Many of the words and phrases used in Freemasonry have been with us for several centuries and often seem odd in today’s common language. The word “ritual” simply refers to customs and formalities that govern how we begin and end our lodge meetings or conduct our degrees. The use of the word ritual describes the delivery of the same ceremony on each occasion in order to convey the knowledge of the Fraternity consistently, so that each man in every lodge undergoes the same experience and thus creates a unifying shared experience across all of our members.