Ronald A. Seale, 33°
Sovereign Grand Commander

During the holiday season it is easy to lose sight of what we
are truly celebrating.

Usually, the first holiday greeting card of the season arrives in my mailbox promptly on the day after Thanksgiving. It is always a thing of beauty. Yes, the holidays are upon us, and with them come many customs and traditions. We often find the pace of life picks up a bit, schedules become harried, and social obligations compete for the rare unfilled spaces on our calendar. Traffic is heavy and stores are full. We are told to enjoy the season yet often find it difficult to follow this advice and to keep our focus on the true meaning of the holiday amid the seasonal hustle and bustle. Especially during this time of the year, it's easy to lose sight of what we are celebrating and to wonder with dismay what all the fuss is about.

Both Christmas and Hanukkah have traditions calling us to a time of thanksgiving and remembrance. As Christians, we give thanks to the Great Architect of the Universe for the gifts of His Son. Our Jewish Brethren thank the Creator for the miracle of Hanukkah with the restoration and cleansing of the Temple. Perhaps at this time of the year, more than any other, we should be grateful for our many blessings. Of course, we say thanks for the material gifts customarily received during the holiday season, but we should remember the gifts of greater value, those intangible blessings in our lives that are beyond price-family, friends, and good health. To me, another of these rich blessings is membership in the Fraternity we hold so dear as Masons.

Sovereign Grand Commander Ronald A. Seale, 33°, with his wife, Saundra, and their children, Michael and Stephanie

Freemasonry shares a second common factor with Christmas and Hanukkah-Light. Christians celebrate the coming of the Light of Christ into the world. Jewish Brethren celebrate the miraculous supply of oil that kept the eternal lamp burning during the reconsecration of the Temple.

Christmas and Hanukkah occur when darkness and cold rule. Gone are the golden crisp days of autumn, and the freshness of spring is only a promise. And yet, in the midst of winter, these two great religious traditions share the symbol of Light and the theme of sharing it with others.

This calls to mind the role of Freemasonry as a source of Light. Above all else, we, as Brothers in the Craft, are called to be bearers of Light. To those who knock at our doors and kneel at our altars, we offer a Light which is desperately needed in a darkened world. In today's culture of easy fixes, superficial measures of status, and material greed, Masonry quietly proclaims that there is a better way and a nobler path leading upward to a better man. To the adventurous traveler who sets out on this journey, the Light of Masonic knowledge illuminates his way and leads him home.

Keep the light burning-always.