4 minute read
Senior Grand Steward Worshipful Brother
The Pleyel Hymn
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The Pleyel hymn is sung in Arizona lodges as part of the Master Mason degree and I have always wanted to know more about its origin and meaning. I found a Short Talk Bulletin from August 2010 written by Reverend and Brother Joseph Fort Newton, who was the author of many Masonic writings, most significantly “The Builders”. His short talk is poetic and touched by the solemnity of our Masonic use of the hymn and its symbolic meaning.
Let’s note the origins of the music and the lyrics we use. The music was written by Brother Joseph Ignaz Pleyel, a member of Lodge "zum goldenen Rad" in Eberau, Hungary. This lodge worked under the Provincial Grand Lodge of Hungary, Grand Lodge of Austria, till the suppression of Freemasonry by Emperor Joseph II. There are many lyrics associated with the Pleyel hymn, not just the Masonic lyrics. Those we sing were written by Brother David Vinton in the early 1800s. Originally of eight stanzas we in Arizona use only five, and often only four depending on the speed of the perambulation.
Solemn strikes the funeral chime, Notes of our departing time, As we journey here below, Through a pilgrimage of woe.
The first stanza sets the tone for what the brotherhood is doing. I am not sure that we are journeying through a pilgrimage of woe however unless the lyricist is referring to a funeral procession only. Our pilgrimage through life is certainly, hopefully, one of joy.
Mortals, now indulge a tear, For MORTALITY is here, See how wide her trophies wave, Over the slumbers of the grave.
Again, we are reminded of our transient existence here on earth, but mortality, while inducing tears, is also a trophy, a reward for a good life. God of life’s ETERNAL DAY, Guide us –lest from thee we stray, By a false delusive light, To the shades of endless night.
A prayer to God for guidance, recognizing that He is eternal, to keep us from drifting away from Him by false impressions.
Calm, the GOOD MAN, meets his fate, Guards celestial round him wait,
See! He bursts the mortal chains, And o’er DEATH the Vict’ry gains.
We consider ourselves as good men, seeking to become better men through Masonry, so we should be calm, quiet, accepting as angels wait for us. We will be victorious by achieving eternal life. We will join our brethren in that spiritual building, that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Lord of all below, above, Fill our souls with TRUTH and LOVE: As dissolve our EARTHLY TIE, Take us to Thy Lodge on High.
Once again, we pray to God for his providence as we pass from this imperfect to that all perfect, glorious, and celestial lodge above.
Mentors of Man
Brethren,
This month I had the pleasure of speaking at an event designed to give high school students the opportunity to interact with the professional world and encouraging them to think about their long-term goals. Students were then given the option to attend a 20-minute information session for the career area they preferred the most. The options were medical, public safety, trades, agriculture, automated industrial technology, veterinary medicine, engineering and hospitality. After that session, they could then move on to their second preference.
The professionals from each field gave the students a taste of what to expect should they choose to pursue a career, including necessary education and training. They also took questions so students could get a better sense of whether that career field would actually be best for them. This led to some great discussion and some interesting insight from both sides. Follow up discussion with the speakers showed that they received just as much out of the exercise as the students. Both students and the professionals were better for taking part in the event.
A subsequent discussion with a newly raised Mason regarding mentorship got me to wondering how many of us, as Masons, take advantage of the similar opportunity we have afforded by our great Fraternity. This man, as most who enter our Fraternity, joined the Lodge to grow as a person by interacting with like-minded men.
The ever-correct Wikipedia defines Mentorship as “a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The mentor may be older or younger than the person being mentored, but he or she must have a certain area of expertise. It is a learning and development partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to learn. Interaction with an expert may also be necessary to gain proficiency with/in cultural tools. Mentorship experience and relationship structure affect the "amount of psychosocial support, career guidance, role modeling, and communication that occurs in the mentoring relationships in which the protégés and mentors engage”. Within our 6,000 members we have men in most every vocation, men with most every hobby, and hopefully men volunteering in most every way. Are you getting everything out of Masonry that you should be?
There is an old African saying, “When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground” and with all respect to the senior men in our Fraternity, we have a ton of stocked libraries in our midst. Take the time to get to know your Brothers young and old, ask questions, read the volumes of knowledge they have accumulated. Both of you, and the Fraternity will benefit.
