O man, of woman born!
Thy doom is written, "Dust thou art,
And shalt to dust return."
In flowers that bloom and die;
Or in the shadow's fleeting form,
That mocks the gazer's eye.
Successive o'er thy head;
The number'd hour is on the wing,
That lays thee with the dead.
The Master or Chaplain will repeat the following or some other appropriate Prayer:
Almighty and Heavenly Father! infinite in wisdom, mercy and goodness, extend to us the blessings of Thy everlasting grace. Thou alone art a refuge and help in trouble and affliction. In this bereavement we look to Thee for support and consolation. Strengthen our belief that Death hath no power over a faithful and righteous soul! Though the dust returneth to the dust as it was, the spirit returneth unto Thee. As we mourn the departure of a brother beloved from the circle of our Fraternity, may we trust that he hath entered into a higher brotherhood, to engage in nobler duties and in heavenly work, to find rest from earthly labor and refreshment from earthly care. May Thy peace abide within us, to keep us from all evil! Make us grateful for present benefits, and crown us with immortal life and honor. And to Thy name shall be all the glory forever. Amen.
Response: So mote it be.
A procession should then be formed, which will proceed to the church or the house of the deceased, in the following order:
| Tiler, with drawn sword. | |
| Masters of Ceremony, with white rods. | |
| Master Masons. | |
| Secretary and Treasurer. | |
| M A R S H A L . |
Senior and Junior Wardens. |
| Past Masters. | |
| The Chaplain. | |
| The Three Great Lights on a cushion, covered with black cloth, carried by a member of the Lodge. | |
| The Master, supported by two Deacons, with white rods. |
When the head of the procession arrives at the entrance to the building, it should halt and open to the right and left, forming two parallel lines, when the Marshal, with the Tiler, will pass through the lines and escort the Master or Grand Officer into the house, the brethren closing in and following, thus reversing the order of procession; the brethren with heads uncovered.
Service at Church or House of Deceased.
After the religious services have been performed, the Master will take his station at the head of the coffin, the Senior Warden at his right, the Junior Warden at his left; the Deacons and Stewards, with white rods crossed, the former at the head, and the latter at the foot of the coffin, the brethren forming a circle around all, when the Masonic service will commence by the Chaplain or Master repeating the following or some other appropriate prayer, in which all the brethren will join:
(Scripture can be used here.)
Prayer.
Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Response: So mote it be.
Master: Brethren, we are called upon by the imperious mandate of the dread messenger Death, against whose free entrance within the circle of our Fraternity the barred doors and Tiler's weapon offer no impediment, to mourn the loss of one of our companions. The dead body of our beloved Brother lies in its narrow house before us, overtaken by that fate which must sooner or later overtake us all; and which no power or station, no virtue or bravery, no wealth or honor, no tears of friends or agonies of relatives can avert; teaching an impressive lesson, continually repeated, yet soon forgotten, that every one of us must ere long pass through the shadow of death, and dwell in the house of darkness.
S. Warden: In the midst of life we are in death; of whom may we seek succor but of Thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased. Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not Thy merciful ears to our prayer.
J. Warden: Lord, let me know my end, and the number of my days; that I may be certified how long I have to live.
Master: Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months is with Thee; Thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; turn from him that he may rest, till he shall accomplish his day. For there is a hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. But man dieth and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up, so man lieth down, and riseth not till the heavens be no more.
S. Warden: Our life is but a span long, and the days of our pilgrimage are few and full of evil.
J. Warden: So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Master: Man goeth forth to his work and to his labor until the evening of his day. The labor and work of our brother are finished. As it hath pleased Almighty God to take the soul of our departed brother, may he find mercy in the great day when all men shall be judged according to the deeds done in the body. We must walk in the light while we have light; for the darkness of death may come upon us at a time when we may not be prepared. Take heed, therefore, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is; ye know not when the Master cometh—at even, at midnight, or in the morning. We should so regulate our lives by the line of rectitude and truth that in the evening of our days we may be found worthy to be called from labor to refreshment, and duly prepared for a translation from the terrestrial to the celestial Lodge, to join the Fraternity of the spirits of just men made perfect.
S. Warden: Behold, O Lord, we are in distress! Our hearts are turned within us; there is none to comfort us; our sky is darkened with clouds, and mourning and lamentations are heard among us.
J. Warden: Our life is a vapor that appeareth for a little while, and then vanisheth away. All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.
Master—It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Response: So mote it be.
Ode—Air, Naomi.
On bright and by-gone hours;
The dead we mourn are with us yet,
And—more than ever—ours!
By hopes of heaven on high;
By trust, triumphant over death,
In immortality.
Withdrawn from mortal eye;
Yet holding unperceived their way
Through the unclouded sky.
We feel, in hours serene,
Connected with the Lodge above,
Immortal and unseen.
The service may be concluded with the following, or some other suitable prayer:
Most Glorious God, Author of all good and Giver of all mercy, pour down Thy blessings upon us, and strengthen our solemn engagements with the ties of sincere affection. May the present instance of mortality remind us of our own approaching fate, and, by drawing our attention toward Thee, the only refuge in time of need, may we be induced to so regulate our conduct here that when the awful moment shall arrive at which we must quit this transitory scene, the enlivening prospect of Thy mercy may dispel the gloom of death, and that after our departure hence in peace and Thy favor, we may be received into Thine everlasting kingdom, and there join in union with our friends, and enjoy that uninterrupted and unceasing felicity which is allotted to the souls of just men made perfect. Amen.
Response: So mote it be.
If the remains of the deceased are to be removed to a distance, where the brethren cannot follow to perform the ceremonies at the grave, the procession will return to the Lodge room or disperse, as most convenient.
Service at Grave.
When the solemn rites of the dead are to be performed at the grave, the procession should be formed, and proceed to the place of interment in the following order:
If the deceased was a member of a Royal Arch Chapter and a Commandery of Knights Templar, and members of those bodies should unite in the procession, clothed as such, the former will follow the Past Masters, and the latter will act as an escort or guard of honor to the corpse, outside the pallbearers, marching in the form of a triangle, the officers of the Commandery forming the base of the triangle, with the Eminent Commander in the center.
When the procession has arrived at the place of interment the members of the Lodge should form a square around the grave; when the Master, Chaplain and other officers of the acting Lodge, take their position at the head of the grave, and the mourners at the foot.
After the clergyman has performed the religious service of the Church, the Masonic service should begin.
The Chaplain rehearses the following, or some other suitable prayer:
Prayer.
Almighty and most merciful Father, we adore Thee as the God of time and eternity. As it hath pleased Thee to take from the light of our abode one dear to our hearts, we beseech Thee to bless and sanctify unto us this dispensation of Thy providence. Inspire our hearts with wisdom from on high, that we may glorify Thee in all our ways. May we realize that Thine All-Seeing Eye is upon us, and be influenced by the spirit of truth and love to perfect obedience—that we may enjoy Thy divine approbation here below. And when our toils on earth shall have ended, may we be raised to the enjoyment of fadeless light and immortal life in that kingdom where faith and hope shall end, and love and joy prevail through eternal ages. And Thine, O righteous Father, shall be the glory forever. Amen.
Response: So mote it be.
The following exhortation is then given by the Master:
The solemn notes that betoken the dissolution of this earthly tabernacle have again alarmed our outer door, and another spirit has been summoned to the land where our fathers have gone before us.
Again we are called to assemble among the habitations of the dead, to behold the "narrow house appointed for all living." Here, around us, in that peace which the world cannot give or take away, sleep the unnumbered dead. The gentle breeze fans their verdant covering, they heed it not; the sunshine and the storm pass over them, and they are not disturbed; stones and lettered monuments symbolize the affection of surviving friends, yet no sound proceeds from them, save that silent but thrilling admonition, "Seek ye the narrow path and the straight gate that lead unto eternal life."
We are again called upon to consider the uncertainty of human life, the immutable certainty of death, and the vanity of all human pursuits. Decrepitude and decay are written upon every living thing. The cradle and the coffin stand in juxtaposition to each other; and it is a melancholy truth that so soon as we begin to live, that moment we also begin to die. It is passing strange that, notwithstanding the daily mementos of mortality that cross our path—notwithstanding the funeral bells so often toll in our ears and the "mournful processions" go about our streets—we will not more seriously consider our approaching fate. We go on from design to design, add hope to hope, and lay out plans for the employment of many years, until we are suddenly alarmed at the approach of the Messenger of Death, at a moment when we least expect him, and which we probably conclude to be the meridian of our existence.
What, then, are all the externals of human dignity—the power of wealth, the dreams of ambition, the pride of intellect, or the charms of beauty—when Nature has paid her just debt? Fix your eyes on the last sad scene, and view life stripped of its ornaments, and exposed in its natural weakness, and you must be persuaded of the utter emptiness of these delusions. In the grave, all fallacies are detected, all ranks are leveled, all distinctions are done away. Here the scepter of the prince and the staff of the beggar are laid side by side.
Our present meeting and proceedings will have been vain and useless, if they fail to excite our serious reflections, and strengthen our resolutions of amendment.
Be then persuaded, my brethren, by this example of the uncertainty of human life, of the unsubstantial nature of all its pursuits, and no longer postpone the all-important concern of preparing for eternity. Let us each embrace the present moment, and while time and opportunity permit, prepare for that great change when the pleasures of the world be as a poison to our lips, and the happy reflections consequent upon a well-spent life afford the only consolation.
Thus shall our hopes be not frustrated, nor we be hurried unprepared into the presence of that all-wise and powerful Judge, to whom the secrets of all hearts are known. Let us resolve to maintain with sincerity the dignified character of our profession. May our Faith be evinced in a correct moral walk and deportment; may our Hope be bright as the glorious mysteries that will be revealed hereafter; and our Charity boundless as the wants of our fellow-creatures. And, having faithfully discharged the great duties which we owe to God, to our neighbor, and to ourselves, when at last it shall please the Grand Master of the Universe to summon us into His eternal presence, may the Trestle-board of our whole lives pass such inspection that it may be given unto each of us to "eat of the hidden manna," and to receive the "white stone with a new name" that will insure perpetual and unspeakable happiness at His right hand.
The Lambskin being removed from the coffin, the Master holds it up and says:
W. M.: The Lambskin, or white leathern Apron, is an emblem of innocence and the badge of a Mason; more ancient than the Golden Fleece or Roman Eagle; more honorable than Star and Garter, when worthily worn. This emblem I now deposit in the grave of our deceased brother. [Deposits it.] By it we are reminded of that purity of life and conduct so essentially necessary to gaining admission to the Celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides.
The mattock, the coffin, and the melancholy grave admonish us of our mortality, and that, sooner or later, these frail bodies must moulder in their parent dust.
The Master, holding the evergreen, continues:
This evergreen, which once marked the temporary resting-place of the illustrious dead, is an emblem of our faith in the immortality of the soul. By it we are reminded that we have an immortal part within us, that shall survive the grave, and which shall never, never, never die. By it we are admonished that, though, like our brother whose remains lie before us, we shall soon be clothed in the habiliments of death, and deposited in the silent tomb, yet, through our belief in the mercy of God, we may confidently hope that our souls will bloom in eternal spring. This, too, I deposit in the grave.
The brethren then move in procession round the place of interment, and severally drop the sprig of evergreen into the grave, during which the following may be sung:
Funeral Dirge.
Mine ears attend the cry:
"Ye living men, come view the ground
Where you must shortly lie.
In spite of all your towers;
The tall, the wise, the reverend head,
Must lie as low as ours."
And are we still secure?
Still walking downward to the tomb,
And yet prepared no more?
To fit our souls to fly;
Then, when we drop this dying flesh,
We'll rise above the sky.
Or the following:
Pleyel's Hymn.
Notes of our departing time;
As we journey here below
Through a pilgrimage of woe.
For mortality is here!
See how wide her trophies wave
O'er the slumbers of the grave!
Seraphs of celestial wing,
To our funeral altar come,
Waft our friend and brother home.
After which the Masonic funeral honors are given.
The Grand Honors, practiced among Masons at funerals, whether in public or private, are given in the following manner: Both arms are crossed on the breast, the left uppermost, and the open palms of the hands sharply striking the shoulders; they are then raised above the head, the palms striking each other, and then made to fall smartly upon the thighs. This is repeated three times, and while they are being given the third time, the brethren audibly pronounce the following words—when the arms are crossed on the breast: "We cherish his memory here;" when the hands are extended above the head: "We commend his spirit to God who gave it;" and when the hands are extended toward the ground: "And consign his body to the grave."
The Master then continues the ceremony:
The Great Creator, having been pleased to remove our brother from the cares and troubles of this transitory existence to a state of endless duration, thus severing another link from the fraternal chain that binds us together, may we who survive him be more strongly cemented in the ties of union and friendship; and, during the short space allotted us here, we may wisely and usefully employ our time, and, in the reciprocal intercourse of kind and friendly acts, mutually promote the welfare and happiness of each other.
Unto the grave we now consign his body—earth to earth; ashes to ashes; dust to dust—there to remain until the trump shall sound on the Resurrection morn. We can trustfully leave him in the hands of Him who doeth all things well, who is "glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders."
To those of his immediate relatives and friends who are most heart-stricken at the loss we have all sustained, we have but little of this world's consolation to offer; we can only sincerely, deeply and most affectionately sympathize with them in their afflictive bereavement; but we can say, that He who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb looks down with infinite compassion upon the widow and fatherless in the hour of their desolation; and that the Great Architect will fold the arms of His love and protection around those who put their trust in Him.
Then let us improve this solemn warning, so that, when the sheeted dead are stirring, when the great white throne is set, we shall receive from the Omniscient Judge the thrilling invitation, "Come, ye blessed, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
The services will close with the following or some other suitable prayer:
Prayer.
Most Glorious God, Author of all good and Giver of all mercy, pour down Thy blessings upon us, and strengthen our solemn engagements with the ties of sincere affection. May the present instance of mortality remind us of our own approaching fate, and, by drawing our attention toward Thee, the only refuge in time of need, may we be induced to so regulate our conduct here that when the awful moment shall arrive at which we must quit this transitory scene, the enlivening prospect of Thy mercy may dispel the gloom of death, and that after our departure hence in peace and Thy favor, we may be received into Thine everlasting kingdom, and there enjoy that uninterrupted and unceasing felicity which is allotted to the souls of just men made perfect. "Bless those who are bereaved by this sad providence, and make this brotherhood faithful to their solemn vows, to comfort, aid, and protect those thus left to their sacred charge."
And now, O Lord, we pray for Thy hand to lead us in all the paths our feet must tread; and when the journey of life is ended, may light from our immortal home illuminate the dark valley and shadow of death, and voices of the loved ones welcome us to that "house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Amen.
The Master then approaches the head of the grave (or the entrance to the tomb), and gently says:
Soft and safe to thee, my brother, be this earthly bed. Bright and glorious be thy rising from it. Fragrant be the acacia sprig that here shall flourish. May the earliest buds of spring unfold their beauties on this, thy resting place; and here may the sweetness of the summer's rose linger latest. Though the cold blast of autumn may lay them in the dust, and for a time destroy the loveliness of their existence, yet the destruction is not final, and in the springtime they shall surely bloom again. So, in the bright morning of the world's resurrection, thy mortal frame, now laid in the dust by the chilling blast of death, shall spring again into newness of life, and expand, in immortal beauty, in realms beyond the skies. Until then, dear brother, until then, farewell.
The Benediction will then be pronounced by the Master, or Chaplain, as follows:
The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make His face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up the light of His countenance, and give us peace. Amen.
Response: So mote it be.
End of Service at Grave.
In very inclement weather service at the grave can be shortened by omitting any part of the ceremony except the apron, acacia and honors.
ANOTHER SERVICE AT THE GRAVE.
At the grave the Lodge forms a circle or semicircle. The Master and other officers of the Lodge take their position at the head of the grave; the Tyler behind the Master, and the mourners at the foot. The religious burial service of the church (if there be any) should be first performed, after which the Masonic service begins:
The following passage of Scripture, from Ecclesiastes, chapter xii, verses 1-7, is read:
Chaplain: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; while the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened; and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low; and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets; or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Master: One by one they pass away—the brothers of our adoption, the companions of our choice. A brother whose hand we have clasped in the bonds of fraternal fellowship now lies before us in the rigid embrace of death. All that remains of one near and dear to us is passing from our sight, and we know that we shall meet him on earth no more.
We, who knew him so well in our brotherhood, feel that in his departure from among the living, something has gone out of our own lives that can never be again. Thus, as human ties are broken, the world becomes less and less, and the hope to be reunited with friends who are gone, grows more and more. Here is immediate compensation, which, while it cannot assuage our grief, may teach resignation to the inevitable doom of all things mortal.
While we stand around the open grave, in the presence of a body once, and so lately, warm with life and animate with thought, now lingering for a brief moment at the dark portal of the tomb—like a beam of holy light the belief must come, this cannot be all there is of day. Stricken human nature cries out: There must be a dawn beyond this darkness and a never setting sun, while this short life is but a morning star.
The cycles of Time roll with the procession of seasons. Spring is bloom; summer is growth; autumn is fruition; winter is the shroud, and beneath its cold, yet kindly fold, live the germs of a new life. Spring comes again; growth matures, and fruit is eternal. This is the religion and lesson of Nature, and the universal example cannot fail in relation to man. Let us draw comfort and consolation from things visible in this sad scene, and lift our eyes to the invisible Father of all with renewed faith that we are in His Holy Hands. Besides His infinitude of worlds, we have also His word, "That He is All, and All-upholding."
We can do nothing for the dead. We can only offer respect to our brother's inanimate clay, and cherish his memory in the abiding faith that our temporary loss is his eternal gain. In this belief let us commit him with due reverence to the keeping of the All-Father, who is supreme in wisdom, infinite in love, and ordereth all things well.
(Family service to be omitted in case no relatives of the deceased are present.)
While we pay this tribute of respect and love to the memory of our late brother, let us not forget to extend our fraternal sympathy to his deeply afflicted and sorrowing family (wife, children, father, mother, brothers, sisters, as the relatives may be present): In your irreparable bereavement, and as he, for whom we are all mourners, was true to us, and faithful to the ties of our brotherhood, so shall we be true to you in the practice of the principles of Freemasonry and in tender memory of our loved and lost. He gave much of his time to us in devotion to our cause. We owe a grateful acknowledgement to you for his social companionship and service, and mingle our sorrows at parting with yours, his near and dear relations.
Master: "May we be true and faithful; and may we live and die in love!"
Response: "So mote it be."
Master: "May we profess what is good, and always act agreeably to our profession!"
Response: "So mote it be."
Master: "May the Lord bless us and prosper us, and may all our good intentions be crowned with success."
Response: "So mote it be."
The apron is taken from the coffin and handed to the Master; and while the coffin is being lowered into the grave, either of the following funeral dirges may be sung—the one used, to be selected and announced before leaving the lodge-room:
Funeral Dirge.
Air—Pleyel's Hymn.
Notes of our departing time,
As we journey here below
Through a pilgrimage of woe.
For Mortality is here;
See how wide her trophies wave,
O'er the slumber of the grave!
Seraphs of celestial wing,
To our funeral altar come,
Waft our friend and brother home.
Fill our hearts with truth and love;
When dissolves our earthly tie,
Take us to Thy lodge on high.
Hark, From the Tombs.
Mine ears attend the cry:
"Ye living men; come view the ground
Where you must shortly lie.
In spite of all your towers;
The tall, the wise, the reverend head
Must lie as low as ours."
And are we still secure?
Still walking downward to the tomb,
And yet prepared no more?
At the conclusion of the singing, the Master, displaying the apron, continues:
The Lambskin, or white leathern apron, is an emblem of innocence, and the badge of a Mason; more honorable than the crown of royalty, or the emblazoned insignia of princely orders, when worthily worn.
The Master drops the apron into the grave.
Our brother was worthy of its distinction, and it shall bear witness to his virtues, and our confidence in the sincerity of his profession.
W. M.: (Taking off his white glove and holding it up.) This Glove is a symbol of fidelity and is emblematic of that Masonic friendship which bound us to him whose tenement of clay now lies before us. It reminds us that while these mortal eyes shall see him not again, yet, by the practice of the tenets of our noble order and a firm faith and steadfast trust in the Supreme Architect, we hope to clasp once more his vanished hand in friendship and in love. (Deposits glove.) Those whom virtue unites, death can never separate.
The Master, displaying an evergreen sprig, continues:
The Evergreen is emblematic of our Faith in Immortality.
This green sprig is the symbol of that vital spark of our being which continues to glow more divinely when the breath leaves the body, and can never, never, never die.
The Master drops the evergreen in the grave, and the Brothers each make a similar deposit, with as little confusion as possible.
If the place is convenient, they march around the grave in a line. When all are again settled in their places, the public Grand Honors are given by three times three.
The will of God is accomplished; so mote it be. Amen.
The Master then continues:
Change is the universal law of mortality, and the theme of every page of its history. Here we view the most striking illustration of change that can be presented to mortal eyes, minds and hearts. Ties of fraternity, friendship, love, all broken, and earthly pursuits, hopes and affections laid waste by death. Let us profit by this example of the uncertainty of the world, and resolve to live honest, pure and worshipful lives in daily preparation for the summons that will, sooner or later, surely come. It came to our brother, whose remains we have here laid away to rest eternal, and reminds us that we, too, are mortal—subject to the universal law. Our brother is dead, and cannot speak for himself. Let us defend his good name. Frailties he may have had, as what mortal man has not? To err is human, charity is Divine, and judgment is with the Almighty and All-Merciful. In this resting place of the body, virtues only are remembered, and sweet memories bloom.
All must pass through the Shadow of Death, and each one must make the dark journey without the companionship of earthly friend. Let us all hasten to secure the passport of an upright life, to the glories of a better land. Unto the grave we have resigned the body of our brother.
The Master scatters a handful of earth in the grave.
Earth to earth; dust to dust (the S. W. scatters dirt in the grave); ashes to ashes (the J. W. scatters dirt in the grave); there to remain until the dawn of that resplendent day, when again, the morning stars shall sing together, and all the sons of God shall shout for joy.
Prayer by the Chaplain.
Chaplain: Almighty and eternal God, in whom we live and move, and have our being—and before whom all men must appear, in the judgment day to give an account of their deeds in life, we, who are daily exposed to the flying shafts of death, and now surround the grave of our fallen brother, most earnestly beseech Thee to impress deeply on our minds the solemnities of this day, as well as the lamentable occurrence that has occasioned them. Here may we be forcibly reminded that in the midst of life we are in death, and that whatever elevation of character we may have obtained, however upright and square the course we have pursued, yet shortly we must all submit as victims of its destroying power, and endure the humbling level of the tomb, until the last loud trump shall sound the summons of our resurrection from mortality and corruption.
May we have Thy divine assistance, O merciful God, to redeem our mis-spent time; and in the discharge of our important duties Thou has assigned us, in the erection of our moral edifice, may we have wisdom from on high to direct us, strength commensurate with our task to support us, and the beauty of holiness to adorn and render all our performances acceptable in Thy sight. And when our work is done, and our bodies mingle with the mother earth, may our souls, disengaged from their cumbrous dust, flourish and bloom in eternal day; and enjoy that rest which Thou hast prepared for all good and faithful servants, in that spiritual house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, through the great Redeemer. Amen.
So mote it be. Amen.
Fill grave.
W. M.: Soft and safe, my brother, be this thy earthly bed. Bright and glorious be thy rising from it. In the glorious morning of the resurrection may thy body spring again into newness of life, to live forever in the home of the blest. Until then, dear brother, farewell.
Benediction.
Chaplain: The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up the light of his countenance and give us peace. Amen.
RITUAL FOR A LODGE OF SORROW.
The following Ritual for a Lodge of Sorrow is recommended for use in the Lodges. While necessarily of a funeral character, it differs essentially from the burial service. In the latter case, we are in the actual presence of the departed, and engaged in the last rites of affection and respect for one who has been our companion in life, and whose mortal remains we are about to consign to their last resting-place. The Lodge of Sorrow, on the contrary, is intended to celebrate the memory of our departed brethren; and while we thus recall to our recollection their virtues, and temper anew our resolutions so to live, that, when we shall have passed the silent portals, our memories may be cherished with grateful remembrance, we learn to look upon death from a more elevated point of view; to see in it the wise and necessary transition from the trials and imperfections of this world, to the perfect life for which our transient journey here has been the school and the preparation. Vocal and instrumental music are indispensable to the proper effect of the ceremony. The brethren should wear dark clothing, and white gloves and aprons. There is no necessity for any attempt at secrecy in the ceremonies of Sorrow Lodges. They may be held in churches or public halls, or in the presence of friends at the Lodge room, with benefit to all concerned.
Preparation of the Hall.
I. The Lodge room should be appropriately draped in black, and the several stations covered with the same emblem of mourning.
II. On the Master's pedestal is a skull and lighted taper.
III. In the center of the room is placed the catafalque, which consists of a rectangular platform, about six feet long by four feet wide, on which are two smaller platforms, so that three steps are represented. On the third one should be an elevation of convenient height, on which is placed an urn. The platform should be draped in black, and a canopy of black drapery may be raised over the urn and platform.
IV. At each corner of the platform will be placed a candlestick, bearing a lighted taper, and near it, facing the East, will be seated a brother, provided with an extinguisher, to be used at the proper time.
V. During the first part of the ceremonies the lights in the room should burn dimly.
VI. Arrangements should be made to enable the light to be increased to brilliancy at the appropriate point in the ceremony.
VII. On the catafalque will be laid a pair of white gloves, a lambskin apron, and if the deceased brother had been an officer, the appropriate insignia of his office.
VIII. Where the Lodge is held in memory of several brethren, shields bearing their names are placed around the catafalque.
Opening the Lodge.
The several officers being in their places, and the brethren seated, the Worshipful Master will call up the Lodge and say:
W. M.: Brother Senior Warden, for what purpose are we assembled?
S. W.: To honor the memory of those brethren whom death hath taken from us; to contemplate our own approaching dissolution; and, by the remembrance of immortality, to raise our souls above the considerations of this transitory existence.
W. M.: Brother Junior Warden, what sentiments should inspire the souls of Masons on occasions like the present?
J. W.: Calm sorrow for the absence of our brethren who have gone before us; earnest solicitude for our own eternal welfare, and a firm faith and reliance upon the wisdom and goodness of the Great Architect of the Universe.
W. M.: Brethren, commending these sentiments to your earnest consideration, and invoking your assistance in the solemn ceremonies about to take place, I declare this Lodge of Sorrow opened.
The Chaplain, or Worshipful Master, will then offer the following, or some other suitable
Prayer:
Grand Architect of the Universe, in whose holy sight centuries are but as days; to whose omniscience the past and the future are but as one eternal present; look down upon Thy children, who still wander among the delusions of time—who still tremble with dread of dissolution, and shudder at the mysteries of the future; look down, we beseech Thee, from Thy glorious and eternal day into the dark night of our error and presumption, and suffer a ray of Thy divine light to penetrate into our hearts, that in them may awaken and bloom the certainty of life, reliance upon Thy promises, and assurance of a place at Thy right hand. Amen.
Response: So mote it be!
The following, or some other appropriate Ode may here be sung:
Ode.
Tune—Bradford, C. M.