A PARTIR PEDRA

I want to thank my brothers of the Grande Loja Legal de Portugal who write the blog “A Partir Pedra” for allowing me this opportunity to write an article for their magnificent site. My name is Nick Johnson and I am a brother from the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, AF & AM. I am the Senior Warden of my Lodge, Corinthian Lodge #67, yet I am still very much a neophyte in my Masonic journey as I am 26 years and have been a Freemason for a little over three years. The topic on which I will focus is visitation and how important it is in a Mason’s life and how often it is ignored. In Minnesota, we follow the Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry which have been codified in our Grand Lodge regulations of which one of them is the right to travel. (“That to visit Masonicly is an inherent right of Masons, but no visitor shall be received into a Lodge if any member present objects.” §C2.03(8)) I have always been of the opinion that our Craft arose from the cathedral builders of Europe and the secret tra...

TOMATO, TO-MAH-TO; Shibboleths Beyond the Craft By Michael A. Halleran, M:.M:. Emporia Lodge No. 12, Emporia, Kansas, USA. That sore battle, when so many died Without reprieve, adjudged to death For want of well pronouncing Shibboleth. --John Milton A shibboleth is defined as any word, or indeed any usage of language, that identifies one’s region of origin or identifies one as a member of a group. For Freemasons, the concept of shibboleth is important. It forms a part of our rituals, and our fellows are taught about an historical occurrence in which the use of shibboleths originated. In actuality, it is very likely that shibboleths of some kind have been in use since the dawn of Man, but certainly the story found in Judges must be one of the first recordings of the practice. In our order, the newly admitted fellow is told of the story, but he is never told why it is important and is simply left to ponder the significance of the term, and indeed, of the event. Jephthah's shibboleth ...

Dando continuidade aos textos escritos por autores convidados , trazemos hoje aqui a biografia do Irmão Michael A. Halleran. Michael A. Halleran 32°, is a freelance writer and a practicing attorney in the Midwestern United States. Bro. Halleran received the Scottish Rite’s (Southern Jurisdiction) Mackey Award for Excellence in Masonic Scholarship for his article in Heredom, vol. 14 (2006), and he is the author of the “Brother Brother” column appearing regularly in the Scottish Rite Journal. A member of the Board of Directors of the Scottish Rite Research Society, he also maintains membership in the Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle through which he studies and speaks on military Masonry in both the US and the UK. His first book, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Freemasonry in the American Civil War, will be published in 2010 by the University of Alabama Press. Os artigos deste nosso convidado podem ser encontrados em Audi Vide Tace e em freemasoninformation/aude vide tace Os Edit...

This article could have been titled “The Castration of Freemasonry, Part 2” but I have chosen a new title so that both articles can stand on their own separately, not that there won’t be a fair amount of repetition between the two. Somehow I just keep seeing more and more material related to this subject, almost if an angelic messenger was shoving new considerations under my nose. The original article, Part 1, has been published by A Partir Pedra and can also be read here, http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/thecastrationoffreemasonry.htm . It will perhaps provide some needed background to a continuation of the same theme. The title of this article has no bearing in reality; rather it is what is perceived by the general public not actually authored by the fraternity. In essence it is an exaggeration that does point to different schools of Masonic practice. A number of Masonic writers and thinkers have mentioned that Freemasonry around the world has different priorities and focus. It has bee...

An American Point of View BY Wor. Frederic L. Milliken For the past several decades, Freemasons worldwide have been preoccupied about the decline in membership. All sorts of reasons have been advanced for this decline and many different solutions have been tried to stop it, but to no avail. The line on the graph of Masonic membership continues its steady downward trend. Lost in the turmoil of argument of reasons and solutions has been the realization that Freemasonry has developed a schism and that breaking apart is in reality about who has the best way to rebuild The Craft. It’s almost as if the Antients and the Moderns were back at it again, but this time it is not over ritual but practice. Today’s Antients assert that Freemasonry is a personal journey of moral improvement that prepares a man to re-enter society as an individual providing to the outside world an example or role model of one who has taken the high road in life. Speaking for Today’s Antients is Provincial Grand Master ...

We have received several comments and messages of Brethren from across the North Atlantic. Usually they manage to understand a bit of Portuguese and they inquire us about translation possibilities. Unfortunately to our knowledge there are no reliable translators available in the Internet, at least for free. I decided to post in English, to honour these visitors, and to explain them a little of our project. We are three Master Masons, from Lodge Mestre Affonso Domingues, nº 5, belonging to Grand Lodge Legal Portugal, the Portuguese regular Grand Lodge recognized in all World. Two of us, Rui and me are from the first generation of the Lodge, as we were admitted the same day in 1991, Rui as a Fellow Craft coming from a German Lodge, and me as Entered Apprentice. Our third member JPSetubal is from the 2nd generation, as he was admitted in the beginning of the XXI century and he is finishing his term as Worshipful Master. Two years ago, the decision of creating this Blog appeared. The condi...