The Principal Tenets of Freemasonry:
Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth
Tonight I want to start a series of three Masonic Minutes that will remind us the core reasons why we became members of this fraternity. I hope it will help us all to remember those reasons and strengthen our commitment to them. These Minutes are based on a brief essay provided to members of the Shrine to remind them that, at their core, they are Master Masons. However, it is good for all of us, regardless of out Mason affiliations, to remember why we chose this path in the first place.
The Three Principal Tenets of Freemasonry are Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Tonight we will focus on Love.
Brotherly love is one of the closest bonds that can exist between individuals. If we are to practice brotherly love, we must be willing to look past differences or trivial criticisms always attempting to see the good that exists in brothers or, for that fact, other people in general. We need to put aside our biases and remember that: “All men are my Brethren”. We should subscribe to the basic belief that if we are truly to practice brotherly love we will need to regard the whole human species as one family, the high and low, rich and poor, who are taught to aid, support and protect each other. Brotherly Love is difficult to practice anytime, maybe even more so today, but if we desire to be good members of the Fraternity, good citizens and good members of the human race, practice it we must.