203 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
203 lines
12 KiB
Plaintext
SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.VIII February, 1930 No.2
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THE VISITING BROTHER
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by: Unknown
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The Lodge of Antiquity (England) possesses an old Masonic document
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written during the reign of James II between 1685 and 1688; in it
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appears the following:
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“that every Mason receive and cherish strange fellows, when they come
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over the country, and set the mon work, if they will work, as the
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manner is; that is to say, if the mason have any mould stone in his
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place, he shall give him a mould stone, and set him on work; and if
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he have none, the Mason shall refresh him with money unto the next
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lodge.”
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In the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of England it is set forth
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that:
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“A Brother, who is not a subscribing member to some lodge, shall not
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be permitted to visit any lodge in the town or place in which he
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resides, more than once during his secession from the Craft.” (Which
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declares, by inference, that Masons who are “subscribing members to
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some lodge” may visit as often as they wish.)
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Mackey’s Fourteenth Landmark reads as follows:
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“The right of every Masons to visit and sit in every regular Lodge is
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an unquestionable Landmark of the Order. This is called the ‘right
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of visitation.’ This right of visitation has always been recognized
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as an inherent right, which inures to every Masons as he travels
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through the world. And this is because Lodges are just considered as
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only divisions for convenience of the universal Masonic Family. This
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right may, of course, be impaired or forfeited on special occasions
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by various circumstances; but when admission is refused to a Mason in
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good standing, who knocks at the door of a lodge as a visitor, it is
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to be expected that some good and sufficient reason shall be
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furnished for this violation, of what is in general a Masonic Right,
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founded on the Landmarks of the Order.”
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Where two rights conflict, the lesser must give way to the greater.
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This is in accord with human instinct, common sense and a proper
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social attitude.
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Thus, it is the right of every tax payer and citizen to walk freely
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upon the streets of his city; he has a vested interest in what is
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common to all, for the benefit of all, and paid for by all. But if
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an emergency arises the police may rope off a street and forbid,
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temporarily, travel upon it; the immediate right of protection to
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all, or of expediency for the good of all, is, for the time being
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greater than the individual right to use the street.
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In a very large degree the Master is the absolute ruler of his lodge.
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He has the unquestioned power to exclude or admit at his pleasure.
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Visitors come into his lodge when and only when he orders them
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admitted; he has the power to exclude a member, or even an officer of
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his lodge.
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But this great power is hedged about with restrictions; he is
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responsible to the Grand Lodge; and, “ad interim,” to the Grand
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Master, for all of his acts. If he rules arbitrarily, excludes a
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member or a visitor for an improper reason, or for no reason at all,
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he can and should be called to account before the supreme Masonic
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authority.
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A Mason in good standing who desires to visit a lodge other than his
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own makes his wishes known to the Tiler, who communicates with the
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Master that a would-be visitor desires admission. The Master is not
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compelled to order a committee to examine the would-be visitor; but,
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if he does not, so it is generally held, he should have good and
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sufficient reasons for failure to permit the brother to exercise his
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right of visitation.
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The usual “good and sufficient reason” for refusal to permit a would-
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be visitor to be examined - or, if vouched for, to enter the Tiled
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door - is that his presence has been objected to by some member
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present.
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If over ruled by the Master, such an objection might easily destroy
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the peace and harmony of his lodge. The member who has a personal
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quarrel with a would-be visitor - no matter how regrettable is such a
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state of affairs between Masons - has the greater right in the lodge.
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The member has the right of membership; the right of voting on all
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questions; the right to take part in and be a part of the
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deliberations of his lodge. The visitor has only the right of
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visitation in the lodge; even if obtains entry he cannot vote,
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propose motions or speak on a question without invitation from the
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Master.
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Having the greater rights in the premises the member of a lodge is to
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be considered before the would-be visitor; the peace and harmony of
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the lodge are of more importance than the right of visitation.
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In spite of the Landmark quoted, and the authority of antiquity, not
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all Grand Jurisdictions are at one on this subject of the right of
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visitation. In some Jurisdictions it is held that the lodge, being a
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little Masonic family of its own, has the right to say who shall and
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who shall not visit it for any reason or for no reason; that
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visitation is a courtesy accorded from a host to a guest, not a right
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possessed by the individual Mason as a small part of a greater whole.
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With this standpoint the majority of Masonic authorities do not agree
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but as all Grand Lodges are sovereign unto themselves, Jurisdictions
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which so rule are right within their own borders.
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The question of the regularity of the would-be visitor’s lodge is
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important in some Jurisdictions, in others it is considered as less
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vital. Where clandestine Masonry flourishes or has flourished Grand
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Jurisdictions usually insist on being satisfied that the applicant
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comes from a lodge under the obedience of a recognized Grand Lodge.
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Where clandestine Masonry is but a name the committee may, and often
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does depend upon a careful examina-tion than a “List of Regular
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Lodges” to satisfy itself that the visitor is from a “just and
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legally constituted lodge.”
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Whether a would-be visitor is in good standing is a question easily
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answered if he possesses a current dues or good standing card. The
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majority of American Grand Jurisdictions give such a card on payment
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of dues and demand its presentation to the committee at the time of
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examination; but there are exceptions.
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Some Grand Lodges hold that if a would-be visitor’s Tiler’s oath that
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he has been regularly initiated, passed and raised; does not stand
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suspended or expelled; knows of no reason why he should not visit his
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brethren is to be believed, his statement under oath that he is in
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good standing may also be credited!
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Masonic authorities are almost universally agreed that the
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unaffiliated Mason has no right of visitation beyond a single visit
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to a lodge. The unaffiliated Mason pays nothing towards the upkeep
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of the Fraternity from whose ministrations he would profit if he were
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permitted to visit as freely as the affiliated Mason. But it is
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recognized that many unaffiliated Masons earnestly seek a new Masonic
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home in the location in which they have come live; therefore, it is
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conceded that such demitted members of other lodges have a right to
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visit at least once, to learn something of the lodge to which they
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may make application for affiliation.
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A great and important duty involves upon the examination committee to
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which is intrusted the task of ascertaining if a would-be visitor is
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a regular Mason and entitled (under the Master’s pleasure) to visit
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with his brethren. Committee members are, for the time being,
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Tilers; their examination should be so conducted that in the event
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the would-be visitor is a cowan, nothing has been said or done which
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would give him any information. On the other hand brotherly courtesy
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dictates that it be not necessarily long. That committee of two is
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well advised to regard the examination as being a ceremony conducted
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by “Three” brethren to ascertain their mutual brotherhood, rather
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than an inquisition in which a man must prove himself innocent of the
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charge of being a cowan.
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It is better that ninety-nine culprits escape punishment, than, that
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one innocent man be punished. Masonically it is better that ninety-
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nine true brethren unable to satisfy a committee and be turned away,
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than one cowan be admitted to the lodge. But there is a middle
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course between asking a Mason who is obviously well instructed and
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knowledgeable every possible question in all three degrees, and being
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“satisfied” with the “Tiler’s Oath” and just one or two questions.
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A good committee seeks for the spirit rather than the form. There is
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no uniformity in ritual through this nation or the world. It is not
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important that the would-be visitor know the exact words of the
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ritual of the Jurisdiction in which he would visit; it is important
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that he know the substance of the work as taught in his own
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Jurisdiction. If this were not so, no English brother could visit in
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an American lodge, no American brother could work his way into a
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Scotch lodge. In all recognized Jurisdictions the world over the
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essentials are the same; only words and minor details differ. Thus,
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Aprons are worn “as a Master Mason” indifferent ways in several
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Jurisdictions in the United States, “but in all Jurisdictions a
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Master Mason wears an Apron!”
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A visitor has the undoubted right (Mackey) to demand to see the
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Charter or Warrant of the lodge he desires to visit, in order to
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satisfy himself that it is a “regularly constituted lodge.”
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Admittedly, such a request is a rare as for a committee to discover a
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cowan attempting to enter a lodge; but the right is generally
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conceded by Masonic authority, no matter how seldom it is exercised.
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The visitor to a lodge pays it the highest compliment he can, short
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of seeking affiliation. Once admitted his status is that of a
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brother among brethren, a guest in the home of his host. Alas, too
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often the visitor is relegated to the benches and left severely
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alone. Too often a Master is “too busy” with his meeting to attend
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to his duty as a host and the brethren too interested in their own
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concerns to pay much attention to the visiting brother.
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Careless Masonic hospitality is only less serious than carelessness
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in the committee. A stranger in town visits a lodge with the hope of
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finding friends, companions and brethren; he desires human contacts,
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to refresh himself at the Altar of Brotherhood, to mingle with his
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fellows on a level of exact equality. If he finds them not, he has a
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right to judge the lodge he visits as lacking in that fine Masonic
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courtesy than which nothing is more heartening.
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Happy the lodge with ideals of welcoming the visitor.
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Fortunate the lodge whose Master makes it his business, either
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personally or through a committee, to say a brotherly word of
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welcome, to see that the brother is in friendly hands, and make him
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feel that although far from his habitat yet he is at home. The fame
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of such a lodge spreads far!
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In many lodges the Secretary writes a letter to the lodge from which
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a visitor has come, advising them of his visit; a pretty custom and
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heartening, especially if the brother who has visited finds it in his
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heart to tell his own lodge of the pleasant time he had, the
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brotherly treatment he received, perhaps the homesickness cured by
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the Fraternal kindliness with which he was greeted.
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Generally the visitor gets a greater reward for the time he has spent
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than the lodge he visits. Masons who visit many lodges, especially
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if in other than their own Jurisdiction, receive a new idea of the
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breadth of the Order, a new feeling for the underlying principles of
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the ancient Craft. If he can express his pleasure in his visit,
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bring a message from his home lodge to those brethren he visits, they
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also may gain from the occasion. In any event the lodge visited has
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been paid a compliment; the visitor has received trust and faith,
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regardless of the character of the welcome.
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A Mason who has the opportunity to visit in other lodges may well
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recall the words of the Great Light upon the Altar, no less true for
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him that they were said in olden time; “Let us go again and visit our
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Brethren in every city” (acts 15:36). Brethren of that lodge which
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has the privilege of acting as host to him who comes to the Tiler’s
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door a stranger and enters the lodge as a brother may rejoice in the
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words: “Let Brotherly Love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain
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strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
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(Hebrews 14:1, 2.)
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