The Most Important Thing:
SHAKESPEARE IN RITUAL
by Bro Chad Koelling, D.D.G.M., 20th District
T
o be certain, the title of this musing was carefully chosen to hopefully attract the reader’s attention to this article. Hopefully, if one has continued reading it this far, it has worked and one will keep reading to the end. After all, it is the most important thing. What am I talking about? Ritual of course. It is what we do to raise Master Mason, Enter Apprentices and Pass Fellows after all. That does not exactly do much to satisfy the curiosity though, so let us get to the point. If someone were to ask, “What is the most important thing in the entire ritual,” what kind of answers would one expect to hear? I can think of many that have probably popped into the minds of those Brothers who may have made it this far. Take a second and repeat the question, “What is the most important thing in the entire ritual?” Truly ponder the answer. Many of my lodge Brothers have already heard me speak on this point, but hopefully, they too will continue reading. Is it the obligation? Certainly that is the most important thing. After all, the obligation is what we claim makes us who we are, but is it the most important thing? Is the explanation of certain signs or grips? Those are important because without them we may not travel very far, but is it the most important thing? Perhaps it is one of the many myriad lectures given throughout the beautifully illustrated degree work we pass from candidate to candidate. After all, we are moral builders. The lectures are where we have placed our moral teachings. Without those, we could no longer claim to be moral and beneficient builders spreading light and knowledge, but again I ask is it the most important thing? All of the above is certainly important, and to many of the faithful craftsmen these, or other things they may come with, are certainly the most important thing to them. None of the answers are wrong. Keep in mind that this is an opinion article and I would be free to sit with anyone and 10
philosophize about many of the wonderful topics that are available to peruse in our libraries. I personally believe the one most important thing is not to be found any of our books, ciphers, or monitors but still presents itself as the most important thing we (fail) to do, and as a former District Grand Lecturer and current District Deputy Grand Master, I have traveled to many degrees and found this one thing to be lacking in just about all places. Before I get into The Louisiana Freemason // Winter 2019
