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My Religion

My Religion
author unknown

When talk turns to religion
I have notions of my own
Have my versions of the Bible
And things I think alone.

And I find them satisfying,
Find them comforting to me,
Though I wouldn't lose my temper
If you chose to disagree.

For religion as I see it
Is a pathway to the goal,
And its something to be settled
Between each man and his soul.

Now I'm not a Roman Catholic,
But I wouldn't go so far
As to fling away the friendship
Of the ones I know that are.

I've lived and neighbored with them
Come to love them through and through
I've respect and admiration
For the kindly things they do.

I've known Methodists, Baptists,
Scientists and Jews,
Whose friendship is a treasure
That I wouldn't want to lose.

So when the people talk religion,
I just settle back and see
Every helpful, loyal friend
Each Church has given me.

I am a Freemason.

Great Freemasons: Rob Morris (August 31, 1818, Boston, MA Died: July 31, 1888)

THE LEVEL AND THE SQUARE (circa August 1854)

Dr. Rob Morris, LLD, Masonic Poet Laureate 1818-1888

WE MEET UPON THE LEVEL, AND WE PART UPON THE SQUARE,—
What words of precious meaning those words Masonic are!
Come, let us contemplate them; they are worthy of a thought,—
With the highest and the lowest and the rarest they are fraught.

We meet upon the Level, though from every station come —
The King from out his palace and the poor man from his home;
For the one must leave his diadem without the Mason's door,
And the other finds his true respect upon the checkered floor.

We part upon the square, for the world must have its due;
We mingle with its multitude, a cold, unfriendly crew;
But the influence of our gatherings in memory is green,
And we long, upon the level, to renew the happy scene.

There's a World where all are equal,—we are hurrying towards it fast,—
We shall meet upon the level there when the gates of death are past;
We shall stand before the Orient, and our Master will be there,
To try the blocks we offer by His own unerring Square.

We shall meet upon the level there, but never thence depart;
There's a Mansion,— 'tis all ready for each zealous, faithful heart;
There's a Mansion, and a welcome, and a multitude is there,
Who have met upon the level and been tried upon the square.

Let us meet upon the level, then, while laboring patient here,—
Let us meet and let us labor, tho' the labor seem severe;
Already in the western sky the signs bid us prepare
To gather up our working tools and part upon the square.

Hands round, ye faithful Ghibilimites, the bright, fraternal chain;
We part upon the square below, to meet in Heaven again!
O what words of precious meaning those words Masonic are,
WE MEET UPON THE LEVEL, AND WE PART UPON THE SQUARE.


Rob Morris (August 31, 1818, Boston, MA
Died: July 31, 1888) was a prominent American poet and the Poet Laureate of Freemasonry after Robert Burns. He also created the first ritual for what was to become the Order of the Eastern Star.


http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/robert_morris_founder_of_oes.htm


(Made a Mason on March 5, 1846, at Oxford Lodge in Mississippi)

The Supreme Council, 33°, S.J. USA 2013 Biennial Session

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The Brethren, by Edgar Guest

The Brethren
by Edgar Guest

The world is needing you and me,
In places where we ought to be;
Somewhere today it’s needing you
To stand for what you know is true.
And needing me somewhere today.
To keep the faith, let come what may.
The world needs honest men today
To lead its youth along the way,
Men who will write in all their deeds
The beauty of their spoken creeds,
And spurn advantage here and gain,
On which deceit must leave its stain.
The world needs men who will not brag,
Men who will honor Freedom’s Flag,
Men, who although the way is hard,
Against the lure of shame will guard,
The world needs gentle men and true
And calls aloud to me and you.
The world needs men of lofty aim,
Not merely men of skill and fame,
Not merely leaders wise and grave,
Or learned men or soldiers brave,
But men whose lives are fair to see,
Such men as you and I can be.

Great Freemasons: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

"A Mason’s ways are
A type of existence,
And his persistence
... Is as the days are
Of men of the world.
The future hides in it
Good hap or sorrow,
We pass through it-
Naught there abides in it
Daunting us- onward.
And silent, before us,
Veiled the dark portal,
Goal of all mortal;
Stars silent rest over us,
Graves under us silent.
But heard are the voices-
Voices of the sages
Of the world and the ages-
Choose well, your choice is
Brief, but yet endless.
Here eyes do regard you
In eternity’s stillness,
Here is all fullness,
Ye brave, to reward you,
Work and despair not."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(Lodge Amelie, Weimar)

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There is power and beauty in interdependence. We are born into it, it is part of what we are. By understanding this we bring forth many great creations; individuals working together in peace and harmony.