10/03/2026
Missing my New York Brothers!
I just wanted to take a moment to share something that I have experienced as a traveling Mason and coming to Norfolk, VA for my Active Duty Service.
Being in my own without family has been very eye opening, knowing th8that we will be separated for a time.
I have attended Masonic meetings since arriving at a few lodges. All have been very welcoming and kind. Many people may think of me as an extrovert, but in reality I am very introverted. It took effort to get out and meet others, but my connection with Masonry gave me energy. In our modern society can be difficult and dangerous. But meeting my Brothers here was so comforting and sacred.
One of the most simple things we may take for granted are the meals we serve before and after meetings. Many lodges unfortunately have haulted this aspect of meetings due to cost.
Well, in all the traveling and eating out that I have had to do, food became a choir and lost its taste.
Upon arriving to the lodge the Brothers said please join us for dinner. It isn't much, we are just having chili. They did not know that my mind went to the last meal that I had which was my wife's homemade chili that I love. Actually, it was so moving to me, to have this nice home-cooked meal was so comforting, that I had to take a moment to compose myself.
As I enjoyed the meal with my Brothers, I saw the variety of ages there, Brothers who had worked all day, the elderly Brothers who had lost their spouses, and those like me who had just arrived from distant places.
As the feeling of being in a familiar place with people that I had a connection with, I realized the feel importance of our meals and fraternity.
And perhaps that is one of the quiet lessons of the Craft: we never truly know what a simple act of Brotherly Love may mean to another.
That evening, far from my family and the comforts of home, I came to the Lodge as a traveling Mason. I entered among men I had scarcely known, yet I sat at a table among Brothers. There were no grand speeches and no extraordinary ceremonies—only fellowship, laughter, conversation, and a warm bowl of chili.
Yet in that simple meal, I found something I had not realized I needed.
I found home.
The working tools teach us to shape our lives, the ritual teaches us to remember, and the Light of Masonry teaches us how to walk. But perhaps the table teaches us something equally important: to make room for one another.
So keep a chair open for the Brother who walks through your door. Pour him a cup of coffee. Break bread with him. Ask his name and listen to his story. You may think you are simply offering him supper, never knowing that he has traveled many miles, carries the weight of separation in his heart, or is longing for something familiar.
Someday, each of us will be the traveler.
And when that day comes, may we find a light burning in the Lodge, a place waiting at the table, and a Brother who looks up and simply says,
“Come sit with us. You are home.”
Mealtime Dedication:
Gathered together to partake of this meal
Friendships to seek Obligations to seal
Brethren of all the Great Architect's creation
These men known worldwide as "Freemasons"
Brethren I convey unto you
Give your live's meaning and judgment true
Take time to enjoy our Creators earth
It has been ours since time's birth
The sands of time quickly flow
Just as a burning candle looses its glow
Walk along the beaches of golden sand
Truly the work of the Master's plan
Take time to smell the perfumed flowers
Each and every day and waking hour
Life is to short don't let it pass
Seek its knowledge so long and vast
In closing I wish with you to impart
Pass what you've learned from the heart
To be inherited to every brother the
Square & Compasses on the Level of time true.
