Masonic Life Network

My Brothers,

There is a portion in our Obligation that goes, “…I will always hele, forever conceal and never reveal, any of the secret arts, parts or points". We have all said it. We have memorized it for our proficiency and have recited it, perfectly. I’ll bet you know what I am going to ask. You’re right! What does it mean? What does it mean to “always hele”? What are “the secret arts, parts or points”?

For the longest time, I gave the meaning of the phrase, “always hele” a mental shrug. I figured I’d say it because I was supposed to say it, but I didn’t know what it meant and to tell the truth, I didn’t really care. There was other stuff in the Obligation that sounded more important, stuff that I could understand without having to do too much thinking – and with all the memorization going on, there wasn’t that much room left over for thinking. Same thing for the arts, parts or points. I decided that those words meant “Masonic stuff”, stuff that eventually I’d learn about, somehow. But, it bothered me to be saying something, solemnly swearing to something, that I was unsure about. I figured I owed it to Masonry and myself to stop being mentally lazy and to find out.

Now, for the answers to these questions you have to do some research because you won’t find the explanations in the Ritual or the Monitor. I found the “Masonic Encyclopedia”, written by Albert G. Mackey about 120 years ago. Now, I know that not everyone has a copy sitting in the bookshelf, but it can be found at the Scottish Rite Temple, downtown, along with a bunch of other great Masonic books. If you haven’t been there, you should go.

Anyhow, I found out that “I will always HELE”, with the spelling H-E-L-E, comes from the Anglo Saxon word, “helan”, meaning to keep safe or secure, especially by hiding. We are saying, I will keep safe and secure, forever conceal and never reveal, any of the hidden mysteries of Freemasonry. Got it.

I found out that the next part of the phrase, “any of the secret ARTS, PARTS, OR POINTS”, has three distinct meanings:
ARTS, are the specific Masonic things or knowledge made known.
PARTS are the degrees or structure into which Masonry is divided.
POINTS means the rules and/or usages.

You have to dig a little deeper to figure out what those definitions mean. Arts refers to the preparation of the candidate, the due form of standing, the steps, the Obligation's Due Form, the Due Guard, Sign, Token, and Word of the degree, including the symbolism and the associated explanations.

Parts refers to Masonry’s degree structure. Swearing to safeguard this one may seem a bit problematic. We know that there are open source books, pamphlets, and even official internet sites that explain the degrees and structure of Masonry. Apparently, there was greater secrecy about this in the past, but it’s common knowledge, now. But, Parts also includes the actual conduct of the degree ceremony and the Masonic symbols for each degree and their meanings. This includes the sequence of events in a degree ceremony; what was done, when, and by whom. Lastly, it includes the symbolism and meaning of the Square, the Compasses, the Working tools, Jewels, Lights, the Apron, and the content of the Lectures. So, despite some openness, the Masonic knowledge illustrating these Parts does need to be safeguarded.

Points refers to the clauses in our Obligation. You know, until I looked this up, I didn’t think of the Obligation as a contract with clauses, but I guess that makes sense when you think about it. Let’s look at the clauses. The first one is the Secrecy Clause, also called the Tie Clause. This is the part we’ve been talking about.

Then there’s the Positives or Affirmatives Clause. In this clause we find out what the Mason must do.

Next, is the Negatives Clause, or what the Mason must not do. This is the “I will not” paragraph. Finally, there is the Penalties Clause, or what a Mason agrees will happen under violation of the preceding clauses. This is the “binding myself under no less a penalty” paragraph.

So, now we know the details of what we must keep safe, concealed, and never reveal. This one short phrase proves that there are many “hidden mysteries” in Freemasonry. We just didn’t realize that some were hidden right up front in the Obligation, did we?

Br. Stephen C. Harrington – March 5, 2007

Temescal Palms Lodge #314 had their Annual Deep Pit BBQ this last Saturday and it was attended by many from within and without the District. Brethren from Pomona Lodge #246, Glendora Lodge #404 and Chino Valley #427 also visited and joined with us for a great day of fellowship and fun. Temescal Lodge had for many years prior to the late 1980’s had a annual deep pit BBQ, three years ago the Lodge and their OES Chapter re-kindled this great event and it has grown and become better and better with each passing year.

This is a good example of how a good event if planned and organized properly can grow into a successful fun and profitable event, not only for the monetary benefit but also for the fellowship and camaraderie that is formed by such events. It takes many hours and many Brothers to orchestrate an event like this, and I thank all for their hard work. Great Job Brethren! And I thank all who attended.

Please take the time to see the photos of the Great event.

Submitted by: Walt McCurry

“There is a tide in the affairs of men”

The Operation Literacy committee presented this year’s Division 8 program, for the Grand Master’s project, “Raising A Reader” on Wednesday June 20, 2012 at the San Bernardino Scottish Rite Center.  The theme of the program was “There is a tide in the affairs of men”, and it was brought to life with guests speakers, a slide presentation, and donations to the Grand Master’s project from Lodges and other supporting groups.

After the welcome by the Master of Ceremonies, Jim Ridley, P.M., San Jacinto Lodge No. 338, Virgil Mink, P.M. from Temescal-Palms Lodge No. 314 gave the invocation. The invocation and benediction were chosen from the 2012 Operation Literacy Prayer Contest submissions.

A toast to the American Flag was given by Van Owen, P.M., Upland-Mt. Baldy Lodge No 419, in his Hero of 76 uniform, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Dr. Gabrielle Miller, the National Executive Director for “Raising A Reader” spoke on evaluating interventions for at-risk learners. She brought home the importance of having students reading at grade level by the 3^rd grade, and how their program strives to put books in the children’s hands and follow their progress though out a school year.

Mr. John Zickenfoose (Mr. “Z”), who is the Outreach and FFL Coordinator for Corona Public Library, gave his personal testimony on the challenges he had as a young man who graduated from high school, unable to read. His road to literacy began by attending literacy classes at the Corona Public Library. He is now an advocate for literacy for our youth in the community.

The program continued with a presentation, written and produced by the Division 8 Committee that intertwined various narrators and a video about the history and importance of education and literacy in the United States.

The Illustrious Melvin K. Tallon, 33˚, Personal Representative in the Sovereign Grand Inspector General in California, welcomed us to the San Bernardino Scottish Rite Center on behalf of the Scottish Rite. He commented how the Grand Master’s project tied in with their perpetual charity that focuses on assisting children with childhood language disorders.

We then came to the most important part of the evening, when the representatives from the Lodges and other supporting groups presented their donations to the Grand Master, Frank Loui, for his project, “Raising A Reader”. There were donations from 19 Lodges from Division 8 and 3 Lodges from Division 7, who also participated. There were also donations from Moreno Valley Chapter Order of DeMolay and Yucaipa’s Order of the Golden Slipper and High Twelve Club.   The donations presented that evening exceeded $13,000.00.

Division 8’s Inspector at Large, Mark Sandstrom P.M., on behalf of the Division then presented a gift to Jeanie Loui and a crystal engraved plate to Frank Loui. The presentations were followed by the formal introduction of the Grand Master and his remarks.

The programmed was closed with the benediction, given by contest winner Robert Bronner, Fontana Lodge No. 653. Refreshments, fellowship and photo opportunities followed in the dining room.

We cannot overlook the importance of the participation and the donation made by the Moreno Valley Chapter Order of DeMolay and the assistance from the DeMolay from the Sonora League. These young men help not only in greeting the guests, but showed their support to this important endeavor. The Division 8 committee also wishes to send our sincere thanks to the San Bernardino Scottish Rite Center for the use of their facilities and the time they allowed us in preparation and practices for this event.  Our thanks also to our guest speakers for their time and their support of this years’ project.  And finally, but by no means least, the Committee cannot say enough to the Lodges from the Division 8 and Division 7 for presenting their donations, participating in the program, and their continued support of all events the Lodges in our division participate in.

A video of the entire event is available on this web site. Click on the link above under “2012 event was a success!” In the near future we will also be posting smaller sections of the program, for your viewing pleasure.

Franklin R. Lee

A.G.L. Division 8

The Grand Lecturer, the Very Worshipful Jack M. Rose, conducted the Division’s Master Mason’s class on Saturday, July 14^th at Evergreen Lodge in Riverside. At least 60 Mason’s were in attendance for the exemplification of the 3^rd Degree. The degree was presented in an exemplary manner by members from Temecula-Catalina Island Lodge, presenting the 1^st section of the degree, and the Division 8 Degree Team executing the 2^nd section.

The Grand Lecturer also spoke to the future of the ritual work in our Craft, and how the Grand Lecturer and the ritual committee are the custodians of the continuity of our traditions.

I appreciate all of the Brothers who attended this important annual meeting. Meeting with the Grand Lecturer gave us the opportunity to continue the high standards we have set upon ourselves and the presentation of our Craft’s ritualistic ceremonies. I would also like to thank the Brothers of Evergreen Lodge for donating the use of their facilities for the day. I would especially like to send the division’s thanks and appreciation to the Very Worshipful Jack Rose, for not only taking the time to prepare and attend our Master Mason’s School, but also for bringing his talents and experience to us in Division 8.

Frank Lee – AGL

Division 8

Sonora League restarted it's Palm Springs Chapter. This evening at the Moreno Valley Chapter's meeting we Initiated it's first two members along with two new members for the Mo Val Chapter. It was one of the most exciting Masonic Family events I have ever had the honor of attending. There were Masons, Sweethearts, Princesses, Parents and Advisors from, Downey, Temecula, Hemet, my goodness, from all over in attendance. This young people who are running for office gave their election spiel and to be honest after listening to them I couldn't begin to speak. The future of the Masonic Family and our communities will be in good hands. Below is a Facebook post from Master Councilor. Facebook has a number of posts regarding the evening. Being an Advisor I knew I was going to attend an Initiation but did not know that there would be four young men being Initiated. Dad Galba Bright,
League Administrator and Allan Solis did a great job of putting the event together. Thank you for allowing me to share the event and thank tDivision VIII for it's support of Masonic Youth. If you could hear these young men and women speak you would all be as happy as I am tonight. Wow! G-d Bless you all.
Sincerely & Respectfully,
Manny Blanco,
Adult Advisor Order of DeMolay..