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What is Our Purpose?
Thrice Potent Master's Update:
Recently, the Lodge of Perfection officers have been paying fraternal visits to our neighboring Lodges of Perfection. I highly recommend you visit another Lodge of Perfection, or any of the other Bodies in a neighboring Valley because you will receive a warm welcome and have an enjoyable visit with our brothers that we may not see all that often.
At a visit in Lowell, the Deputy’s Representative Ill∴ Archie Campbell, 33º presented the fraternal greetings of our Deputy, Ill∴ Donald M. Moran, asked us, “What is the 'Vision Statement' of the Supreme Council?” There was a bit of muttering and some shaking of heads, as we tried to pull it from some of the dusty cupboards of our minds. Archie took pity on us and gave us the answer gracefully:
“We will strive to be a fraternity that fulfills our Masonic obligation to care for our members.”
To illustrate this, he gave an example from a recent experience in their Valley. If most of us were asked what we do in Scottish Rite, we would probably talk about our Degrees, possibly Family Life, or our charities. While all of these are a part of Scottish Rite activities, they do not define us. We are after all, first and foremost a Fraternity (The Latin “Frater” = Brother), we are, and should be a true Brotherhood: concerned for each other, and caring for each other. I have been reflecting on this message for awhile, because I suspect that most of us don’t think of it this way until it gets pushed in front of us. In fact, Caring for Each Other is the name of an excellent video produced by our Supreme Council, found at the bottom of their homepage.
It explains the renewed Supreme Council’s Almoners fund, and the efforts to put our vision into action at the Supreme Council level. I recommend it to you. It reminds me that taking care of our members is a daily personal challenge for me, and I suspect for many of you as well. It's so easy for us to get caught up in our daily routines; time steals away from us and opportunities to do good and to be better are lost.
Charles E. Hummell wrote in “The Tyranny of the Urgent”.
“The vital task rarely must be done today, or even this week. The urgent task calls for instant action. The momentary appeal of these tasks seems irresistible and they devour our energy. But in the light of time’s perspective, their deceptive prominence fades. With a sense of loss we recall the vital task we pushed aside. We realize we’ve become slaves to the tyranny of the urgent.”
I ask you to apply these thoughts to the care of our family, friends, and brothers. How many times have we heard that a brother was in the hospital and told ourselves that we should visit, call, or send a card, and hesitated to act on that impulse? It is only when it is too late that we realize we never fulfilled our good intentions, that time slipped away, and an opportunity was lost forever.
We can give money to charities, and should as we are able, but sometimes the most valuable thing we can give is ourselves, our time, and our attention.
A brother who is suffering an illness, or whose wife is dealing with health issues, sometimes just needs a friendly hand on his shoulder, or, an ear willing to listen.
In Archie’s example, a few brothers picked up one of our own, took him to the hospital and stayed with him. In their own words, “It was no big deal; it’s just something you do for a friend (Brother)”.
Ill∴Albert Pike, 33º, once wrote:
“What we have done for ourselves alone, dies with us. What we have done for others, lives after us.”
How do you measure up when it comes to caring for someone else? We should all collectively make the effort to do good and to be better from now on.
Fraternally,
H. Robert Huke, III
Thrice Potent Master
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Next Saturday, the Valley of Boston will be holding its annual Installation of Officers at the Boston Masonic Building.
