CLC - ENTERED APPRENTICE - 05.22.17

C OMPASSION Compassion flows from the Masonic commitment to Relief. In the words of our lecture, “To soothe the unhappy, to sympathize with their misfortunes, to compassionate their miseries, and to restore peace to their troubled minds, is the great aim we have in view.” And a noble aim it is. Where joy is to be found, sorrow is often close at hand. In another part of the lecture we are reminded that the symbolic ground floor of King Solomon’s Temple was a pavement of alternating squares of black and white, symbolizing that human life itself is “checkered with good and evil.” We can expect “rough patches” in life, and as Masons we watch for ways to help others over the setbacks that come our way. That is what compassion is all about. It is a watchful caring for others, an entering into their misfortunes in a way that lets them know that we share their pain as well as their joy.

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