Masonry is too great an institution to have been made in a day, much less by a few men, but was a slow evolution through long time, unfolding its beauty as it grew. Indeed, it was like one of its own cathedrals which one generation of builders wrought and vanished, and another followed, until, amidst vicissitudes of time and change, of decline and revival, the order itself became a temple of Freedom and Fraternity.
Interpretation
Masonry is a process that develops over time through the contributions of many individuals, symbolizing freedom and fraternity.
In this quote, Joseph Fort Newton emphasizes that masonry, much like the construction of grand cathedrals, is not a product of instant creation but rather the result of a gradual evolution that involves the efforts of many generations. Each brick laid symbolizes the human spirit's quest for freedom and fraternity, highlighting how the principles of masonry reflect a collective journey shaped by time's challenges and triumphs.
In practice
This quote could be shared during a discussion about the history of architecture.
The empire of Christ the King includes not only Catholic nations, not only baptized persons who, though of right belonging to the Church, have been led astray by error, or have been cut off from her by schism, but also all those who are outside the Christian faith: so that truly the whole of mankind is subject to the power of Jesus Christ.
As so often before, liberty has been wounded in the house of its friends.
Clouds and darkness surround us, yet Heaven is just, and the day of triumph will surely come, when justice and truth will be vindicated.
Most modern reproducers of life, even including the camera, really repudiate it. We gulp down evil, choke at good.
Great steps in human progress are made by things that don't work the way philosophy thought they should. If things always worked the way they should, you could write the history of the world from now on. But they don't, and it is those deviations from the normal that make human progress.
I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know He will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek His powerful aid.
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