A stage alit with knaves and Kings, followers and detractors, wisemen and fools.
Bro. Victor A. Cruz, Chaplain, St. John’s, Newburyport
Mid-October, and I received a “Dear Brother” letter from a Thomas Kenney. Subject line: “AASR Valley of Boston.” The email read, verbatim, as follows: “Have you considered furthering your Masonic journey by becoming a Scottish Rite Freemason? How would you like to become a 32nd Degree Mason and have a special jewel to wear, and do it all in ONE DAY? You can accomplish this at the upcoming Valley of Boston’s Grand Master’s One-Day Class on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at the Grand Lodge Building in Boston. Yes. You can become a 32nd degree Freemason IN JUST ONE DAY. Nothing to memorize – No Cipher books. It is easy to do and lots of fun.”
Wherein Brother Kenney concluded his note with “Breakfast, Lunch and Collation included,” to which I exclaimed, “Sign me up!” A free Boylston street parking voucher sealed the deal.
Who could resist such an offer? Next thing I know I’m driving at zero dark thirty into Boston. At first blush I’d say it was a ‘life-affirming’ experience. Not quite ‘life-changing’ but close enough. For years, two brethren from Philanthropic Lodge Marblehead—Michael Perez and Steve Lipsky—had been peddling Scottish Rite, sending me photos of the pair dressed up like Moses and Abraham, sporting glued-on beards, clad in draping robes fit for a Biblical allegory. They were the Wine Pourers. (“Real wine! Not grape juice!”)
First impression: Never have so many brothers surrounded me. Breakfast at 6:30 am in the Grand Master’s Banquet Hall Sub-Basement was like someone had yelled “Fire!” at Penn Station. Brothers of all shapes and sizes, of all ages. In all, 110 candidates came to become 32° Masons that day, hailing from Mass., NH, CT, NY, even Miami. “Low turnout,” an Officer admitted, “We’ve had as many as 250 candidates at once.”
Scottish Rite Masons are guided by six core values: “Reverence for God, Devotion to country, Tolerance, Integrity, Justice, and Service to humanity.”
Starting with the 4th degree, the One-Day class has candidates witness the exemplification of seven degrees: Builder, Perfect Master (5th degree); Master of the Brazen Serpent (6th) Prince of Jerusalem (16th); Knight of the Rose Croix (18th); Knight of St. Andrew (29th) and the final 32nd degree: Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret.
The entire ceremony, oaths and obligations took place at Gothic Hall at Grand Lodge, an impressive high-ceilinged theater with a guesstimated seating capacity of 400. The event was packed to the rafters, with brothers forced to occupy the balcony, seated beside a wall- mounted bronze pipe organ, a microphoned soloist and organist.
The Prince of Jerusalem drama put 35 characters on stage, featuring Princes and Workmen, Guards and Sentinels, Satraps and Wine Pourers. A stage alit with knaves and Kings, followers and detractors, wisemen and fools. All of them 32° tribesmen.
Months of preparation and stage direction, a production, wardrobe and makeup crew of 13 assured a successful proceeding to much fanfare. A handshake by Worshipful Grand Master George F. Hamilton, a Massachusetts Consistory jewel and red rose, Scottish Rite pin and gold coin, comprised the encore, followed by a final 4:00 pm collation, also to much fanfare.
The One-Day class is held twice per year. You won’t be doing it alone. As the Rite says, “The journey begins in the heart. Always in the heart.”
