En:Masonic Funeral Service

Masonic Funeral Service

Source: VT Monitor

as practised in USA (by the Grand Lodge of Virginia).

Chaplain:

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills; from whence cometh my help? My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; He will keep thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and even forevermore.

Master:

Death and the dead are with us again, my brethren, teaching us the brevity and uncertainty of human life, the instability of human fortune, and demanding of us the last sad offices of charity and brotherhood. Again we lament the loss of a brother who sleeps the sleep that, on this earth, knows no wakening.

The body of our late brother lies before us, overtaken by that relentless fate which is sooner or later to overtake us all, and which no worth or virtue, no wealth or honor, no tears of friends and loving ones can avert or delay, teaching us the impressive lesson, continually repeated, yet always soon forgotten, that ere long everyone of us must follow in his way.

Very eloquent, my brethren, are the pale, still lips of the dead! With a pathos and impressiveness that no living lips can equal or even approach, these lips of marble preach to us sermons that cannot be translated into words. Most eloquently they tell us how vain and empty are all hatreds, jealousies, disputes and rivalries, of human life. But this body is not our brother, but that which was his material part until God laid his finger on him and he slept. He was mortal but now has put on immortality.

Chaplain:

Let us pray.

Almighty and Most Holy God, in whom we live and move and have our being, we bow in thy presence with a profound sense of our dependence in thee. Thou alone art our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Most humbly do we seek thy blessing in this our time of need. May thy consolation be sufficient in our trouble, and thy peace comfort us in our sorrow. In thy keeping we leave our brother, assured that in the larger life of the spirit upon which he has entered thou wilt do for him more abundantly than we can ask or think.

Remember in thy great mercy his sorrowing relatives and friends. Give to them thy peace which passeth all understanding that they may be comforted. May they not sorrow as those who have no hope, but with Spiritual vision see beyond the grave the glories of the eternal life to which thou hast called their loved one.

Teach us anew the brevity of this earthly life, even at its longest. Help us to live as becometh immortals, giving ourselves in goodly and loving service to thee and to humanity, that when this earthly house of our tabernacle is destroyed we may have an abundant entrance into that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, where parting will be no more. Amen.

All:

Our Father which art in heaven: Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. 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, men cannot always labor nor live always. Today our brother answers not our call. Once he lived and labored among us, but now his star has set on this world and he has passed into the light that lies beyond the darkness of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. We shall no more hear his voice until we shall have answered, in another world, the voice that has called him thither. In a little while, as it has happened to our brother whose memory we now honor, so will it happen to us, and we like him shall be gathered to our fathers. Let us then not forget the lessons taught us by our brother's death; but remembering the uncertainty of life and the little value of those things for which most men strive, may we the more earnestly endeavor to obey the laws of God and labor to do good to our fellow men.

(The Master now takes the Apron and deposits it on the casket (if at the house); in the grave (if at the burial place) and continues as follows):

Master:

The lamb skin Apron is an emblem of innocence and the badge of a Mason. Here we have no permanent lodge or place of abode, but we look for one to come. Not trusting in ourselves, but in God, who preserveth the living and enliveneth the dead, we hope to pass an everlasting day of blissful brotherhood in a lodge in that house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

This Evergreen is an emblem of our faith in the immortality of the soul. By it we are reminded there dwells within our tabernacle of clay an imperishable, immortal spirit over which the grave has no dominion and death no power.

(The Master then brings his right hand to his left breast; then extends it, palm downward, over the grave (or casket if at house), depositing the Evergreen, then carries it above his head, pointing to Heaven, and then drops it to his side.)

Master continues:

From time immemorial it has been the custom of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons to render services indicative of their respect for a deceased brother, their sorrow at his loss, their sympathy with his friends and their steadfast faith in a life beyond the grave. In accordance with this custom we now commit the body of our brother to its kindred dust and leave him reverently and trustingly in the hands of him who doeth all things well.

Friend and brother, farewell. Thou art at rest from thy labor. Raised by the Supreme Grand Master's word may you hereafter share the honors of perfection, the joys of bliss immortal.

Chaplain:

Let us pray.

Our gracious Father, with a glorious faith in the resurrection we consign the body of our brother to its grave; comfort us in our afflictions; forgive us all that thou seeth amiss; bring us finally to the Celestial Lodge above to be with thee forevermore. Amen.

Response:

So mote it be.

Chaplin:

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

And unto him, the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be glory and honor forever and ever. Amen

The lodge escorts the mourners to the entrance of the cemetery, (if the service has been held there) and returns to the hall and closes. If service has been held at house the lodge returns at once to hall and close.

Links

• Masonic Funeral Ritual http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/masonry/Misc/funeral-IL.pdf
• Handbook for Masonic Memorial Services (Iowa) http://grandlodgeofiowa.org/docs/ObituaryRites/MasonicMemorialHandbook.pdf
• How to conduct a Masonic funeral http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/how_to_conduct_a_masonic_funeral.htm
• Masonic Funeral / Memerial Service (Connecticut) http://www.themasonictrowel.com/masonic_talk/masonic_matter/files/masonic_matter_2003_07_12.htm
• Fundamentals of Masonic Funeral Rites http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/masonic_funeral_rites.html
• Masonic Funerals http://www.themasonictrowel.com/masonic_talk/masonic_matter/files/masonic_matter_2003_07_12.htm
• Masonic Funeral Committee http://www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com/masonic-funeral-committee.html
• Masonic Last Rites Request Form (North Carolina) http://grandlodge-nc.org/storage/wysiwyg/FuneralForm.pdf
• The Masonic Funeral service done well http://freemasoninformation.com/2011/02/the-masonic-funeral-service-done-well/