Further into the fifth Month of Masonic Year 2024 – 2025, the spotlight focuses on our Masonic Rituals. It is the initial part of the Grand Master’s Strategic Phase of ENLIGHTENMENT.
Among the words that best describe MASONRY is that it is ESOTERIC. An adjective on specialized knowledge or interest appertaining to something intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people. With a gross membership of less than 27,000 masons against a country population of more than 115 million, masonry in the Philippine Jurisdiction is something that is truly intended for a chosen few.
It is said that our Masonic Rituals are the heart and soul of Masonry as all our tenets, philosophies, and lessons reside there. This Esoteric Knowledge is what sets us apart from any other professional or civic organization or club, and is what binds us to each other and with every Mason before and henceforth. It is what has made Freemasonry survive for centuries.
RITUAL as defined through several references is the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by tradition or sacerdotal decree. Being a specific, observable mode of behavior exhibited by all known societies, it is possible to view ritual as a way of defining humanity. Described as a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or revered objects; it can be prescribed by the traditions of society. In anthropology, rituals are characterized, by formalism, traditionalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism, and performance. Examples can be worship rites and sacraments of organized religions and cults; atonement and purification rites; oaths of allegiance; dedication ceremonies, coronations, and presidential inaugurations; as well as marriages, funerals, etc.
In comparison - CEREMONIES are formal activities conducted on some solemn or important occasion. The collective gestures involved are done in sacred observance of an occasion be it public or private. Rituals, on the other hand, refer to a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order with a repetitive action or event that represents something of deeper significance. Rituals can be part of a Ceremony.
CEREMONIES reflect the beliefs, hopes, traditions, culture, and spirituality showing people they are united and that they belong. They can motivate, stimulate emotions, and prompt memories. The positive effects of a Ceremony are universal across civilizations and are not specific to age or gender.
Our masonic rituals are spelled out in the Monitor, but most of it is coded - the better to conceal our “secrets” from cowans and eavesdroppers. Although anyone with access to the internet can obtain a wealth of information about the forms and ceremonies of the Craft, our ritual is not simply made up of the words, or codes representing words. Reading and decoding the ritual does not make one a Mason. These words are merely ideas without the right men to join us and without the right experience to act as a catalyst for transformation.
They help bring meaning and purpose to our lives, help us feel connected to something bigger than ourselves, and remind us of our purpose. The sense of connection and community created through them, promote well-being and bring comfort and stability to our lives. Masons have experienced these both in the observing, receiving, and conferring of degrees where they act as spectators, candidates, or conferrers.
Rituals are the formulas by which harmony is restored. They have been in many cultures around the world for centuries, provide comfort, structure, and stability, bind society, and strengthen relationships between people. Remember the words at the beginning and ending of each tyled meeting.
Lastly, Rituals communicate to the self, others, or deities. They convey information regarding the commitments, beliefs, and values of the individuals performing the ritual and connect them to the larger and longer-serving tradition. GLP’s Masonic Rituals are inherited from those of the Grand Lodge of California (GLC), which in turn can be traced back to the Grand Lodges in the British Isles and even further back to the Mason Guilds of the Middle Ages…
Anthropologists divide rituals into three categories:
Communal Rites, Rites of Passage, and Rites of Personal Devotion.
In Masonry, we can see examples of these: Stated Meetings and Annual Communications are Communal Rites, as with the ceremonies that create lodges and dedicate temples. Degree Conferrals are Rites of Passage. Taking our Masonic Obligations is an example of the Rites of Personal Devotion.
Masonic Rituals in the Philippine Jurisdiction can be classified into three groups:
Lodge Rituals, Grand Lodge Rituals, and Rituals for Other Degrees & Appendant Bodies. Lodge Rituals are of two (2) purposes: for the Transaction of Business and Conferral of Degrees The former includes the Opening & Closing of the Lodge; Balloting; Installation of Lodge Officers; Masonic Funeral Rites & Services, and other purposes. The latter is for creating masons through the First, Second, and Third Degrees of Masonry.
Grand Lodge Rituals also have two (2) purposes: for the Transaction of Business and the benefit of Lodges. The first part is about the Opening & Closing of the Grand Lodge; the Installation of the Grand Lodge Officers; Dedication of a Burial Plot, and other purposes. The second part is about the creation of Lodges (Institution and Constitution), corner-stone laying, and Temple Dedication
Rituals for Other Masonic Orders & Appendant Bodies are classified separately as they no longer have anything to do with the Grand Lodge. Similar to the above classifications, they can also be classified into: Bodies Rituals and Grand Bodies Rituals:
Bodies also have Rituals for the Transaction of Business and for the Conferral of Degrees or Reception of new members. Likewise, Grand Bodies have Rituals for the Transaction of Business and those for the benefit of their subordinate bodies. Appendant Bodies have Opening and Closing Ceremonies of their own, Installation of Officers, Balloting, Funeral Rites, etc. They also have other ceremonies such as Libations and Feast Days.
Where did our Rituals come from?
Glimpses of our early rituals can be gleaned from the oldest preserved Masonic Writing - the Regius Manuscript (1390 AD). The "Cooke Manuscript" (1410 AD) begins with the Masonic practice of invoking the blessing of Deity and ends with the familiar "Amen, so mote it be." It contains a legendary history of the craft and the guild's regulations or charges. These Ancient Charges form the basis of our present-day rituals. Though modern Masons consider the ritual to be unchangeable, this was not true back in 1717.
The original services were brief and simple consisting of the administering of the oath of secrecy regarding the words and the giving of the charges - which were public. No standard existed yet and each lodge with its independent Master would perform the ceremonies according to their individual tastes and preferences. As one gifted Master or Masonic lecturer would frame a passage of appealing beauty, it would become accepted and passed along by word of mouth to other lodges. It was a slow evolution and took decades before any standardization or uniformization was considered and sought after. Today eight variant rituals in England are utilized and accepted as "regular." In the U.S. there are as many versions as there are States. It is remarkable to discover the influence that dedicated Masons have had in the establishment of the Craft historically throughout the country.
In 1772, William Preston published the "Illustrations of Masonry" which was an excellent monitor for the Craft. Though beautiful, the lectures took hours to perform. It was the practice then, to spread out the use of lectures in degrees into several meetings. Later, they were edited to a format that could be delivered in a single sitting.
The "Moderns" of England established a Lodge of Promulgation which honed the teaching skills of Masons and brought their ritual more in line with the “Antients”. In 1813 a reunion between the two was made possible as by then the Premier Grand Lodge of England had eliminated most of the innovations which had been objected to in 1751.
Thomas Smith Webb published a "Freemason's Monitor and Illustrations of Masonry" in 1797. Based on the earlier work of Preston, it was used as the monitor for Masonry in America. The ritual it contains has changed little to that which is used today. GLP’s Masonic Rituals came from the GLC, thus practicing the same as mentioned earlier.
Our Masonic Rituals are codified within the Twenty-five (25) Landmarks defined by Albert Mackey (pronounced as ma-kee, not ma-kay) in 1858, here they are in summary:
01 - The fraternal modes of recognition.
02 - The division of Masonry into 3 symbolic degrees.
03 - The symbolic legend of Hiram Abiff.
04 - The government of the fraternity by a Grand Master.
05 - The prerogative of the Grand Master to preside over every assembly of the craft.
06 - The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant dispensations for conferring degrees at irregular times. 07 - The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant dispensations for opening and holding Lodges otherwise not established.
08 - The prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons at Sight.
09 - The necessity for Masons to congregate in Lodges.
10 - The government of Lodges by a Master and two Wardens.
11 - The necessity that every Lodge when congregated be duly tiled.
12 - The right of every Mason to be represented in all general meetings of the Craft.
13 - The right of every Mason to appeal from his Lodge's decisions to the Grand Lodge.
14 - The right of every Mason to sit in every regular Lodge.
15- That no unknown visitor be allowed to sit in the Lodge without being examined and found to be a Freemason.
16 - That no Lodge can interfere in the business of another Lodge.
17 - That every Freemason be amenable to the laws and regulations of the Jurisdiction in which he resides.
18 - That candidates for Freemasonry satisfy certain qualifications such as: being a man, unmutilated, free-born, and of mature age.
19 - That a belief in the existence of God be a requirement for membership.
20 - That belief in a resurrection to a future life be a requirement for membership.
21 - That a "Book of the Law" (or religious code) shall constitute an indispensable part of the furniture of every Lodge.
22 - The equality of Masons.
23 - The secrecy of the Institution.
24 - The foundation of a speculative science upon an operative art, and the symbolic use and explanation of the terms of that art for purposes of moral teaching.
25 – That none of these landmarks can be changed.
Our Masonic Rituals are carefully presented in the GLP Centennial Monitor and as Masons, we are expected to perform it to the letter. For any clarifications – the brethren are enjoined to approach the Corps of Grand Lecturers to shed light on their meanings. On their end, District and Junior Grand Lecturers are free to consult with the Senior Grand Lecturer who has been mandated to interpret what needs to be clarified. Masonic Etiquette dictates that members of the Corps of Grand Lecturers (whether past, incumbent, or in the future) when sought out for clarification, should avoid the arrogant, irresponsible, and un-masonic response: “Hindi kasi ako naniniwala sa monitor na iyan.”
In conclusion to our Masonic Education this September, it is fitting to share the words of one of the foremost Masonic Scholars in our jurisdiction – Bro. Giovani Villegas of Jacobo Zobel No. 202, when interviewed by members of the United Grand Lodge of England a few years ago:
“Freemasonry is a bridge between past and present, a living testament to a rich heritage carried through centuries. The very reason why we Masons today still practice and conduct our rituals is so that they may still be remembered and preserved, thus keeping them alive and their authenticity intact. Any alteration, however slight, risks invalidating our institution as a supposed continuation of an unchanging tradition and as a preserver of past knowledge.
Some Masonic leaders push for reform, arguing that rituals should be reworded to enhance understanding as time goes by. But our goal has never been about making the rituals understandable to Masons, but rather to make Masons understand the rituals. Simplifying rituals to make them more digestible undermines the purpose of the rites themselves. It is the Mason’s responsibility to delve into and decipher these esoteric teachings, not for the rituals to be diluted down to a more palatable form.
Furthermore, how are we supposed to understand the real meaning behind the Masonic Ritual if it has already been revised countless times from its original form? The loss of original meaning due to frequent revisions leaves Masons stripped of their ability to engage with the authentic teachings of their Craft. If left to continue, time will come when our rituals will no longer resemble those we inherited, reducing Masonry to a mere shadow of its former self. We must stop ritual revisions now while there are still traces of Masonry left within our Fraternity, else it will go on to exist by that name, but it will no longer be Masonry.”
The formulation of our Rituals – like the cement that formed the foundations of our fraternity from antiquity to the Middle Ages and into the 1700s and 1800s has already been set in stone and has long since dried. It is no longer the duty of the Freemasons of our time to alter, improve, or innovate them but rather practice, transfer, and thus preserve what has been done for future Masons to practice, transfer, and preserve as well …
GUIDE QUESTIONS FOR LECTURERS Note: DGL’s answers to these questions shall be among their contributionsto the Lecture:
1. Have you been witness to instances when the conduct of ritual was not "monitorial"? If so, cite an example(s) and how you responded to such.
2. How important is it to be proficient in our rituals?
Is it limited to the words and floorwork?
Define "proficiency" in your own words.
3. Much of our rituals are already published and can be easily found on the internet.
How do you feel about them being accessible to non-Masons?
Do these exposés dilute the essence of our rituals?