Mexico weekly ledger., 1892-01-14
lief and Truth. Free Masonry

iIN " Net = oet"Nth tbH 'N'
and the South; from the plains
Of the Jordan to the isles of the sea;
Indus to the pole in every
cline You may meet a brother
Mason. When away from home,
family and friends--when
wandering in IA strange land weary
aud worn, no sight familiar, how
weet to greet that mystic sign, how
dear the clasp ola brothers hand.
Ii it served no other pnrpose than to
traternize the world, it would merit
the commentator of all good men!
But it goes further, To relieve the
distressed is a duty incumbent on
all Masons--for Charity next to a
belief in God, lies at the foundation
of Masonry. Though we speak
with the tongue OF angels. and have
not charity, we are as sounding
brass and tinkling cYmbals.
Wherever human suffering is felt
or human tears may fall, there char
ity may tender its aid and bestow
its sympathy. 1t is the precious
link that ties our hopes toa better
world; for faith is lost in sight,
hope ends in fruition, but charity
extends beyond the grave, to the
b~oundless realms of eternity" 1t is
a spark from the holy altar of the
Infinite One--a portion of the dl-
vinity in man, which escaped the
wreck of our hopes and the ruin OF
the fall. When all of good beside
had fled the earth, charity still lin
gered round the desolation OF the
scene, soothing, comforting, reliev-
ing the hard fate of a fallen C 1t
is the one beautiful trait of heaven
ly origin, whose foot prints can be
seen about our affairs all along the
past. Never lose sight of this tenet;
it will beautify and ennoble your
life, and take from death it's dread
ed sting.
The next tenet is Truth. Truth
is a divine attribute, and the founda-
ton ofevery virtue" To be good
and true is the first lesson we are
taught in Masonry. No suspicion
OF falsehood or deceit should tarnish
the splendor Of Mason's integrity
Every Mason is bound by the tenue
OF his faith to obey the moral law.
!, Having assembled that winding
stairway to learn important truths,
will you forget to keep holy the
, seventh day? Will you come from
the quarries to claim from your
fellows that which you have moi
1 honestly earned? Do you gathel
: the solemn import Of that slow
twelve tolling, and then go ou'
with cursing on your lips and bias
. phemy in your heart? Not So, fol
the true Mason, with humility anc
: reverence, looks to him who is, ant
was, and ever shall be, as the chic
good. 4 Mason's work is a search
after truth, whether he labors in thu
clay grounds between Succo.h ant
Zarthan, or frlls cedars in tn,
> mountains of Lebanon, WhetheI
toiIing with burdens up that mys'
~terious and winding stairway. o.
+ wandering i'll darkness and DANCE
C amidst the perils of the unfinished
holy of holies." Whatever be GU.
-Ijourney, or however it may be accom-
, plished, this, and this alone, is the
=. Mason's work. How strange tina
0 the world should object; and We
d there are those who, from ignoranc,
: or malice, or the suggestions of TIN
devil, object because it is a secre
: society. To this howl of the rabbi
+ there should be no reply. Let thos'
, truly Masonic virtues Of silence ant
. clrcumspection intervene and clos,
4 the case. OF course it is a secret,
/ the secret of a great family o
e brotherhood, which has been HANDED
down by tradition through thirt,
centuries, substantially the same to
) day aszin the days OF the builder
d and | believe it will so remain unit
3 the angel shall place one foot upor
; the land and one upon the sea, AM
Z declare that time shall be no more
There are, however, good me-
who object to it because it Is withou
: Christ. This must not be light,
consideration it does not claim t.
5 be Christian, and yet it is so inter
? woven with religion as to put ever,
Mason on his inquiry. The ligh
from the Masonic altar is but tn
guide to more. higher and brighte
g light. Tie life that is M odeled b
its precepts may reasonably hope t.
be led in "that way they know not
to have darkness made light ant
crooked things straight" VIVA
means that mysterious power in tn
g Lion of the Tribe Of Judah? VIVA
e is this priceless, though r%eiectet
; keystone, which became the head o
T the corner? What name is this up
on the white stone which no MAJ
s knoweth saving him that receivetI
d it? 1t is not Christianity, but
: points to it as the needle to the pole
: and every intelligent Mason ma,