Cabletow 4th issue - GM Ebdane - Grand Lodge of the Philippines

The Cabletow
Many a man has knocked at the door of the Cabletow office
to ask how he may apply for Masonic membership. Invariably,
we members of the editorial staff lay aside whatever we are
doing in order to make the most of the opportunity given us to practice public
relations, which is briefly defined as the art of telling the truth well.
Such a man, accompanied by his wife and a male friend (a relative of the late
VW Amancio S. Donato, Past Grand Orator), visited the Cabletow office one busy
afternoon.
We first inquired why he wanted to join the fellowship of the Craft, and he
replied, “I’ve observed that, generally, you Masons are good men. You seem to be
happy being together and doing things together for the benefit of the community.
That’s why I want to join your ranks.”
The man appeared to have a good impression of Masons and a favorable opinion
of Masonry. But whether he was “unbiased by friends and uninfluenced by mercenary
motives” we did – and could – not know. Hence, we told him, as well as his
companions, some truths about Masonry. These include the following:
· Masonry does not give any material reward to us, its members. Instead, it
asks us “to be liberal, but only of that which is our own; to be generous, but
only when we have first been just; to give when to give deprives us of a
luxury or a comfort.” (MAD, p. 120).
· Masonry does not give us worldly honors, either. In fact, it regards no man
on account of his worldly wealth or honors. It stresses that what
recommends a man to be made a Mason is not his external qualifications
but rather his internal ones.
· Masonry does not even give its members power. On the contrary, it thrives
in humility. It teaches us to travel on the path of perfection with humility
because God has seen it fit to show us that path and guide us by the surest
route, manifested in the lives and teachings of the great philosophers,
teachers and prophets of the world. It charges us, moreover, to avoid vices
and to practice virtue, especially to be humble and modest, as well as
trusting in God.
· Masonry stresses responsibility more than privilege, duty more than right,
giving more than getting.
Cabletow 30
OF THE MAN WHO KNOCKED
AT THE DOOR OF THE
CABLETOW OFFICE
by eF.R.eN