From the Venerable Master (August 2024)
My Brethren,
I will start by saying Hi, and hope that I find everyone in good health. On June 29th we had our 50's-60's Musical to raise funds for our Rite Care Clinic. It was a great success. We had a good attendance, the Music was great, dancing was good, Food excellent as always. The most important aspect of the night was raising funds for our clinic. I'm happy to say that we raised over $3,600 dollars for our clinic. Thanks to all who attended.
The July 9th Grand Master's reception was also a great success. We had a good attendance and everyone seemed to enjoy the dinner and the 7 Toasts we performed. Singing was at a high new level. Ill. Ken Nagel presented The Grand Master a beautiful Gavel, which was carved out by Worshipful Matt Spencer, Past Master of Liberty Lodge No. 299. A $5,000 check from the Scottish Rite was also presented to the Grand Master. Ill. Ken also presented Max Shanmugasundaran, newly elected as the 58th International Master Councilor, a check for his use as he travels extensively in his new position. Congratulation Max. I would encourage Master's of the Blue Lodges in Santa Clara Valley, to consider donating funds to Max's effort.
In this Month's Rite Word I would like to quote an article on Charity. It's an article from a book called Masonry Defined.
Charity. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and
understand all mysteries and knowledge, and have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." Such was the language of an eminent apostle of the Christian church, and such is the sentiment that constitutes the cementing bond of Freemasonry. The apostle, in comparing it with faith and hope, calls it the greatest of the three, and hence in Masonry it is made the topmost round of its mystic ladder. We must not fall into the too common error that charity is only that sentiment of commiseration which leads us to assist the poor with pecuniary donations. Its Masonic, as well as its Christian application is more noble and more extensive. The word used by the apostle, is in the original, a word denoting that kindly state of mind which renders a person full of good-will and affectionate regard towards others. John Wesley expressed his regret that the Greek had not been correctly translated as love instead of charity, so that the apostolic triad of virtues would have been, not "faith, hope and charity," but "faith, hope, and love." Then would we have understood the comparison made by St. Paul, when he said, "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor , and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing." Guided by this sentiment, the true Mason will "suffer long and be kind." he will be slow to anger and easy to forgive. He will stay his falling brother by gentile admonition, and warn him with kindness of approaching danger. He will not open his ear to his slanderers, and will close has lips against all reproach. Nor will these sentiments of benevolence be confined to those who are bound to him by ties of kindred or wordly friendship alone; but, extending them throughout the globe, he will love and cherish all who sit beneath the broad canopy of our universal lodge. For it is the boast of our Institution, that a Mason, destitute and worthy, may find in every clime a brother, and in every land a home. May you always have love to Share, Health to Spare, and friends who care. May you be blessed.
San Jose Lodge of Perfection Art Pasquinelli, 32° KCCH 2024 Venerable Master
From the Wise Master
(August 2024)
Greetings Brothers, Family & Friends, I am happy to report we had a fantastic Festival Board dinner with the Grand Master last month. The food was wonderful, Angela and her team did a great job. The service was outstanding, the Jobies and DeMolay really had all the courses coordinated and timely served between all the speeches. It is another great tradition of our Valley and congratulations go out to all our officers for pulling off an otherwise complicated evening with style & grace.
One of my favorite times of the year is July. Warm weather, little fog, the 4th, my birthday and many families get togethers over the years. This year my wife and I attended the large 4th of July celebration in front of City Hall in downtown Monterey. Called Colton Hall, it was the first capitol of California where the papers were signed to become the 31st State of the Union in 1850. Since then, our State has become the largest in the union in terms of population, third largest by area and the fifth largest economy in the world. Across the street from Colton Hall is Monterey Lodge No. 217. They had a wonderful fundraiser going with the Jobies, serving cotton candy & ice cream for the kids. There was a BBQ going on in the back for the brothers, family & friends. There were bands and banners, singing and sharing, celebration and reflection. Was a great day, everything it should have been.
Looking forward, August, was one of two months added in 753 BC as the sixth month to the original ten-month Roman year. Julius Caesar added two days in 46 BC, and it was renamed for Augustus Caesar in 8 BC. It is always amazing to me how history unfolds. August is also, National Civility Month, a topic always high on my list. My recent effort is a little thing I called “Waving at Strangers”. While driving, usually one often has that moment of connection via eye contact with another person on the road or walking. At that moment I just wave. It is amazing how often I get a wave back and usually a smile as well. So easy to do and something that goes so far in terms of human connection and living in a place where people care for each other and work together to make a better place. Imagine if everyone did this just once a day. Give it a try on your way through your day today. Doesn’t always work, so be careful when and where you try it though.
I hope you all continue to have a great summer, relaxing with Brothers, Family friends and co-workers. One of the great opportunities to continue to experience of Brotherly Love, Relief & Truth.
Thank you for listening.
San Jose Chapter of Rose Croix Mark Burger, 32° KCCH 2024 Wise Master
From the Commander of Kadosh (August 2024)
The 25th degree, Knight of the Brazen Serpent, continues the “mystery” degrees. This degree, after repeated reworkings, bears the tell-tale signs of its past. The name comes from the Book of Numbers, where the Israelites are punished with “fiery” snakes for cursing God and Moses. After several are bitten, they acknowledge their transgression and God directs Moses to make a bronze serpent and raise it on a pole. The stricken are healed simply by looking at it. This is the story referenced in the New Testament, when Jesus tells Nicodemus, “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”
The degree, in its original state, depicted the Old Testament story. However, when it was rewritten by Pike, it was transformed into a medieval Arabic context, centered around the Druze religion, a Middle Eastern faith which still exists today and is loosely connected to Islam. When the degree was later revised further into the form we have now, the Druze, who Pike admired, were replaced with Sufis, thought to be a more accurate representation of a mystical tradition in Islam. The degree displays the markings of each of its past lives, but the only direct reference to the original story is in the name; Knight of the Brazen Serpent.
Weary from wandering the desert, the Israelites spoke against God, who in response sent to them, ha-nehashim ha-serafim, Hebrew words, usually translated “fiery serpents.” The translation is interesting. The spelling of the word serafim is the same as the six-winged angels seen by Isaiah, one of whom purged him of sin. This provides for one of the most interesting passages in the Zohar. It tells that these serafim, the fiery serpents, are the demonic counterpart to those angels which “stood above” God. The use of the definite article makes it clear these are not just any snakes but the fiery serpents. The Zohar explains that evil speech, like that murmured by the Israelites against God, attracts the Serpent. As is typical, the expla- nation is heavily layered with symbolism.
Ultimately the story of the Brazen Serpent is one of repentance and redemption. The Israelites admitted what they had done wrong and apologized, then they were forgiven and given a way to heal. This is our lesson. We all, at times, say things that we wish we could take back. However, like a bell that you can’t unring, once the words come out, there is no retracting them. Masons should never hesitate to right a wrong when they can, and sometimes a simple way to do that is just to say “I’m sorry.”
Until Next,
San Jose Council of Kadosh Peter Cardilla, 32° 2024 Commander of Kadosh
From the Master of Kadosh (August 2024)
This month we have a very brief de- scription of the five Platonic Solids (shorter than earlier works as I have been told yet again that my postings are too long). As in previous articles, we present excerpts from the book “Sacred Geometry – Deciphering the Code”, by Stephen Skinner. From Sacred Geometry, pages 54 and 55 (from the paperback edition of this book):
<excerpt>
The Five Platonic Solids
Regular polygons are multisided figures that can be in- scribed with a circle so that all their vertices (corners) touch that circle. Likewise, regular solid polygons may be inscribed within a sphere, with all vertices touching its surface. Their faces are made up of regular polygons. Plato called these 3-D polygons perfect, and he defined five solids:
Tetrahedron 4-sided (tetra = 4)
Hexahedron/cube 6-sided (hexa = 6)
Octahedron 8-sided (octa = 8)
Dodecahedron 12-sided (dodeca = 12)
Icosahedron 20-sided (icosa = 20)
These five solids became an important part of both practical and mystical geometry, although Plato was not the first to think of them: the first three belonging to Pythagorias and the last two to Theaeteus (in the fourth century BC).
Millions of shapes are composed of irregular polygons, but only five solids can be made up of regular polygons. Because of this rarity, Aristotle and Plato assumed they formed the building blocks of matter and so matched the five solids with the four classical elements plus ether.
Hedron simply means surface, so the regular polyhedrons are 3-D shapes made up of surfaces that are symmetrical multisided figures (see table below).
You can relate all these multisided figures together using the very useful master formula:
Number of edges + 2 = number of faces + number of vertices
Although the solids look complex they are actually quite simple:
The cube is the most basic regular box shape.
The tetrahedron is a pyramid with a triangular base.
The octahedron is two identical, square based pyramids joined together.
The five solids form two pairs of elements, duals, plus ether. The cube (earth) and the octahedron (air) are geometric ‘duals,’ meaning that one can be created inside the other by connecting the midpoints of all the faces. So you can generate a cube inside an octahedron, inside a cube, inside an octahedron, and so on, forever.
As the cube is the dual of the octahedron, so the dodecahedron is the dual of the icosahedron, while the tetrahedron is a dual of itself. This implies a special relationship between earth and air, and between water and ether, while fire can only ‘generate’ itself. [ The color images in the book do not translate well to black-and-white articles, so I have redrawn ]
[In summary] The five Platonic solids were associated with the four ancient elements and ether (the upper air) and are the only perfectly pure regular solids.
</excerpt>
San Jose Consistory Helmuth Litfin, 32° 2024 Venerable Master of Kadosh
From the Chief Knight (August 2024)
Happy harvest season. Here’s hoping everyone has been enjoying their summer.
The KSA chapter continues to entertain the call to perform and serve our masonic family outside the Valley. We provided a mixed arch of steel with the Santa Clara DeMolay boys at the Rainbow Assembly No. 5 installation of officers at the end of June. More recently, we presented our nation’s flag at the Grand Master’s reception, and it was our pleasure to provide an 8+ man arch of steel receiving Most Worshipful Sean Metroka and is Wife Margaret.
In observance of our Grand Master’s proclamations, the San Jose chapter of the Knights of Saint Andrew calls our thoughts, prayers and gratitude to uplift and celebrate our first responders.
If anyone would like to get more involved with our Valley, the KSA is a great way to do it. To learn more about the KSA, join us on the 3rd Sunday of each month, at noon, down in the San Jose Scottish Rite conference room. Kilt not required.
San Jose Knights of St. Andrew
Michael Lammer, 32°
2024 Chief Knight, KSA
The Knights of Saint Andrew 2024 Officers
First Knight | Bro. Chris Boyes 32º |
Chief Knight | Bro. Mike Lammer 32º |
Knight of the Watch | Bro. Alan Porjesz 32º |
Secretary | Bro. Tim Lynch 32º |
Monk Knight | Bro. Adrian Otero 32º |
Sentinel | Bro. Angelo Encarnacion 32º |