When I was first raised in Solomon’s Lodge No. 114 (1982) I was very impressed with the archaic beauty of the language used in the degree work. I took extremely seriously the admonition that in doing a degree every single word should be exactly like its ancient origin. There is a strength and comfort that comes from stability and continuity of language.

Naively, I assumed the language used in the various rituals of degree work and lodge business was exactly the same throughout the world. Vaguely, I realized this could not be in non-English speaking countries but surely it was the case in the U.S. and the U.K. A few years after my raising I had the privilege of sitting with several New Jersey lodges when they were giving degrees. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the words were quite different! And in a bordering state! A few years after that I saw the Royal Canadian Mounted Police exemplify a degree and it was even much more different! In the past few weeks, in my comfortable retirement locale in Florida I have seen local lodges do degree work. Now I am amused by my original naiveté in thinking all words had to be exactly the same. Those of you who have had the privilege these past few years of traveling abroad with Solomon’s Lodge No. 3 visiting lodges in Scotland, England, Italy and Scandinavia have experienced, no doubt, even more differences between our highly regarded Pennsylvania work and that of other jurisdictions.

However, you also must have noticed, as I have even with my relatively limited experience, the basic, core similarities bonding all the lodges, U.S. and foreign, near and far. They all stress the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of the Almighty. They all impress on us that we have a responsibility for the welfare of our brothers, their families and indeed, our nation. Our Masonic duties do not lie in merely repeating word for word sterile oaths from ancient times but in fulfilling, here and now, duties and responsibilities to each other. This is the true strength of Freemasonry.