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M. W. Hazen
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The Grand Lodge Certificate
By RW Bro. P. H. Hughes, Vancouver and Quadra Lodge, No. 2
The illustration surmounting the certificate is surrounded by the thistle, shamrock and rose, showing that the Grand Lodges of the British Isles are the parent stems from which we derive our masonic life. Within this imperial garland are the royal arms, indicating that royalty is the patron of Freemasonry w1thin the Empire, while the motto "God and my Right" declares to us two of the great principles of Freemasonry, namely, a firm belief in the great Architect of the Universe, and the determination to maintain that liberty of conscience for which Freemasonry has ever stood.
In the foreground of the illustration is a shield, on one half of which are the lion and the crown, and on the other, three castles, symbols respectively of strength, of authority, and of protection. Supporting the shield on the dexter s1de is Faith with folded hands in an attitude of devotion and on the sinister side is Hope in an attitude of exaltation, while behind the shield stands Charity cherishing an orphan child, a symbol of the love and protection which is extended to the helpless and the weak by the brethren of the Craft.
In the background there are pictured the mountains of our sunset province, with their peaks of eternal snow overlooking forest, stream, and plain, indicative of the vast resources wh1ch, for our material benefit, nature has w1th lavish hand laid down through many years.
Above all is a triangle representing the three-fold nature of man, namely, the physical, the moral, and the intellectual. Within the triangle is the all-seeing eye of divine direction, to which we need never look in vain for sure guidance on life's pathway.
In the body of the parchment are three pillars, representing wisdom, love and beauty; wisdom in thought, word and action in all our daily walk and conversation; love to mankind; and beauty of sterling character and of lofty 1deal. Between the several pillars, inscribed in English and in Latin is, in brief, a history of progress in Masonry, and a declaration to this and every other land, of the right to the privileges of Freemasonry wherever Brethren meet for fellowship or ceremonial according to the rites and customs of our ancient institution.
On the tessellated floor are the terrestrial and celestial globes reminding us of the universality of Freemasonry. The ashlars show that it is a progressive science, and that in all endeavour, though at first ignorant and unskilled, we can by industry and perseverance attain to the position and dignity of a master workman.
The working tools indicate the various degrees and the moral teachings incident to these degrees, but chiefly in the entered apprentice degree that by a judicious division of time and by industry and assiduity we may achieve perfect mastery in any work to which we set our hand; in the Fellow Craft degree, that by steady progress in Freemasonry we can acquire such knowledge of the arts and sciences as may lie within the compass of our interest and ability; and in the Master Mason degree, that it is our privilege to rise from the ashes of the past to newness of spiritual life, and to a greater fraternal usefulness to our fellowmen.
Greatest of all, we are taught in every degree, and more especially in the Master Mason degree, the value in Freemasonry of the Volume of the Sacred Law, that point within a circle from which a Master Mason cannot err, if he places his trust in its sacred oracles and precepts, and becomes a co-worker with the divine.

Reprinted from Grand Lodge Masonic Bulletin, Vancouver, BC. April 1938. no. 8. pp. 2-3.

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