Archive for the 'Freemasonry' Category
Father’s Day comes but once a year, and it’s important to celebrate all our dads have done for us. While dads do like to interact with their families and children on Father’s Day, most are also expecting a little something as a gift. But when we ask dad what he wants, the most common reply is “Oh all I want is your love and admiration”, or another phrase that is just as vague. There are a lot of cool gifts that dad is sure to love on his special day. Here are a few to consider:
_Masonic pendant – if dad is a Mason, he’s sure to like a Masonic pendant, ring, or even lapel pin.
_Barbeque tools – most dads love to barbeque, and with a set of barbeque tools, he might even be more inclined to cook on a regular basis!
_USB computer devices – whether it’s a drink warmer, portable fan, or a lava lamp, dads are sure to love fun USB computer devices.
Some adults never get over the joy of playing dress up. In fact, one dear friend of mine (he used to play Dungeons and Dragons religiously) has a whole closet full of medieval type clothing. During the summer he gets dressed up and attends all the medieval fairs in the area. He also enjoys participating in live action role playing games. He once asked me to dress up as a dragon, but that’s another story altogether.
During the fall and winter there aren’t many festivals for my friend to attend, so he has to take a more low-key approach to dressing up. This is why I bought him a set of Knights Templar rings. He feels a part of the medieval times while he’s wearing these rings, but can also be inconspicuous in the office environment.
Initiated: September 30, 1949, Malta Lodge No. 465, Grand Rapids, Michigan, along with his half-brothers Thomas Gardner Ford (1918-1995), Richard Addison Ford (1924-) and James Francis Ford (1927- ). The Fellowcraft and Master Mason Degrees were Conferred by Columbia Lodge No. 3, Washington, D.C., on April 20 and May 18, 1951, as a courtesy to Malta Lodge. Brother Ford was made a Sovereign Grand Inspector General, 33°, and Honorary Member, Supreme Council A.A.S.R. Northern Jurisdiction at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, on September 26, 1962, for which he served as Exemplar (Representative) for his Class. Brother and President Ford was unanimously elected an Active Member of the International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay and its Honorary Grand Master, at its Annual Session held at Orlando, Florida, April 6-9, 1975; Brother Ford held this post until January 1977, at which time he became a Past Honorary Grand Master, receiving his Collar and Jewel on October 24, 1978 in Topeka, Kansas, from the Hon. Thomas C. Raum, Jr., Grand Master, Order of DeMolay.Ford’s reputation for integrity and openness had made him popular during his 25 years in Congress. From 1965 to 1973, he was House Minority Leader. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1913, he grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He starred on the University of Michigan football team, then went to Yale, where he served as assistant coach while earning his law degree. An example of a Masonic Ring is found at Fox Jewelry.
I was raised with the teachings of the Freemasons. This was teaching of Love for God, hard work, respect for your-self and others.I believe if everyone lived by these teaching the world would be a better place to live.. I thank God for this organiztion.
The ring pictured above is a Masonic ring. More examples of this type of ring can be found at Fox Jewelry
Within two decades of the victory of the First Crusade (1095-1099) a group of knights led by Hugues (Hugh) de Payens offered themselves to the Patriarch of Jerusalem to serve as a military force.This group – often said to be nine in number – had the mandate of protecting Christian pilgrims who were en route to the Holy Land to visit the shrines sacred to their faith.
Somewhere between the years of AD 1118 – 1120, King Baldwin II granted the group quarters in a wing of the Royal Palace on the Temple Mount (the Al Aqsa Mosque).
It has been generally accepted that, for the first nine years of their existence, the Templars – as they came to be known – consisted of nine members.
In the mid 1700s the Freemasons began to incorporate symbols and traditions of the medieval Knights Templar. The original medieval Order of Knights Templar was established after the First Crusade, and existed from approximately 1118 to 1312. There is no known historical evidence to link the medieval Knights Templar and Masonic Templarism, nor do the Masonic Knights Templar organizations claim any such direct link to the original medieval Templar organization.
The full title of this order is The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta.
The Knights Templar is an additional order and is not a higher degree within freemasonry. Knights Templars meet in Preceptories or commanderies.
Membership in the Order is open to Master Masons of Christian faith (in some jurisdictions, the order is also open to those of other faiths who are willing to swear to defend the Christian faith) and who have been exalted into the Holy Royal Arch Chapter.[citation needed] As in all Masonic organizations, membership requires that the candidate be of sound moral character, have an exemplary reputation, and believe in a Supreme Being. The Knights Templar have the additional requirement that the candidate be a professing Christian.
An example of a Knights Templar Ring can be found at Fox Jewelry.
Despite what many people claim, Freemasonry is not in any way a secret society. Freemasonry’s so-called secrets are solely used as a ceremonial way of demonstrating that one is a Freemason when in Lodge meetings. The real point of a Freemason promising not to reveal them is basically a dramatic way of promising to keep one’s promises in general.
“Masonry has always taught that work was honorable; only idleness was contemptible. Masonry teaches the concept that all work is honorable. The inventor or writer who labors with this mind is neither more nor less respectable than the day-laborer who works with hand and back. It has been said that a society which honors its philosophers while sneering at is plumbers will soon discover that neither its pipe nor its ideas will hold water. Work should not be regarded as a curse but a blessing. To be able to work, to create something, whether it is a poem, a piston, or a pot roast is a priceless privilege in which God alows us to participate in His creative nature.”
Taken from the Valley of Sioux City Newsletter, Winter 2008
The 22nd Degree Prince of Libanus is a degree in the Scottish Rite. Being a member of the Scottish Rite allows a member to wear a Scottish Rite Ring as shown on Fox Jewelry’s website.
Within two decades of the victory of the First Crusade (1095-1099) a group of knights led by Hugues (Hugh) de Payens offered themselves to the Patriarch of Jerusalem to serve as a military force.This group – often said to be nine in number – had the mandate of protecting Christian pilgrims who were en route to the Holy Land to visit the shrines sacred to their faith.
Somewhere between the years of AD 1118 – 1120, King Baldwin II granted the group quarters in a wing of the Royal Palace on the Temple Mount (the Al Aqsa Mosque).
It has been generally accepted that, for the first nine years of their existence, the Templars – as they came to be known – consisted of nine members.
Although it has been widely speculated that the Templars wished to keep it this way to cover their secret mission of digging for buried treasure on the Temple Mount, the simple fact remains that the lifestyle adopted by the Order was not to everyone’s taste. As such, the Templars had difficulty in recruiting members to their cause in the early years.
In the year 1127 the Cistercian abbot, Bernard of Clairvaux, wrote a rule of order for the Templars that was based on his own Cistercian Order’s rule of conduct. Additionally, Bernard did a great deal to promote the Templars.
Perhaps Bernard’s greatest contribution to the Order was a letter that he wrote to Hugues de Payens, entitled De laude novae militae (In praise of the new knighthood.)
This letter swept throughout Christendom drawing many men, of noble birth, who joined the ranks of the Templar Order. Those who were unable to join often gifted the Templars with land and other valuables.
While it is true that the Templars were not permitted, by their rule, to own much of anything personally, there was no such restriction on the Order as a whole. As such, the gifts of land were accepted and put to immediate use by the Templars, who farmed the land generating additional wealth.
Over the years the Templars rose from their humble beginnings to become the wealthiest of the Crusading Orders – eventually garnering the favour of the Church and the collective European monarchs.
This wealth, generated in the West was put to immediate use in the East to buy arms and raise armies. Although the Templars are regarded as the greatest of the medieval military Orders, the record shows that they lost more battles than they won. Despite a brutal win/loss record, the Order did play an important role in the Holy Land.
The Knights Templar Ring shown on Fox Jewelry™ website is indicative of the Masonic Rings worn by Masons that have earned the Knights Templar Degree.
The friends you make in college fraternities, the military, or through community organizations often become lifelong brothers who assist in shaping your future. It’s important to treasure and celebrate the bonds you create with others, and Masonic rings are one approach to preserving your memories. These rings symbolize the brotherhood one shares with others who at one time held a common goal, and communicates the message that “no matter how far we drift apart, we will remember the bond we shared”. Masonic rings make great gifts following graduation, discharge from the military, or even retirement, and come in several styles one of which is sure to suit your needs.
In addition to preserving the memory of brotherhood once shared, wearing a Masonic ring can help other brothers who have shared a similar experience to identify you. There’s no feeling quite like having an instant rapport with a complete stranger because of an experience you have both shared.
While there probably are some actual stone-workers who are Masons, Masonry does not teach is membership the literal techniques of stonework. Rather, it takes the actual ‘operative’ work of Medieval Masons and uses it as an allegory for moral development. Thus, the symbols of Masonry are the common tools that were used by medieval stonemasons: the gavel, the rule, the compass, the square, the level, etc. Each of these has a symbolic meaning in Masonry. For example, Masons are said to meet ‘on the level’, meaning that all Masons are brothers, regardless of social status, personal wealth, or office within the Lodge or in the world at large. Similar symbolism exists for other tools.