Casey
MM, RAM, 32nd.
I was speaking to a good friend and Brother, and somehow, the topic turned to the York Rite. I'm a proud Companion for Chapter and Council, and a Sir Knight of the Commandery, but my heart is in Chapter.
Why? I don't know for sure. Maybe part of it is the completionist aspect- Chapter, at least to me, finishes what the Blue Lodge starts. When it is asked why a man becomes a Master Mason, part is to receive Master's wages, to better care for themselves, their family, distressed Brethren and their widows and orphans. It answers the question Blue Lodge leaves unanswered- just how do I get my wage as a Master?
Another part may be the ancestral background- for centuries, Masonry consisted of the three Blue Lodge Degrees, and the Holy Royal Arch. This makes sense- adding the Chapter completes the story, as it were.
For me, though, the favorite Degree is Mark Master. It speaks to my station in life, a student plugging away in the quarry, trying to learn how to support myself. It speaks of honor and integrity, things I hold dear. I wear the Chapter pin every day on my white coat, a silent reminder of those obligations, and the one time I was presented a Mark by a Brother in need, I came across.
That's my favorite. What of you?
Why? I don't know for sure. Maybe part of it is the completionist aspect- Chapter, at least to me, finishes what the Blue Lodge starts. When it is asked why a man becomes a Master Mason, part is to receive Master's wages, to better care for themselves, their family, distressed Brethren and their widows and orphans. It answers the question Blue Lodge leaves unanswered- just how do I get my wage as a Master?
Another part may be the ancestral background- for centuries, Masonry consisted of the three Blue Lodge Degrees, and the Holy Royal Arch. This makes sense- adding the Chapter completes the story, as it were.
For me, though, the favorite Degree is Mark Master. It speaks to my station in life, a student plugging away in the quarry, trying to learn how to support myself. It speaks of honor and integrity, things I hold dear. I wear the Chapter pin every day on my white coat, a silent reminder of those obligations, and the one time I was presented a Mark by a Brother in need, I came across.
That's my favorite. What of you?
Someday, perhaps I will be so lucky to do similar, as my brother has talked for some time about wanting to petition Blue Lodge. Dad and I have already worked it out that if he chooses to join here, in our home Lodge, that I would be in the West and Dad in the East for it.