View this email in your browser

THE LOUISIANA FREEMASON is the Official Publication of The Grand Lodge of the State of Louisiana, F & A.M., digitally published quarterly and in print annually for members of Lodges in Louisiana. The Louisiana Freemason eEdition is published on Fridays weekly.

Articles that are published do not necessarily reflect the views of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana. Email/Address Changes should be sent to the Lodge Secretary.

November 11, 2022

The Grand Lodge Offices are closed today,
in observance of Veterans Day.

Thank you to all Veterans!

Letters to The Editor

Write us a letter*. Tell us how you're doing as lodges begin to meet once again. Tell us what is is like to be meeting again. Send us a photo or two, or anything else you'd like to submit to The Louisiana Freemason!

Email gar@la-mason.com and "Send a letter to the Editor" just like the old days. Submissions will be considered for an issue of the Weekly eEdition so the brethren can see what you're up to.

*The Editor reserves all rights to publish any letter sent to him.

Dear Masons of Louisiana:

Thank you so much for your continued support of our Rainbow Girls. We will be celebrating our 97th Grand Assembly and the girls are blessed to have your support and we hope to see you at Grand. Grand Assembly 2023 will be held at the Cenla Shrine Club, 1100 Vandenburg Dr., Alexandria, LA 71303. Our schedule will start with the Welcome Banquet and Informal Opening at 6:00 p.m. Friday, June 9, 2023.

I would like to thank the Grand Master for giving us the opportunity to come to you with a request to again help our Rainbow Girls in Louisiana. We appreciate all that you have done to assist our girls during this time and we are very appreciative of your future support.

If you would like to purchase a sponsorship through your Lodge, business, or as an individual, I encourage you to do so with a special message for our 97th Grand Assembly. Some of you may be contacted directly by the Rainbow assembly in your area. If so, please participate through that Assembly. We have active assemblies in the Shreveport/Bossier City Area, Lake Charles Area, Slidell Area, Metairie Area; Denham Springs/Baton Rouge Area and Alexandria/Pineville Area. If your Lodge is not in one of these areas, you can still participate, by completing the enclosed form and return as directed.   If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me in the evening 504-427-6036, or by email at dcocran2156@gmail.com. Our deadline for this year’s campaign is April 1, 2023.

Thank you for your continued support and please let Rainbow know when we may be of service to you. I have also enclosed a listing of our Mother Advisors and their contact information.

Fraternally,

Debbi Cocran-Hock
Supreme Confidential Observer and
Supreme Inspector in Louisiana

Initiation: What Came You Here to Do?

by W⸫B⸫ Taylor Nauta, P⸫M⸫
New River No. 402

In 2018 I had the pleasure of visiting the House of the Temple in Washington D.C. for a Scottish Rite Fellows Conference. It was a wonderful, educational experience from which I learned much about the modern organization of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry; but aside from the quality fellowship and instruction I enjoyed there, the most impressive and inspiring part of the whole trip was the House of the Temple itself. It’s a beautiful edifice, to be sure. Every detail seems to have been contrived with wisdom, built with strength, and adorned with beauty. The Temple Room was particularly grand and impressive. There was a dizzying amount of symbolism incorporated into that room from its floor to its ceiling, with nothing seemingly devoid of meaning. But what caught my attention most powerfully — and also remained in my memory most strongly for repeated contemplation — were two inscriptions; one near the ceiling and one on the floor. On a black marble frieze at the top of the walls, just beneath the crown molding, there’s an inscription surrounding the room that reads, “From the outer darkness of ignorance through the shadows of our earth life winds the beautiful path of initiation unto the divine light of the holy altar." Surrounding the altar on the checkered floor is an inscription which reads, “From the light of the Divine Word, the Logos, comes the wisdom of life and the goal of initiation.”

A brief visit to the House of the Temple makes it clear that Freemasonry — and especially the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite thereof — is more than a mere social club. There’s something that makes it stand clearly apart from social fellowship organizations such as the Elks, the Moose, the Lions, the Rotary, etc. That something is initiation, but what is initiation, exactly? Why is it so important to our Masonic Fraternity? And what does our organization hope to accomplish with the initiation of its members? Is initiation merely a perfunctory ceremony, or is it something deeper? The word initiation means beginning. To initiate something is to begin something, and to initiate someone is to facilitate the beginning of a new perspective. A new way of life. Some Masons will join every Masonic body they can get a petition for, but they’ve got little to no desire to study the rituals of those bodies, comprehend the philosophies inculcated by them, or live out the lessons they teach.

What does it profit a Brother to receive a thirty-third or even a hundredth degree if he doesn’t care to learn the wisdom in the first three? Some pursue high degrees merely to scratch the itch of curiosity, to know what happens in them and appease their fear of missing out. Others will pursue them so that they may receive more titles that will make them feel more important and special. Others will pursue them because they enjoy learning more rituals and participating in the conferral of them, even though they care little about understanding them. A small few may care to understand them, but an even smaller few yet will care to actively apply that which they’ve come to know and understand. To know is worth little, to understand is with more, but to wisely and industriously do is worth most! If any Mason wears the apron — which is the badge of our Order — without having any desire to seek out the Truth which Masonry intends to teach him and then apply it, he is of course a Mason in name only. If he is not actively endeavoring to build the Temple of his own character, if he’s not laboring with us to build the Temple of Humanity, then of what value was initiation to him? How did his initiation profit our Fraternity? What fruits did he bear forth for the benefit of humanity after his initiation into our Order? Did his initiation instill in him a deep sense of duty to his God, his country, his family, his neighbor, and himself? Has his initiation made him less prejudiced, more tolerant, less selfish, and more charitable? If not, he was never truly initiated at all.

Such a Mason merely experienced a ritual. He merely received a degree. He’ll be no nearer to knowing the Word even if the ring he wears eventually bears the number thirty three. He’ll have no more light on the day that he presides over his Commandery or Consistory than he had on the day he first stood on the northeast corner for all his brethren to see. Now, I’m not saying that high degrees shouldn’t be pursued. The capitular and cryptic degrees of the American York Rite are lovely, and the degrees of the AASR SJ form a coherent masterpiece that’s well worthy of a studious Mason’s attention. What I’m saying is that any initiatic degree, from the first to the last, is worthless unless the candidate truly seeks initiation in a real, sincere, inner way. The inner initiation that takes place in a man’s heart is the only true initiation. Masonry points the way and invests you with tools, but it’s up to you to use them. Masonry is not a hobby. It’s a lifestyle which requires you to ceaselessly war against vice, continually struggle towards the light of truth, and tirelessly labor for the good of humanity. Those who are truly engaged in those efforts are Masons not only in name, but also at heart; for they are indeed builders.

Naturally, there will always be some Masons who are more interested in diving deep into the meaning of Masonry than others; and that’s okay. It takes all kinds of personalities and people with various interests to make any society function well. I’m not saying every Mason needs to be a Masonic scholar. It’s not important that everyone is a ritualist, and it’s also not important for every Mason to be well versed in history, philosophy, or esotericism. What’s important for every Mason is the sincere desire to seek truth, build their individual character, and make — so far as their scope of influence is capable — their little corner of the world better for others. It’s important for Masons to be interested in Masonry and the basic aims thereof, which are detailed in our degrees. We’ve all met Masons who, though they’ve been members of a Lodge and perhaps even some high degree bodies for many years, are just as prejudiced and ignorant as they were on the day they first handed in a petition. They’re just as intolerant of other religions, prejudiced about certain ethnicities, prone to gossip, quick to anger, and slow to help those in need as they were before they ever placed their hands on a Bible to take their first Masonic obligation. These are the kind of Masons who are Masons in name only, though they’ve received many degrees. Such members never sought the light in any degree of Masonry. They merely sought the degree to have the degree. They want the titles, but not the tasks. They want the honor, but not the duty. They pay lip service to the idea of building the Temple, but they don’t want to work in the
quarry.

Work is what Masonry really is. As we are told in the 22° Prince of Libanus Degree lecture in the AASR SJ, “Masonry is the apotheosis of Work”. Masonry is a continual struggle towards the light of Truth; a bold voyage across the rough seas of life, with Honor and Duty being the pole stars which guide our way, Hope being the wind in our sails, Faith being the sails themselves, and Charity being the plotted course on the map of Virtue. “Honor and Duty are the pole-stars of a Mason, the Dioscuri, by never losing sight of which he may avoid disastrous shipwreck. These Palinurus watched, until, overcome by sleep, and the vessel no longer guided truly, he fell into and was swallowed up by the insatiable sea. So the Mason who loses sight of these, and is no longer governed by their beneficent and potential force, is lost, and sinking out of sight, will disappear unhonored and unwept.” (Morals & Dogma, p. 163) Unless you came to our Fraternity to learn, to improve, to be all you can be, to elevate the Celestial, the Spiritual, and the Divine, over the Earthly, Sensual, Material, and Human within yourself, then what you came here to do is not Masonry. Masonry is work, and our various degrees of initiation are intended to be catalysts for the beginning thereof.

Send your tidings to gar@la-mason.com.

Need Lodge Furniture?: If any lodge needs lodge furniture, please contact W∴B∴ Deas Dempsey at 318-792-1904. Gordy Lodge has furniture from a recent merger that they need to pass on to another lodge if needed.

Slidell Lodge No. 311

Hosts Twenty-Four Past Masters for Honors

The 24 Past Masters in attendance. The 13 Slidell Lodge Past Masters are shown in the front row.

Slidell Lodge No. 311, F. & A. M., held its annual “Past Masters” Night on Monday, November 7, 2022. Serving as guest and keynote speaker was M∴W∴ Jay B. McCallum, Grand Master of Masons for the State of Louisiana. There were in attendance 13 Slidell Lodge Past Masters as well as 11 Past Masters from other Lodges for a total of 24 Past Masters, including the Grand Master.

To the delight of all in attendance, the Grand Master delivered a perfectly designed and exquisitely presented talk for Past Masters Night. He also took the opportunity to educate those in attendance on the various charitable programs offered by our Grand Lodge. After the Grand Master’s talk, he presented service awards to three attending brothers.

Above Left: W∴B∴ William C. “Neil” Alford, P.M., 1976, receiving his “60” Year Service Award from M∴W∴ Jay McCallum.
Above Right: Mrs. Neil Alford, assisted by the Grand Master, pinning the “60” Year Award lapel pin on W∴B∴ Alford’s lapel.

L to R: Brother Johnathan E. Pettit, (acting W∴M∴,) Brother James A. Lee, Brother C. Brent Perry, and M∴W∴ McCallum.

W∴B∴ Joseph A. Way, Jr., P∴M∴, center, receiving his Grand Lodge “Achievement Award” for his year of service in 2021.

M∴W∴B∴ Allen Tidwell, P∴G∴M∴, receiving an Honorary Perpetual Membership certificate
from the Grand Lodge and the Board of Directors to Manage Perpetual Membership

Covington Lodge No. 188

Honors Three Local Students with H & I Award

Covington Lodge No. 188 honored three students with its Honest & Integrity 2022 Awards at its November 8,2022 meeting. These students were presented certificates of achievement and pins before the audience of 45 Masons, family members and public. They were selected by a Selection Committee of Covington Lodge for their service & display of these most important traits of a good student-citizen.

W∴B∴ Donald Rauber introduced two speakers to the audience who spoke about those traits of being responsible,honest members of our society. The lodge was honored by W∴B∴ Levi Morgan,P∴M∴ who spoke about what he has learned as a United States Marine and currently in his teaching career in St Tammany Parish school system. St Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith then shared with the lodge some of the life lessons he has learned during his growth as a citizen/public servant in St Tammany. Those lessons have proven very valuable thruout his professional and civilian life.

A wonderful meal was shared by those attending and a time of friendship, fellowship was another highlight of the evening as members & guests shared their days & life events. W∴B∴ Donald Rauber organized, introduced the H & I program with Brother Matthew Willie . Pictures were taken of family members and the recipients to highlight the event. Upon program completion the lodge continued its meeting with the Regular meeting, which included the Election of 2023 officers.

Your Lodge Here:

Email your lodge tidings to gar@la-mason.com.

Check mark, Wingdings font, character code 254 decimal.

Save the Date!

Email Info on your upcoming lodge events to gar@la-mason.com to get featured here.

Masonic Fundraisers

Having a lodge fundraiser?
Send it to gar@la-mason to get it here.

Missed an issue?

Read the Current Print Issue Here.

Read Past eEditions Here.

Forward