In the first degree you were given the Charity Lecture.

The Charity Lecture is a valuable basis for contemplation, and the lessons of the lecture are clear and concise.

In the Masonic Bulletin of November 1961, in an article entitled “The Value of Man” the writer speaks of:

“... a man’s value to the world.. [as]...the direct proportion to the unselfish service he renders. In the heart of every Freemason there is something - call it instinct, principle, or what you may - that provides him with more satisfaction in doing something for others rather than in doing something for himself.”

Millions of charitable acts are performed by Freemasons every day of the year, because charity is the cornerstone of Freemasonry. Consider the significance of your placement in the lodge when you received the Charity Lecture, the northeast comer, where the foundation stone is always placed when building a new structure.

Charity was the first lesson you were taught to consider as a Freemason. Kindness to our fellow human beings, whether it be a friendly handshake, a conversation, assisting a neighbor with a task, taking a friend to the airport, sending a card of congratulations, listening to a neighbor's heartache: these are all acts of charity, acts of care and concern.

A Freemason makes it his practice to be charitable to his fellow human beings