By Lewis S. Teh
The Outgoing Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Mason, Republic of Liberia, Cllr. James E. Pierre urges fellow Masonic Craft members in the country to show brotherly love to one another.
“Brethren, let us strive to live together in true brotherly love. Let us show brotherly love to one another without pretense, but with sincerity, and at death when we face in the West the setting sun of our respective lives”, he says.
Cllr. Pierre made the urge here Tuesday, December 27, 2021, at the Trinity Cathedral church on Broad Street in Monrovia, at the occasion marking the 154th observance of St. John Evangelist Feast Day.
He notes that St. John the Evangelist and St. John the Baptist are the two patron saints of the Masonic Craft, and celebration of the St. John the Evangelist Feast Day is one of the most important annual festivities of the fraternity, adding that it is celebrated every year by Mason’s all over the world, where they assemble, rejoice, renew covenant with each other and proclaim. He explains that in Liberia the celebration marks the beginning of the Masonic year.
The Outgoing Grand Master Cllr. Pierre continues that it is useless for Brothers to merely recite and pay lip service to the charge heard at the opening of each Lodge. Instead, he emphasizes that Brothers should subdue their irregular passions and proceed to disregard them by their actions.
“How many of us”, he asks, “are living lives which can be recognized as showing Brotherly Love to other Masons? How many of us can truly be said to be our Brother’s keepers?”
A member of the New York Bar Association and the American Bar Association respectively, Cllr. Pierre expounds that freemasonry is an organized society of men symbolically applying principles of operative masonry architecture to the science and art of character building.
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He says those principles of operative masonry are applied to the building of intangible temples wherein a man’s spiritual needs are developed, and wherein his soul dwells, just as his physical body is housed in tangible buildings constructed of wood and stone.
He also notes that freemasonry is the art and science of uniting two builders in one person, one to build a temple to house man’s spiritual being, and the other to construct buildings to protect his physical body from inclement weather, two builders in one body – one of the spiritual and building temple not made with hands, while the other is physical, constructing edifices wherein he makes a home for his family.
He said those two symbolic builders represented in the same body practice the art of building for a man’s material and spiritual needs.
“Freemasonry is built on love. We are builders. We build temples, not of wood and stone, nor with our hands. According to the teaching of the Prophet Hosea “When Israel was a child I loved him.”
Serving as national orator for this year’s celebration for the first time since he became a member of the Masons, Cllr. Pierre stresses that the foundation of the Masonic emphasis on Brotherly Love is directly traceable to the many admonitions found in the Holy Bible about the requirement that man loves his fellow man.
According to him, Freemasonry is also based on strict discipline, adding that in the past these ancient landmarks were used to instill discipline in Freemasonry.
“We seem to have forgotten one of the basic principles of our institution that: It is better than no workman be added to the roll than even one unworthy foot [is] allowed to cross the threshold of the Lodge.”
He says the uninitiated judge Masonry by the conduct of its individual members so he should be as careful of the reputation of his Lodge as that of his family.
The Outgoing Grand Master observes that Masonry in Liberia seems to have lost most of its moral strength and spiritual effectiveness, which had enabled it in the past to maintain a peculiar brotherly feeling and fraternal tie among its members – that brotherly love that made it the envy of the profane world.
“We seem to have lost the art of brotherly love and today it is difficult to tell who is a brother Mason in Liberia. Today, Masons in Liberia look to Freemasonry for status, to be among the perceived elite”, he adds.
The celebration of the St. John Evangelist Feast Day was graced by Liberia Vice President Dr. Jewel Howard Taylor, along with nine foreign guests, including Most Worshipful Bro. Sadio Sow, Grand Master National Grand Lodge of Mali; Most Worshipful Bro. Abdoul Kabele Camara, Grand Master National Grand Lodge of Guinea; Most Worshipful Bro. Mamadou Alata Doula, Grand Master from the National Grand Lodge of Niger; RWB Bro. Joseph Owoudault Berre, National Grand Lodge of Gabon and RWB Jean Yves Faboumy, representing the Grand Master of Benin, respectively.
Making remarks at the celebration, the incoming Grand Master Anthony W. Deline, II, and George E. Henries extolled the leadership of the Masonic Craft for the opportunity given him to serve as Grand Master.
“We are honored to be where we are today especially, to our visiting brothers from the region we are happy that we can all be together in happiness as brethren of the Grand Lodge of Africa”, Mr. Deline says.
He notes the presence of their visitors was to demonstrate their commitment to the celebration, and the brotherhood, adding that “this celebration is a wonderful day for all of us and let’s stand for each other.
The celebration began with a grand parade from the Masonic Craft temple on Benson Street followed by an indoor program at the Trinity Cathedral and later ended with a warm reception at the temple. Editing by Jonathan Browne
