will help mankind to better understand his place in the world as a
Creature of one Almighty parent and endowed with powers Beyond his most imaginative dreams if we are to make men through our ritualistic teachings better able to deal with the problems of life in their relations toward the Supreme architect of the universe and their fellow man which is our major task in
The building of spiritual temples then we must utilize the resources at hand to say that we have exhausted this field would be Preposterous and indicative of masonic ignorance because as any one of you sufficiently versed in masonry very well know there is no end to the great
Well of information which lies buried in the Antiquity of our order the potential in space is Limitless so also is the potential in Masonic research some of these are so obvious that we hesitate to call them to your attention why came you here to seek good that makes us men and
The love that makes us Brothers what came you here to do to discover myself and how to rule and use the strange Powers within my nature that the rough ashar of Youth might be rought into to the perfect ashlar of manhood what do you most desire to walk
In the light to know the truth to live in the glory of an illumined world to ascend the Winding Stair of knowledge to enter the court of the Temple of imagery where the symbols of God hallow our mortal Life by what right or benefit by
The right of a man to know the meaning of life so brief at its longest so broken at its best and by the benefit of a need too deep for Tears words yes but meaningful words that can be read into our symbolism and allegory and what of the even more obvious teachings
Left unexplored in our ritual the search for the Lost word the right of destitution the altar the great lights and the Lesser lights the letter G the heric legend we could go on and on illustrating where we have but scratched the surface in our program of education but behind before and under underneath
It all lies the ritual so rich and abundant in life-building and soulb building resources as to defy the most searching and scholarly mind what of the place of the ritual in any program of Education it is as always past present and future the foundation stone upon which we not only must build
But through the grace of an omnipotent omniscient and omnipresent God we are so privileged as men and as Masons next let’s delve into rituals in Man by Julian H Cambridge 32° as we contemplate the word ritual and its meanings it becomes difficult not to think of man and when we think of
Man it becomes difficult not to think of Ritual from time immemorial man and rituals coexisted man is in fact a ritual being one would then ask what are these ceremonial acts and why are they an inherent part of our nature stated simply rituals convey meaningful symbolic and moral lessons lessons about
Our strengths and weaknesses High aspirations and basic flaws rituals arouse the inner nature of man and afford him opportunities to receive glimpses of his true self these ceremonial acts therefore awaken within us emotions which are usually dormant and insights which are often shrouded from the very early stages of our
Realization of ourselves we become aware that there is something outside of us which is much larger than ourselves we realize that there is a macrocosmic world of which we are the microcosm and from which we cannot separate ourselves without hazarding great damage to our spiritual selves in an attempt to
Connect and understand these two worlds the macrocosmic and microcosmic and his relation to it man from the beginning of his existence has employed rituals as we look around around and observe meaningful incidents it becomes quite evident that rituals are constantly being used there are rituals for birth growing up and assuming adult
Responsibilities graduation from schools marriage our demise and many other occasions since rituals are such a necessary and Paramount part of us they must be accurately expressed to accomplish this we use language gestures acts symbols and costumes when these modes of expression are effectively applied man’s inner nature is aroused
And he glimpses The Immortal and imperishable parts of his dual nature he discovers the strengths which enable him to embark on the hero’s journey not as a courageous act but as self-discovery through ritual man finds within himself the sources of character to meet his Destiny the origins of these
Ceremonial acts their development and evolution are difficult to discover and Define despite the fact that the use of ritual is UN Universal and immemorial there is little doubt however that the earliest rituals evolved around the cycles of Nature and man they sought to explain the existence of the world
The sequence of Seasons the growth of crops the nature of animals human society and man himself indeed every culture nation and institution has developed ritual forms to fit its reason for existence its microcosm into the larger macrocosm or reason for all existence ultimately ritual provides a
Focus a core a reason for being and such is the case with our own fraternity the August and Noble order of Freemasons therefore to think of Freemasonry is forth with to contemplate ritual to think about Freemasonry without at the same time thinking about ritual is like thinking about birds
Without wings or cars without wheels Wings allow birds to fly wheels enable cars to move and so rituals Inspire and teach us moral lessons and cause us to Fly Above move around and pass through the stale and negative episodes which confront us each day of Our Lives Freemasonry without proper effective and
Emotionally moving rituals is not Freemasonry at all it is true that rituals can become exoteric and dry if rituals merely remind us of the opening in closing of Lodge or other routine ceremonies then we have failed to grasp what rituals communicate to us what rituals rightly performed and executed
Accomplish is to resuscitate those dormant but Divine qualities which are within us thus enabling us to accomplish the task to which the great architect of the universe has assigned us for ceremonial acts to be effective they must evoke within us the utmost we are capable of accomplishing it therefore
Behooves us to pay very close attention to rituals and what they teach us more importantly we must make a wholehearted effort to live a life in congruence with our Masonic rituals and the lessons they impart to us there are many concerns expressed about the future of Freemasonry my answer to these concerns
Is more of us must make a true effort to apply at every opportunity the lessons we are continually taught by Masonic rituals if and when we do our non-masonic friends and other associates will see masonry’s light shining in us and will ask to share in it man is ethical in potentiality
Even if unfortunately not in actuality his capacity for ethical judgment alike his capacity for reason and the other unique characteristics of the human being is based upon the Consciousness which rituals evoke within him if we practice the lessons of Freemasonry I assure you our lives will be resplendant
And the future of our fraternity will be secured for the basic step in achieving inward freedom is to apply the insights imparted to us through our Masonic rituals the true Mason does not hold or teach the attitude that I am a Master Mason now and thus I no longer need to be
Concerned with using the working tools because they were given in the earlier degrees welcome to the end of the video I hope you enjoyed learning about the Masonic ritual as an educational tool now it’s time for a chance to win a one-of-a-kind book on esoteric free masonry secrets to enter simply leave a
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