Values
Acting with honesty and integrity.
Freemasonry is a large fraternal organisation that promotes moral and personal development amongst its members. Its core values include caring for others, helping those in need and acting with honesty and integrity.
Integrity is a noun from the Latin word intergritas and has a meaning of steadfast adherence to a strict moral or code with a consistency of actions, values, honesty and truthfulness.
Loyalty is a noun from the old French word loial and has a meaning of the quality of faithfulness, fidelity, fealty and allegiance.
Respect is a noun and has a meaning of a state of deference, esteem and honour, a positive feeling or action shown towards someone.
Obligations which call on us to apply the principal virtues of faith, hope and charity
Collectively the theme pillars what it means when a person takes the step to become a Freemason. The embodiment of the theme lies in the charges and obligations we take on ourselves when we enter Freemasonry – obligations which entail collective as well as personal responsibilities.
Obligations which call on us to apply the principal virtues of faith, hope and charity:
- Faith to follow the moral dictates of our hearts and minds – ‘the sub stance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.’
- Hope that our faith will be manifest in the things we learn, and in our turn, teach.
- Charity – or as it is now more commonly understood, love – to share our lives, knowledge, understanding and means with others, especially our brethren.
Obligations which call on us to apply the cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice to:
- be prudent in our deeds and thoughts;
- temper our actions with wisdom;
- accept life’s tribulations and burdens with equanimity; and above all to be just in our dealings with others, but not to be judgemental.
