Ronald A. Seale, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander

Freemasonry is a priceless gift to give or receive this holiday season or anytime.

The end of the year and the winter holiday season bring many rituals and special activities to our ordinary day-to-day routines.
For many of us, Christmas and Hanukkah involve the giving and receiving of gifts. Generally, the whole gift-giving scenario is positive. Sometimes, however, the stress of maneuvering through traffic jams, navigating crowded shopping malls, and worrying about appropriate gifts threatens to overwhelm the holiday’s good cheer. Yet we tolerate these aggravations in exchange for the joy brought by the season. The giving and receiving of gifts often is a major part of the holiday experience. We search, often frantically, for the “perfect gift” for each person on our list.

Parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles watch with delight as little fingers rip through carefully tied ribbons and colorfully wrapped boxes. Adults may share a quiet moment with spouses, family, or close friends as they exchange presents––symbols more than anything else––representing the bonds of love and friendship existing between the giver and the recipient. In a matter of moments, it is all over, and the ritual is complete for another year.

How many gifts of holidays past do you truly remember? How many gifts lie forgotten and unused on the top shelf of a closet? What presents are still cherished and used every day? Perhaps you still recall and treasure a special gift presented to you long ago, the result of great sacrifice by parents or other loved ones? Undoubtedly, these are the holiday treasures that remain, even if only in our memories.

We should recognize Freemasonry as one of our priceless gifts, given to us by a parent or a friend, now a Brother, who guided us toward the Craft. Within the Lodge, we meet good men, tried and true, who join us on our Masonic journey of service to God, our country, our fellowmen and, certainly, to ourselves.

In this special time of year, let us give thanks for our gift of Masonry and remember that this is one gift we can share with others by introducing them to the Craft. It is a “gift” that will continue to reward the recipient over and over again. May the blessings of the holiday season and of Masonry be yours at this time and throughout the New Year!