Bring Charity! with goodness crowned, Encircled in thy heavenly robe!
Diffuse thy blessings all around, To every corner of the Globe!
The third procession is then made round the Lodge, and the Deputy Grand Master presents the vessel of oil to the Grand Master, saying:
Most Worshipful: I present you, to be used according to ancient custom, this vessel of oil, an emblem of that joy which should animate every bosom on the completion of every important undertaking.
The Grand Master then sprinkles the oil upon the Lodge, saying:
In the name of the whole Fraternity, I do solemnly dedicate this hall to Universal Benevolence.
The grand honors are thrice repeated.
To Heaven"s high Architect all praise, All praise, all grat.i.tude be given, Who deigned the human soul to raise, By mystic secrets, sprung from Heaven.
The Grand Chaplain, standing before the Lodge, then makes the following
Invocation.
And may the Lord, the giver of every good and perfect gift, bless the brethren here a.s.sembled, in all their lawful undertakings, and grant to each one of them, in needful supply, the corn of nourishment, the wine of refreshment, and the oil of joy. Amen.
Response: So mote it be.
The Lodge is then covered, and the Grand Master retires to his chair.
The following or an appropriate original oration may then be delivered, and the ceremonies conclude with music:
Brethren: The ceremonies we have performed are not unmeaning rites, nor the amusing pageants of an idle hour, but have a solemn and instructive import. Suffer me to point it out to you, and to impress upon your minds the enn.o.bling sentiments they are so well adapted to convey.
This Hall, designed and built by Wisdom, supported by Strength, and adorned in Beauty, we are first to consecrate in the name of the great Jehovah; which teaches us, in all our works, begun and finished, to acknowledge, adore, and magnify Him. It reminds us, also, in His fear to enter the door of the Lodge, to put our trust in him while pa.s.sing its trials, and to hope in Him for the reward of its labors.
Let, then, its altar be devoted to His service, and its lofty arch resound with His praise! May the eye which seeth in secret witness here the sincere and unaffected piety which withdraws from the engagements of the world to silence and privacy, that it may be exercised with less interruption and less ostentation.
Our march round the Lodge reminds us of the travels of human life, in which Masonry is an enlightened, a safe, and a pleasant path. Its tesselated pavement of Mosaic-work intimates to us the chequered diversity and uncertainty of human affairs. Our step is time; our progression, eternity.
Following our ancient Const.i.tutions, with mystic rites we dedicate this Hall to the honor of Freemasonry.
Our best attachments are due to the Craft. In its prosperity, we find our joy; and, in paying it honor, we honor ourselves. But its worth transcends our encomiums, and its glory will outsound our praise.
Brethren: It is our pride that we have our names on the records of Freemasonry. May it be our high ambition that they should shed a l.u.s.ter on the immortal page!
The hall is also dedicated to Virtue.
This worthy appropriation will always be duly regarded while the moral duties which our sublime lectures inculcate, with affecting and impressive pertinency, are cherished in our hearts and ill.u.s.trated in our lives.
As Freemasonry aims to enliven the spirit of Philanthropy, and promote the cause of Charity, so we dedicate this Hall to Universal Benevolence; in the a.s.surance that every brother will dedicate his affections and his abilities to the same generous purpose; that while he displays a warm and cordial affection to those who are of the Fraternity, he will extend his benevolent regards and good wishes to the whole family of mankind.
Such, my brethren, is the significant meaning of the solemn rites we have just performed, because such are the peculiar duties of every Lodge. I need not enlarge upon them now, nor show how they diverge, as rays from a center, to enlighten, to improve, and to cheer the whole circle of life. Their import and their application is familiar to you all. In their knowledge and their exercise may you fulfill the high purposes of the Masonic Inst.i.tution.
How many pleasing considerations, my brethren, attend the present interview! While in almost every other a.s.sociation of men, political animosities, contentions, and wars interrupt the progress of Humanity and the cause of Benevolence, it is our distinguished privilege to dwell together in peace, and engage in plans to perfect individual and social happiness. While in many other nations our Order is viewed by politicians with suspicion, and by the ignorant with apprehension, in this country its members are too much respected, and its principles too well known, to make it the object of jealousy or mistrust. Our private a.s.semblies are unmolested; and our public celebrations attract a more general approbation of the Fraternity. Indeed, its importance, its credit, and, we trust, its usefulness, are advancing to a height unknown in any former age. The present occasion gives fresh evidence of the increasing affection of its friends; and this n.o.ble apartment, fitted up in a style of such elegance and convenience, does honor to Freemasonry, as well as reflects the highest credit on the respectable Lodge for whose accommodation and at whose expense it is erected.
We offer our best congratulations to the Worshipful Master, Wardens, Officers, and Members of ...... Lodge. We commend their zeal, and hope it will meet with the most ample recompense. May their Hall be the happy resort of Piety, Virtue, and Benevolence! May it be protected from accident, and long remain a monument of their attachment to Freemasonry!
May their Lodge continue to flourish; their union to strengthen; and their happiness to abound!--And when they, and we all, shall be removed from the labors of the earthly Lodge, may we be admitted to the brotherhood of the perfect, in the building of G.o.d, the Hall not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!
The Grand Lodge is again formed in procession, as at first, returns to the room where it was opened, and is closed in ample form.
MASONIC FUNERAL SERVICE
General Directions.
1. No Freemason can be buried with the formalities of the Fraternity unless it be at his own request or that of some of his family, communicated to the Master of the Lodge of which he was a member at the time of his death, foreigners or sojourners excepted; nor unless he has received the Master Mason degree; and to this rule there can be no exception.
2. Fellow Crafts or Entered Apprentices are not ent.i.tled to these obsequies, nor can they be allowed in the procession, as Masons, at a Masonic funeral.
3. The Master of the Lodge, having received notice of the death of a brother (the deceased having attained the degree of Master Mason), and of his request to be buried with the ceremonies of the Craft, fixes the day and hour for the funeral (unless previously arranged by the friends or relatives of the deceased), and issues his order to the Secretary to summon the Lodge. Members of other Lodges may be invited, but they should join with the Lodge performing the ceremonies.
4. Upon the death of a sojourner who had expressed a wish to be buried with Masonic ceremonies, the duties prescribed in Article 3 will devolve upon the Master of the Lodge within whose jurisdiction the death may have occurred, unless there be more than one Lodge in the place; and if so the funeral service will be performed by the oldest Lodge, unless otherwise mutually arranged.
5. Whenever other societies or the military unite with Masons in the burial of a Mason, the body of the deceased must be in charge of the Lodge having jurisdiction, and the services should, in all respects, be conducted as if none but Masons were present.
6. If the deceased was a Grand or Past Grand Officer the Officers of the Grand Lodge should be invited; when the Master of the Lodge having jurisdiction will invite the Grand Officer present who has attained the highest rank to conduct the burial service.
7. The pallbearers should be Masons, and should be selected by the Master, with the approval of the family of the deceased. If the deceased was a member of a Chapter or other Masonic body, a portion of the pallbearers should be taken from these bodies severally.
8. The proper clothing to be worn at a Masonic funeral is black or dark clothes, a black necktie, white gloves, and a white ap.r.o.n, and a sprig of evergreen on the left breast. The Master"s gavel, the Wardens"
columns, the Deacons" and Stewards" rods, the Tiler"s sword and the Marshal"s baton, should be trimmed with black c.r.a.pe. The officers of the Lodge and Grand Officers should wear their official jewels.
9. As soon as the remains are placed in the coffin there should be placed upon it a plain white lambskin ap.r.o.n.
10. If a Past or Present Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, or Grand Warden, should join the procession of a Lodge, proper attention must be paid to them. They take place after the Master of the Lodge. Two Deacons, with white rods, should be appointed by the Master to attend them.
11. When the head of the procession shall have arrived at the place of interment, or where the services are to be performed, the lines should be opened, and the highest officer in rank, preceded by the Marshal and Tiler, pa.s.s through, and the others follow in order.
12. Upon arriving at the entrance to the cemetery, the brethren should march in open order to the tomb or grave. If the body is to be placed in the former, the Tiler should take his place in front of the open door, and the lines be spread so as to form a circle. The coffin should be deposited within the circle, and the Stewards and Deacons should cross their rods over it. The bearers should take their places on either side--the mourners at the foot of the coffin, and the Master and other officers at the head. After the coffin has been placed in the tomb, the Stewards should cross their rods over the door and the Deacons over the Master. If the body is to be deposited in the earth, an oblong square should be formed around the grave, the body being placed on rests over it; the Stewards should cross their rods over the foot, and the Deacons the head, and retain their places throughout the services.
13. After the clergymen shall have performed the religious services of the church, the Masonic services should begin.
14. When a number of Lodges join in a funeral procession, the position of the youngest Lodge is at the head, or right, of the procession, and the oldest at the end, or left, excepting that the Lodge of which deceased was a member walks nearest the corpse.
15. A Lodge in procession is to be strictly under the discipline of the Lodge room; therefore no brother can enter the procession or leave it without express permission from the Master, conveyed through the Marshal. The Lodge is open and not at refreshment.
Service in Lodge Room.