Masonic Monitor of the Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason Part 19

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespa.s.ses, as we forgive those who trespa.s.s against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Response: So mote it be.

Master: Brethren, we are called upon by the imperious mandate of the dread messenger Death, against whose free entrance within the circle of our Fraternity the barred doors and Tiler's weapon offer no impediment, to mourn the loss of one of our companions. The dead body of our beloved Brother lies in its narrow house before us, overtaken by that fate which must sooner or later overtake us all; and which no power or station, no virtue or bravery, no wealth or honor, no tears of friends or agonies of relatives can avert; teaching an impressive lesson, continually repeated, yet soon forgotten, that every one of us must ere long pa.s.s through the shadow of death, and dwell in the house of darkness.

S. Warden: In the midst of life we are in death; of whom may we seek succor but of Thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased. Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not Thy merciful ears to our prayer.

J. Warden: Lord, let me know my end, and the number of my days; that I may be certified how long I have to live.

Master: Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.

He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with Thee; Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pa.s.s; turn from him that he may rest, till he shall accomplish his day. For there is a hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. But man dieth and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?

As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up, so man lieth down, and riseth not till the heavens be no more.

S. Warden: Our life is but a span long, and the days of our pilgrimage are few and full of evil.

J. Warden: So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Master: Man goeth forth to his work and to his labor until the evening of his day. The labor and work of our brother are finished. As it hath pleased Almighty G.o.d to take the soul of our departed brother, may he find mercy in the great day when all men shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body. We must walk in the light while we have light; for the darkness of death may come upon us at a time when we may not be prepared. Take heed, therefore, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is; ye know not when the Master cometh--at even, at midnight, or in the morning. We should so regulate our lives by the line of rect.i.tude and truth that in the evening of our days we may be found worthy to be called from labor to refreshment, and duly prepared for a translation from the terrestrial to the celestial Lodge, to join the Fraternity of the spirits of just men made perfect.

S. Warden: Behold, O Lord, we are in distress! Our hearts are turned within us; there is none to comfort us; our sky is darkened with clouds, and mourning and lamentations are heard among us.

J. Warden: Our life is a vapor that appeareth for a little while, and then vanisheth away. All flesh is as gra.s.s, and all the glory of man as the flower of gra.s.s. The gra.s.s withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.

Master--It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.

Response: So mote it be.

Ode--Air, Naomi.

Here Death his sacred seal hath set, On bright and by-gone hours; The dead we mourn are with us yet, And--more than ever--ours!

Ours, by the pledge of love and faith; By hopes of heaven on high; By trust, triumphant over death, In immortality.

The dead are like the stars by day, Withdrawn from mortal eye; Yet holding unperceived their way Through the unclouded sky.

By them, through holy hope and love, We feel, in hours serene, Connected with the Lodge above, Immortal and unseen.

The service may be concluded with the following, or some other suitable prayer:

Most Glorious G.o.d, Author of all good and Giver of all mercy, pour down Thy blessings upon us, and strengthen our solemn engagements with the ties of sincere affection. May the present instance of mortality remind us of our own approaching fate, and, by drawing our attention toward Thee, the only refuge in time of need, may we be induced to so regulate our conduct here that when the awful moment shall arrive at which we must quit this transitory scene, the enlivening prospect of Thy mercy may dispel the gloom of death, and that after our departure hence in peace and Thy favor, we may be received into Thine everlasting kingdom, and there join in union with our friends, and enjoy that uninterrupted and unceasing felicity which is allotted to the souls of just men made perfect. Amen.

Response: So mote it be.

If the remains of the deceased are to be removed to a distance, where the brethren cannot follow to perform the ceremonies at the grave, the procession will return to the Lodge room or disperse, as most convenient.

Service at Grave.

When the solemn rites of the dead are to be performed at the grave, the procession should be formed, and proceed to the place of interment in the following order:

Tiler, with drawn sword.

Masters of Ceremony, with white rods.

Musicians, if they are Masons; otherwise they follow the Tiler.

Master Masons.

Secretary and Treasurer.

M Senior and Junior Wardens.

A R Past Masters.

S H Chaplain.

A L The Three Great Lights on a cus.h.i.+on, covered with black cloth, carried by a member of the Lodge.

The Master, Supported by two Deacons with white rods.

Officiating Clergy.

Pall Bearers. Pall Bearers.

Mourners.

If the deceased was a member of a Royal Arch Chapter and a Commandery of Knights Templar, and members of those bodies should unite in the procession, clothed as such, the former will follow the Past Masters, and the latter will act as an escort or guard of honor to the corpse, outside the pallbearers, marching in the form of a triangle, the officers of the Commandery forming the base of the triangle, with the Eminent Commander in the center.

When the procession has arrived at the place of interment the members of the Lodge should form a square around the grave; when the Master, Chaplain and other officers of the acting Lodge, take their position at the head of the grave, and the mourners at the foot.

After the clergyman has performed the religious service of the Church, the Masonic service should begin.

The Chaplain rehea.r.s.es the following, or some other suitable prayer:

Prayer.

Almighty and most merciful Father, we adore Thee as the G.o.d of time and eternity. As it hath pleased Thee to take from the light of our abode one dear to our hearts, we beseech Thee to bless and sanctify unto us this dispensation of Thy providence. Inspire our hearts with wisdom from on high, that we may glorify Thee in all our ways. May we realize that Thine All-Seeing Eye is upon us, and be influenced by the spirit of truth and love to perfect obedience--that we may enjoy Thy divine approbation here below. And when our toils on earth shall have ended, may we be raised to the enjoyment of fadeless light and immortal life in that kingdom where faith and hope shall end, and love and joy prevail through eternal ages. And Thine, O righteous Father, shall be the glory forever. Amen.

Response: So mote it be.

The following exhortation is then given by the Master:

The solemn notes that betoken the dissolution of this earthly tabernacle have again alarmed our outer door, and another spirit has been summoned to the land where our fathers have gone before us.

Again we are called to a.s.semble among the habitations of the dead, to behold the "narrow house appointed for all living." Here, around us, in that peace which the world cannot give or take away, sleep the unnumbered dead. The gentle breeze fans their verdant covering, they heed it not; the suns.h.i.+ne and the storm pa.s.s over them, and they are not disturbed; stones and lettered monuments symbolize the affection of surviving friends, yet no sound proceeds from them, save that silent but thrilling admonition, "Seek ye the narrow path and the straight gate that lead unto eternal life."

We are again called upon to consider the uncertainty of human life, the immutable certainty of death, and the vanity of all human pursuits.

Decrepitude and decay are written upon every living thing. The cradle and the coffin stand in juxtaposition to each other; and it is a melancholy truth that so soon as we begin to live, that moment we also begin to die. It is pa.s.sing strange that, notwithstanding the daily mementos of mortality that cross our path--notwithstanding the funeral bells so often toll in our ears and the "mournful processions" go about our streets--we will not more seriously consider our approaching fate.

We go on from design to design, add hope to hope, and lay out plans for the employment of many years, until we are suddenly alarmed at the approach of the Messenger of Death, at a moment when we least expect him, and which we probably conclude to be the meridian of our existence.