1. The Meaning of the Words "Mission" and "Masonry"

Before I proceed to discuss our subject in its main aspects, let me try to give you a clear concept of what is meant by the words "Mission" and "Masonry."

"Mission" comes from the Latin Word "Missio," meaning, to send or to throw. It means something that is sent or thrown out with a definite object in view. We have the same root in the words "missile" and "missive." In a general sense, however, the word "mission" now means the aim and purpose of anything, more than the thing itself.

"Masonry" is a word about which the authorities differ. Various languages have been named as its source. In the various theories advanced for its origin, howver, we do not find anything conclusive.

The word seems to be closely allied with the Greek "maza" or "massein," which means to press or to work together, or with the Latin word "massa," meaning a club or society, and also with the English word "mass." In all the variations known to us, the word carries with it the idea of unity. To mass body of men or troops, for example, is to bring them into close touch or united action. From this viewpoint, it appears that Masonry is the building together of various units such as stones, bricks, wood, iron, or human beings into a compact mass or structure. The Mason thus masses, or builds them together, and the work is called Masonry.

Sometimes the word is used in a restricted sense as applicable only to stone-work. This is a narrow view of its true significance. The French "maison" and the English "mansion" do not mean stone-work only. They both mean a building. In a similarly narrow sense, it is understood by those who insist in the use of the words "Freemason" and "Freemasonry" as necessary to distinguish the speculative craft from the stone-mason and from stone-masonry. They assume that masonry means stone-work and that word "Free" was introduced to distinguish the speculative from the Operative Mason. But the basis for such an assumption is not apparent from any historical authority. The terms "Freemason" and "Freemasonry" may be used as terms of convenience as commonly understood. But neither is historically or etymologically correct. As far back as the records of the Order go, the non-operative are found as members of the craft and there does not appear to have been any distinction made between them and operative members.

The qualification of a candidate for admission to the Order required that he should be a freeman, and also that he should be "accepted" by the lodge. The full and correct term is a "free and accepted mason." The term is used by the Grand Lodge of the Philippines in its title: The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines. (Sec. 1, Art. I. Constitution). The full name may be shortened to "Freemason" or to "Mason" for convenience, as you may choose.

Essentially, the word "Masonry" may be held to mean building, or joining units together into an organized mass, and in this comprehensive sense we shall use it in this exposition. It may also be correctly applied in a moral as well as in a material sense.

Man is a moral as well as a material builder. He applies material terms to things spiritual, and instinctively he takes material forms as symbols of spiritual truths. Hence, the natural evolution of operative masonry is speculative masonry, and its highest sense, the word "Masonry" may be used to mean moral building.

By the phrase the "Mission of Masonry" then, we mean the aim and purpose of building and when we apply it to Speculative Masonry, we mean the building morally of humanity into an organized structure, according to a design or plan.

2. The Quest of the Ideal

At the threshold of any human study, the problem of the Quest of the Ideal presents itself persistently. Nowwhere in the world of humanity is Perfection to be found, yet men seek it everywhere. Deep down in the human heart, there is a feeling of something lacking. To all, there has been a paradise lost , and there is to be a paradise regained. Man is capable of understanding the plan of life but he is unable to work it out properly. His ideals are perfect, but his actuals are failures. He has a divine soul linked to a brutal body and his visions of heaven are always from a bed of earth, Yet, he continues to wrestle with Fate and refuses to be content with the imperfect present. Though constant failings, he steps onward. By perpetual failure, he progresses. He feels that the true, the good, the beautiful and the perfect must be somewhere in this Universe, or else how will he know the false, the bad, the ugly and imperfect in the actual world around him?

In human history, we have from the earliest times evidence of the Quest of the Ideal. It has usually taken the form of searching for that which was lost. Isis searched for her murdered lord and master, Osiris, in the waters of the Nile. Venus cried for her slain Adonis on Mount Libanus. Ceres sought for the lost Prosperine in Eleusis. The Knights of the Round Table traveled in search of the Holy Grail.

Thus in every age and in every land the Quest of the Ideal has been pursued. It has brought into existence numerous societies, religious, political, and social, and of these the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons is one of the greatest the world has ever seen.

3. The Variations of the Ideal

The Law of Variation exists in the mental as well as in the material world. No two blades of grass are alike and no two thoughts are identical.

Dissatisfaction with the actual, produces a thousand satisfactory ideals. For every disease, there are a hundred cures. God gives to everyone the desire for heaven, but each man chooses his own pathway.

To be a millionaire, with the power that wealth gives, to be a political lord to whom the multitude will bow and be at his beck and call, to be the darling hero for whom crowns will assembles to see and cheers, seem to many the sum of human happiness.

But happiness is not the product of wealth, or power of genius. It is not to be pursued and captured. If we aim at it, we are sure to miss it. It comes to us. We can not go to it. I t does not grow from anything outside. It wells up from the inner soul like a clear spring from the breast of a hill. It is the offspring of Love and Obedience. It is of the spirit and not of matter.

The material has to be made subservient to the moral and the actual to the ideal. The stones of human life have to be shaped, square, and built together according to the plan of the Divine Temple, if the structure is to be established in strength to stand firm forever.

4. The Variations of the Ideal

The Quest of the Ideal is found in Masonry at every turn. The travel from West to East, like the Earth to receive the life-giving Light of the Sun, the working of the rough ashlar into the form of the perfect ashlar, the mystic ladder reaching up to the cloudy canopy, the sacred stairs leading to the mysteries of the middle chamber, the lost keystone perfecting the secret arch, the lost word that will make a true Master, the destroyed Temple that is to be restored-all these symbolize the throbbing, the yearning, the seeking of the human heart for something better and happier than the actual word that surround us.

But the grand ideal in Masonry to which all the rest are subsidiary is that which represent the soul of a man as a Holy Temple and dwelling place for the Most High. This ideal has been expressed undoubtedly by poets and philosophers, but only in Masonry has been made the basis of an organization, having a system of instruction as unique in form as it is rare in history.

5. The Nature of the Mission

Having cleared our ground somewhat let us now inquire into the nature of the Mission of Masonry.

The mission of the gunshot is death and destruction; of the lifeline, life and presentation. The mission of the University is knowledge; of the Church, salvation. The mission of masonry is the building of the Ideal Temple.

Masonry does not exist to combat any particular evil, to solve any special problem, to advance any peculiar cult, or to propagate any precise dogma in the outside world. It does not claim to possess any potent pill for the evils of humanity nor does it propose to build a utopian state of political freedom and economic prosperity. It is not for social fellowship, although that forms part of it and in some quarter, a too prominent part of it. It is not constitute for the exercise of benevolence only, although that occupies no significant place both in its precepts and in its practice. It teaches no science, yet science holds an important position in it. It favors no philosophic school, yet a profound philosophy permeates its system of symbolism. It instructs in no special arts, yet in it all arts are honored. It has no religious creed, yet religion forms its foundation and crowns its pinnacles. It is not the product of any age, nor the work any nation, It is the evolution and growth of centuries and has received contribution from many diverse races and people, like nature, it is many sided and as the poet says, “age cannot wither her nor custom stale her infinite variety.”

The mission of the Masonry being the building of the Ideal Temple, the true Freemason is he who works true to plan of that Temple. He has to build himself and thereby contribute to the building of humanity as a fit dwelling place for the Divine Presence.

How to live a problem each one of us must solve. To live, in its fullest sense, is not exist like a cabbage or an ox. Physical life as a problem has already been solved for us. The Great Architect has provided everything needful for the healthy life of His workmen. Nothing is wanting. We have abundance. But, alas! Its distribution is in own hands and we waste it in war and strife and riotous living. Hence the awful crime and suffering that abound.

What message does Masonry give us on this problem? It gives no economic lesson whatsoever. It refuses to deal with economics and politics. It says, “Act on the Square with your neighbor and you will soon solve your economic and social problems. Want and misery, crime and vice abound, because you do not live as moral beings- you do not live on the Square.”

A building will not endure if it is not build on the Square. A man’s life is a ruin if it is not lived on the Square. A community can only be prosperous and happy in proportion as it is governed by the Square.

Masonry has no message for the government of the purely physical life, nor the economic or political conditions of society, or of the individual. It recognizes that the moral conditions dominate and forms the key of the situation. That which is hurtful to moral life will, in the long run, be deadly to physical and social life. Let your moral life be right and all will be well, and neither the individual nor society will be well until they live on the Square, and work at the building of the Temple.

But what does living on the Square mean? Neither scientific nor philosophic knowledge is needed to make a stone square: not great intellectual capacity nor scholastic lore is required to live a true life. Certainly, knowledge is power. But the thing needful for the salvation of humanity is not power. It is the right directing of power – the dedication of all knowledge, wealth, and talent to true and noble ends – to the higher plan and purpose of life – to the co-working of the soul, true and square, with the Great Architect of All.

There is something in us apart from the material –something capable of directing all our knowledge and powers in the work of life. This faculty we call conscience. Like every faculty it is capable of development and in proportion to its development do we morally progress and prosper. Masonry tells us, “Use your conscience constantly in the work of life, as the craftsman uses his square. Ask yourself every hour of the day: Am I working true and square?” In every moment of doubt, apply the square and your life will not be far wrong. The conscience is the normal square of humanity. If you would build your Temple you must work true to it. To do otherwise is absolute folly and waste of life.

So the building of the Ideal Temple is living true to the Square. If we thus live, we will be firm and secure. The winds may blow, and the waves may dash themselves against us, but neither the storms of adversity, nor life, nor death itself can move us. Our lives will become consecrated Temples. It matters little what our occupations may be, they will become sacred, and we ourselves will be, the children of an all-loving, Infinite Father, co-workers with him at the building of His Great Temple – “a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,”

6. Is Masonry Today True to its Mission?

In concluding our general consideration of “The Mission of Masonry,” there is a natural and practical question that faces us: “Is Masonry Today True to Its Mission?”

To this question there appears but one answer possible and that is a sad “No.” Masons are not earnestly striving to work for the Ideal Plan. They glorify their ancient and honorable Order in terms bordering on the bombastic, and sometimes even running into the ridiculous. Yet how often are its symbols dishonored and its ceremonies desecrated?

Is this language rather strong? Can any language be too strong in condemning that which no doubts of us have seen and in our own hearts silently condemned? Let us face this matter fairly and squarely. The causes that at present hinder masonry from carrying out its mission properly are internal. They can be, and ought to be, removed.

Why is it that so many sensible and intelligent men after being initiated drop out of the ranks and become lapsed members? Is it merely the “weakness” of human nature, or selfishness, or laziness? If we look closely into the matter we will find that it is not so. Is the lodge work so honestly and intelligently conducted that there is no excuse for the non-attendance of absent members or for the ignorance of those present?

Masonry today has too many members who are not Masons, because the work of too many lodges is not Masonry. If lodge-work was more faithfully and thoughtfully done, if more attention was given to the study of our symbols, and less to mere show and “harmonies,” the number of our petitioners might be less, but the number of real masons in the world would be greater. Many of our beautiful symbols are scarcely ever heard of in our lodge, and only a few of our members have studied them, and learned the truths they contain.

One of the causes of this condition of things is the election of men to prominent positions who have little heartfelt interest in, and less capacity for, the work of Masonry. Many seek its honors in the same spirit as the titles in the outside world. They want the higher position not for the sake of the greater opportunity it may give them of doing good, but as a selfish distinction. When they have gained their object their object and Masonry has served their purpose, they throw it aside as they do an old coat. Such men are not disposed to do much real work. They try to get through the work, They try to get through the work, not do it. “What’s the use,” they say, “in bothering? My terms of office will soon be over and I am no worse than many others.” Thus they excuse themselves from doing their duty and fulfilling their obligations.

The inferior work of a lodge not only fails generally to create a hearty interest in its symbolism, but also often creates a positive disgust. The manner in which the sublime ceremony of the Master Degree is sometimes conducted makes it absolutely disgusting to men of intelligence and good feeling. These displays should be sternly suppressed by the strong hand of Authority, as it has done in the recent past. But this suppression is not all that can, or that ought to be done. There should be educative action as well. It is not sufficient to drive out evil. Reform, to be efficient, must always substitute the good for the bad.

A large number of earnest-minded members of the Craft attribute many of its evils to indiscriminate admission. In this they are right, for in many quarters the idea seems prevalent that function of a lodge is that of a gang to sweep in initiates and to make records. So long as the fees are paid the entrance is easy. Masters readily forget they sworn to see that no one is admitted into the lodge without due enquiry into his character. There is no real scrutiny and the ballot is a farce. In such quarters numbers are confounded with success, quantity with strength, and money with virtue. It is forgotten that it is quality that tells in the work of the Universe. You may add zero ad infinitum to some figure but the result will be nil. The addition of vice to vice will never produce virtue. Increase of numbers may mean increased weakness. It has been small nations that have made history.

To cure this evil of indiscriminate admission, the quack remedy of big fees is recommended. Our Masonic Craft is to be sold at so much per yard, or so much per degree. Our salvation is to depend on big fees! At last, in the history of mankind, money is to evolve the virtues of a god, and golden calf is to possess all the qualifications of a good candidate.

This cure is worse than the disease. If high fees are needed let them be based on financial reasons. Have as high fees as you like, but, for heaven’s sake, remember that a millionaire may be a blackguard, and that saints, for the most part, have been practically paupers.

What then is the remedy? That effectually lies in the ballot box. Make it a reality and not a farce. Let every ball represent clear conviction and due enquiry. But the great mass of members will not take this trouble. They look more to the fees and to the prosperity of their lodge than to the welfare and real good of our Order. This narrow and selfish view has become so common that the real function of a lodge has been lost sight of. It no longer exists for the building of the Temple, but for its own little glorification and petty pride.

What then should be done? There may be something better, but one thing might do good. Limit the number of initiates. Do not let any lodge admit more than a maximum in a year. Perhaps greater care in the selection and in the instruction of petitioners would be the result of such a rule.

There was, somewhere in Scotland, an ancient Cathedral was sight to make the angels weep. The grand structure had been for years in the hands of men who had no appreciation of its beauty and grandeur and who, to suit their own narrow and coarse conceptions, partitioned and divided and covered it over with hideous lather and plaster. But the traditions of its beauty reminded, and stimulated the study and observation of some lovers of the beautiful. The spring of an arch here and there, the glimpse of a pillar, the appearance of a bit of carved worked, gave hints of the grand work beneath the ugly covering.

By study and not without some difficulty and even opposition, the original plan and lines of the building were traced and this fine Cathedral was restored to bless the eyes and minds of men with its symmetry and beauty.

As that Cathedral was, so Masonry is now. Dare we hope that as that Cathedral was, so Masonry will be, cleaned of all the rubbish and lather and plaster that at present disfigure and conceal its propositions and design, so that at last it may appear in its real beauty, to bless the hearts of men, and draw unto itself all who love the beautiful and true? At present Masonry is in a transitional state. It has still to develop its true form. Gradually, and to many of us all to slowly, it is evolving into an institution that will ultimately, we believe, become a powerful factor for the peace and progress of Humanity.