Following
is one version of the Masonic Graveside service
used in Louisiana. There are several variations
designed to be used in case of bad weather or
if the service is held in the funeral home, church
or other location.
MASONIC BURIAL SERVICE
When the procession has arrived
at the place of interment and after the clergyman
has concluded the religious services, the Worshipful
Master will take his station at the Foot of
the grave with the Chaplain to his right and
the bearer of the Great Lights to his left The
Senior Warden will take his place at the head
of the grave and the Junior Warden at the South,
the three principal officers forming a triangle
(if possible). The Deacons -if included-will
stand with rods crossed over the Worshipful
Master, and the Stewards will stand with rods
crossed over the Senior Warden The brethren
will assemble around the casket and the Masonic
service will begin.
The Chaplain offering the following,
or some other suitable invocation
PRAYER AT CEMETERY
ALMIGHTY AND MOST MERCIFUL FATHER!
We adore Thee as the God of time
and eternity. As it hath pleased Thee to take
from the light of our abode one dear to our
hearts, we beseech Thee to bless and sanctify
unto us this dispensation of Thy Providence.
Inspire our hearts with wisdom from on high,
that we may glorify Thee in all our ways May
we realize that Thine All-Seeing Eye is upon
us, and be influenced by the spirit of truth
and love to perfect obedience, that we may enjoy
Thy divine approbation here below. And when
our toils on earth shall have ended, may we
be raised to the enjoyment of fadeless light
and immortal life in that kingdom where faith
and hope shall end, and love and joy prevail
through eternal ages. And Thine, 0 Righteous
Father, shall be the glory forever. Amen.
Response—So mote it be.
The following exhortation may
then be given
The solemn notes that betoken
the dissolution of this earthly tabernacle have
again alarmed our outer door, and another spirit
has been summoned to the land where our fathers
have gone before us.
Again we are called to assemble
among the habitations of the dead, to behold
the “narrow house appointed for the living.”
Here, around us, in that peace which the world
cannot give or take away, sleep the unnumbered
dead. The gentle breeze fans their verdant covering;
they heed it not. The sunshine and the storm
pass over their resting place: and they are
not disturbed. Stones and lettered monuments
symbolize the affection of surviving friends;
yet no sound proceeds from them, save that silent
but thrilling admonition, “Seek ye the
narrow path and the strait gate that lead unto
eternal life.”
We are again called upon to consider
the uncertainty of human life, the jmmutable
certainty of death, and the vanity of all human
pursuits. Decrepitude and decay are written
upon every living form. “But a span—a
heartbeat—a breath— fall between the
cradle and the grave.”
What, then, are all the externals
of human dignity—the power of wealth, the
dreams of ambition, the pride of intellect,
or the charms of beauty—when Nature has
paid her just debt? Fix your eyes on the closing
scene and view life stripped of its ornaments,
and exposed in its natural weakness; and you
must be persuaded by the utter emptiness of
these delusions. In the grave all fallacies
are detected, all worldly ranks are leveled,
all distinctions are done away. Here the scepter
of the prince and the staff of the beggar are
laid side by side.
Ourpresent meeting and proceedingswill
have been vain and useless, if they fail to
excite our serious reflections, and to strengthen
our resolutions of amendment.
Be then persuaded, my brethren,
by this example of the uncertainty of human
life, of the unsubstantial nature of all
its pursuits, and no longer postpone the all-important
concern of preparing for eternity. Let us each
embrace the present moment, and while time and
opportunity permit prepare for that great change
when the pleasures of the world will be as a
poison to our lips, and the happy reflection
consequent upon a well-spent life will afford
the only consolation.
Thus shall our hopes be not frustrated,
nor we be hurried unprepared into the presence
of that all-wise and powerful Judge, to whom
the secrets of all hearts are known. Let us
resolve to maintain with sincerity the dignified
character of our profession. May our Faith
be evinced in a correct moral walk and deportment;
may our Hope be bright as the glorious mysteries
that will be revealed hereafter and our
Charity boundless as the wants of our fellow-creatures.
And, having faithfully discharged the great
duties we owe to God, to our neighbor, and to
ourselves, when at last it shall please the
Grand Master of the Universe to summon us unto
His eternal presence, may the Trestle Board
of our whole lives pass such inspection that
it will be given unto each of us to “eat
of the hidden manna” and to receive the
“white stone with a new name” that
will insure perpetual and unspeakable happiness
at His right hand.
The Lambskin having been removed
from the casket the Master holds it up and says:
WORSHIPFUL MASTER—The Lambskin
Apron is an emblem of innocence and the badge
of a Mason, more ancient than the Golden Fleece
or Roman Eagle, more honorable then the Star
and Garter, when worthily worn. By it we are
reminded of that purity of life and conduct
so essential for gaining admission to the Celestial
Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of
the Universe reigns in splendor everlasting.
This emblem I now deposit in the grave of our
deceased brother. (Deposits it.)
The Worshipful Master, holding
the evergreen, continues:
This evergreen, which once marked
the temporary resting place of the illustrious
dead, is an emblem of our faith in the immortality
of the soul. By it we are reminded that we have
an immortal part within us, which shall survive
the grave, and which shall never, never, never
die. By it we are admonished that though, like
our brother whose remains lie before us, our
bodies too shall soon be clothed in the habiliments
of death and deposited in the silent tomb;
yet, through our belief in the mercy of God,
we may confidently hope that our souls will
bloom in eternal spring. This, too, I deposit
in the grave.
The brethren then move in procession
around the place of interment and one by one
drop the sprig of evergreen into the grave,
during which the following may be sung:
NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
Een tho’ it be a cross
That raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
Though like a wanderer
The sun gone down,
Darkness be over me,
My rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be
Nearer, my God, to Thee;
Nearer to Thee!
There let the way appear
Steps unto heav’n;
All that Thou sendest me,
In mercy giv’n;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee;
Nearer to Thee!
Or if on joyful wing,
Cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot,
Upward I fly,
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
The Grand Funeral Honors are given
in the following manner Both arms are extended
to the front and downward; both arms are then
crossed on the breast left arm uppermost, the
palms sharply striking the shoulders; then both
arms are extended to the front and upward.
This is given three times; and
while it is given the third time the brethren
audibly pronounce the following words: When
the arms are extended to the front and downward,
“We consign his body to the grave;”
when the arms are crossed on the breast, “We
cherish his memory here;” when the arms
are extended to the front and upraised,”And
commend his spirit to God who gave it’
The Worshipful Master then continues
the ceremony:
The Great Creator, having been
pleased to remove our brother from the
cares and troubles of this earthly existence
to a higher life, thus severing another
link from the fraternal chain that binds us
together, may we who survive him be more strongly
cemented in the ties of union and friendship.
During the short space allotted us here may
we wisely and usefully employ our time; and,
through kind and friendly acts, may we mutually
promote the welfare and happiness of one another.
Unto the grave we consign his
mortal remains— earth to earth, ashes to
ashes, dust to dust; that in that more glorious
spiritual body which he now weareth, he may
freely pass the outer and inner doors of the
sanctum sanctorum, that house not made with
hands, eternal in the heaven& For I say
unto you: Blessed are the dead who die in the
Lord. For God created man to be immortal, and
made him to be an image of His own eternity.
The Lord sitteth above the water floods; the
Lord remaineth a King forever. The universe
is His temple. Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty
are about His throne as pillars of His mighty
works; for His wisdom is infinite, His strength
is omnipotent and His beauty shines through
the whole universe in order and in symmetry.
The heavens He has stretched forth as a canopy;
the earth He has planted as His footstool; He
crowns His temple with stars as with a diadem;
and from His Hands flow all power and glory.
The sun and the moon are messengers of His will,
and all His law is concord. If like unto the
birds of the air we mount the vaulted blue dome
of heaven, He is there; if by shaft, cave, or
labyrinth we descend into the depths of the
subterranean, He is there also. He is in the
dew-pearled dawn of springtime, in the gentle
zephyr that fans the cheek at sunset, in the
purple and crimson afterglow that beckons the
evening stars. If we take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there is His Hand which leadeth us and
His right Hand which holdeth us. God is Love
and Power, and Truth, and Light. God is everywhere.
In His almighty care we rest in perfect peace,
and equally in His care rests our departed brother,
whom He has deigned to draw nearer to the vision
of His eternal beauty.
To his near relatives and loving
friends, more deeply heartstricken than any
others by this loss, which we all have sustained,
we can only respectfully and sincerely
tender our most affectionate sympathy, in this
their hour of bereavement; commending them with
earnest hearts to Him whose strength will uphold
us evermore.
PRAYER
Most glorious God, Author of all
good and Giver of all mercy, pour down Thy blessings
upon us, and strengthen our solemn engagements
with the ties of sincere affection. May the
present instance of mortality remind us of our
own approaching fate; and, by drawing our
attention toward Thee, the only refuge in time
of need, induce us so to regulate our conduct
here that when the moment of dissolution shall
arrive at which we must quit this earthly scene,
we may be received into Thine everlasting kingdom—there
to enjoy that uninterrupted and unceasing felicity
which is allotted to the souls of just men made
perfect.
And now, 0 Lord, we pray for Thy
hand to lead us in all the paths our feet must
tread. And when the journey of life is ended,.
may light from our immortal home illumine the
dark valley and shadow of death; and may voices
of the loved ones welcome us to that “house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens’
Amen.
Response—So mote it be.
The Master then approaches the
grave or entrance to tomb and with right hand
uplifted says gently:
Quietly may thy body sleep in
this earthly bed, my brother. Bright and glorious
be thy rising from it. Fragrant be the acacia
sprig that here shall flourish. May the earliest
buds of spring unfold their beauties on this,
thy body’s resting place; and here may
the sweetness of the summers rose linger latest
Though the cold blast of autumn may lay them
in the dust and for a time destroy the loveliness
of their existence, yet their fading is not
final, and in the spring time they shall surely
bloom again. So in the bright morning of resurrection
thou shalt spring again into newness of life.
Until then, dear brother—until then—
farewell.
The benediction may then be pronounced
by the Worshipful Master or Chaplain, as follows:
(or the deceased minister may be asked to give
the benediction)
The Lord bless us and keep us.
The Lord make his face shine upon us and be
gracious unto us. The Lord lift up the light
of His countenance upon us, and give us His
peace, this day and forevermore. Amen.
Response—So mote it be.
END OF SERVICE AT GRAVE
