Peter M. Panos, 32°, K.C.C.H.
8502 E. Chapman Ave. Apt 333, Orange, California 92869-2461
bluelodge@earthlink.net

Wisdom is only one of the Craft's many treasures.

In retrospect, I consider myself very fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time for Freemasonry. After being handed a petition and knocking three times at the Lodge door, the pathway to the treasures of Freemasonry opened before me. An analogy might be the scene in the movie The Wizard of Oz where the door of the monochromatic world is flung open to reveal a new and wonderful world of many colors. Masonry was like that for me. The many facets and colors of this new world were revealed to me, one new color at a time with each Degree. Upon receiving the Sublime Degree of Master Mason, I truly felt that I was now a part of the august body of Masons. But as soon as possible after being raised a Master Mason, I entered into a world within a world and began receiving additional light and more colors by becoming a Master of the Royal Secret, a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason. The lessons learned from the Degrees are certainly part of the many treasures to be found in Masonry.

I started reading a vintage edition of Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander. As many of you know, Pike's great work contains esoteric explanations of the Scottish Rite Degrees. Since my teen years, I had read many philosophical and esoteric works, so Morals and Dogma was not entirely alien to me. In fact, Pike was touching upon subjects that I recognized as being universal truths from time immemorial. For the privilege of understanding even fragments of Morals and Dogma, we should be forever indebted to our great Brother. We should also be indebted to two modern men of the Scottish Rite for having the insight to distill Pike's work in books like A Bridge to Light by Ill. Bro. Rex R. Hutchens, 33°, Grand Cross, and Vested In Glory by Ill. Bro. Jim Tresner, 33°, Grand Cross. Both books are beautifully illustrated and fascinating to read. They should be included on every Scottish Rite Mason's bookshelf.

As Ill. Bros. Pike, Hutchens, and Tresner prove, Freemasonry is composed of truly good men who do great work. To be surrounded by such men in our Lodges and Temples and to be able to read the great Masonic writings of the past and present help make us better men in general and better Freemasons in particular. The treasure of our Craft consists not only of golden nuggets of wisdom we pick up along the way but also of the bonds of friendship we acquire. Such friendships are priceless, and no Mason can afford to be without them. They enrich and complete the Masonic experience.

Every Mason I have had the pleasure to know has helped me in some way. Like artists shaping the clay of their creation, the Brethren of the Craft have shaped me. For that, I am truly grateful. We are each a part of a greater whole, and that is why we are all important to each other. We cannot afford, as a society of friends and Brothers, to sever our Masonic ties. We are the stones of the building, and our friendship is the mortar that unites those stones into the common mass of our great and ancient structure. Without that mortar, our beloved Fraternity is destined to become a pile of rubble and a fading memory in history.

Yes, it is true that we are all individuals and sometimes have our differences, but on the whole and in the greater scheme of things, we are as one in the common bond of Masonry.

ecognizing this fact, it should be very easy to welcome with open arms every new man that walks into the fold. How did you feel when you entered the door of Freemasonry for the first time? You, too, were an explorer in a new world and did not yet know the language of this new land. You learned from a Brother how to walk among Brothers. You learned from Brothers to value the treasures of our Craft. Now it is your turn.

Help the new Brother to find the same things you were looking for when you took that first step. Then, in the golden years of your Masonic life, you will be able to look back at all the lives you have become a part of and all the friendships you have shared. That, too, is the treasure of Freemasonry.

Peter M. Panos serves as Director of the Work for the Scottish Rite Bodies in the Valley of Santa Ana, California, and is Past Commander of the Council of Kadosh. He was raised at Orange Grove Lodge No. 293, in Orange, California, and is a member of El Bekal Shrine Temple. He is Past High Priest of Orange County Chapter No. 73 of Royal Arch Masons of California and is a member of the Cryptic Masons, Knights Templar, and Allied Masonic Degrees. He served as Trustee for the Orange County Masonic Memorial Foundation and is a Life Sponsor of the Knights Templar Eye Foundation.