Freemasonry: The Naked Truth

In Latin, the first meaning of the word initiatio, was "To start off on the journey". This means that logically there is a dynamic connection or communication between two points. These two points are, for a Freemason, the world of matter on the one hand and the spiritual world on the other. To be initiated means that we are starting our journey towards a world of the spirit that is very different from the material world.

The problem for Freemasons who have been initiated too young or out of pure curiosity is that Initiation into Freemasonry corresponds to virginity in young girls. It is not possible to return to the previous state if we are disappointed. Our experience is unique in every sense of the word. That is why each Lodge should carefully prepare this ceremony, in order to provide candidates with a clear roadmap that will enable them to advance on their journey for a long time.

There are some Lodges in American Freemasonry (we can hardly refer to them as “Masonic”) who sell Initiations for a few thousand dollars. Then we see gatherings of up to five hundred candidates who are initiated collectively. It is a way for the Lodge in question to generate half a million dollars in a single afternoon for the reconstruction of a hospital. It is a case of effective charity, but we cannot call it Freemasonry.

However the France the authors live in is almost as bad. There are also con artists in our country who sell degrees or “patents” to anyone who is willing to pay to obtain them. In short, for a few thousand Euros, you start out as a Companion in the morning and in the evening you leave with the rank of 33^rd degree ... or even higher if you work according to the Egyptian Rites. You can even go as far as the 95th degree if your savings can afford it. As a bonus, if you know how to be generous, you can obtain the whole kit to create and run your own Grand Lodge in the Indian Ocean, and possibly, in certain cases, closer to home.

If we talk of effective scams, the Catholic Church can hardly be outdone. Take, for example, the selling of indulgences. The early Church introduced indulgences to enable remission for Christians imprisoned for their faith. In return the beneficiary had to perform an action to receive it, quite often reciting a specific prayer or performing some kind of good work. But by the late Middle Ages, things had spiralled out of control and the indulgences were quite often counterfeit, sold by travelling monks who kept the money, and the Church was unable to put an end to the abuse.