being able to use the earthly tools Henk Masselink
Mr Masselink is a G.P. and member of the Order of the Freemasons under the Capital Chapter of the High Degrees in The Netherlands. Freemasonry works in a different way than most esoteric movements. It does not have a philosophical system, but works with metaphors, rituals and symbols. Central basic principles are ‘Man, know thyself’ and ‘It depends on you’, by which the Freemason is confronted with self-examination and the insight that self-knowledge implies a (social) responsibility.The Sovereign Princes of the Rose Cross (the one but largest lodge within Freemasonry) is, amongst other things, occupied with the symbolism of the rose and the cross. Since the seventeenth century, the members of Freemasonry have interpreted the office of builder inwardly, and have allowed the power of the creative Word to work through them. In addition, they have, throughout time, offered a safe haven and shelter to those, who were Rosicrucians. On the basis of his mode of life, also as a physician, he daily experiences the disastrous results of trying to hold on to sham certainties in life. He who assumes responsibility for his own life, also assumes responsibility for society.
10 pentagram 1/2010
After the foundation of the first modern English Grand Lodge in 1717, freemasonry soon expanded to Europe and subsequently to other continents. In 1754, a lodge was founded on St. Eustatius under Dutch authority. Only after the Dutch Grand Lodge was recognised as an independent Masonic grand power by the English in 1770, did the number of lodges in overseas regions quickly increase. From the declaration of principles of the Order of Freemasons under the Grand Orient of the Netherlands: ‘The freemason seeks what connects people and tries to neutralise what divides them, so that the ideal of a brotherhood that links all is able to take shape. In this context, he accepts a personal responsibility for the world, which he sees as a work under construction, of which every human being is a building stone.’ The Order of the Freemasons under the Capital Chapter of the High Degrees in The Netherlands was founded in 1803 for those who are seeking the word of the Master and take the cross upon themselves. The only way that can lead us to it is the way of all-sacrificing love, because the word of the Master can only be found through this love. ‘Via Crucis, via Lucis; the way of the Cross is the way to the Light. For him who attunes his life to the word of the master, the rose will blossom forth on the cross, in all its youth and freshness. To him in whom the holy fire of love cannot be extinguished, the cross with the rose will never be a burden, but always a glorious help.
