A Brother Asks: Is Divestiture a Life-Long Process?

 

 

A Brother Ask: Figuring out Vices and Superfluities and rising above them is the first wave of activities that Apprentices take in their journeys as Masons.  Isn't this a life-long endeavor though?

Coach: Yes. It IS a lifelong endeavor!  However, there's a huge difference between that life-long endeavor and the initial PROCESS that all Apprentices must engage in to internalize specific disciplines that ultimately lead to strengthening each of them.

That process MUST be ingrained into their very being for them to prepare to do their FC Work.

Although that process will be engaged in throughout a lifetime, it is the Apprentice Work that installs that process so that it can be engaged in when necessary.

So, when you hear that Divestiture of Vices & Superfluities is a lifelong endeavor, keep in mind that The Process of Divestiture is INTERNALIZED during the Apprentice period of one's Masonic career. 

In other words, it is DURING Apprenticeship that the PROCESS of Divestiture is Learned, Perfected, & Internalized for future APPLICATION.

This means a great many Vices & Superfluities are effectively dealt with INITIALLY, when the Apprentice does the Work that the Degree asks them to do.

Additionally, it is the internalizing of this process that literally CREATES and INTERNALIZES your Square of Virtue!

Brother: What?!?!?

Coach:  Yes!  You cannot Divest any one of these Vices or Superfluities without the Investment of at least one or more Virtues.  The more you Divest your Vices and Superfluities, the more Virtue you Internalize.  And THAT is the process that you will ultimately rely upon throughout your lifetime when new Vices or Superfluities come into your life.

Brother: Wait?!?! New?!?!

Coach: Yes New!  Living any life will bring forth new Vices and Superfluities and it is your Apprentice training that enables you to identify each of them and put them to rest quickly.  

Brother: You mean I can expect more Vices and Superfluities into my future?

Coach: Absolutely!  And when you internalized the Divestiture Process, literally Investing yourself with Virtues, you're less likely to develop any Vice or Superfluity; that's one of the very reasons for Investing yourself with Virtues!  

However, when Vices and Superfluities do occur, which is simply part of life, you're a Master of the Divestment Process! And when you know this process, you'll also be compelled to Divest these Vices and Superfluities by engaging this process without a second thought!

A Brother Asks... Who was the Widow?

A Brother Asks: I know who the widow's son is, but who's the widow?

My Response: Like so many other things that are presented to us in Allegorical form, it, "The Widow" to whom the son is connected, is not a who; it is a what.

Brother: Please explain.

Coach: Sure. When you know to what it is that the "Widow" is referring, it also tells you what you need to focus upon to become its offspring.

Brother: To what is "Widow" referring?

Coach: Good question!  Should you want to pursue this in depth, I recommend you look at the intimate connection between the words "Winnow" and "Widow".

Brother: Okay...

Coach: Afterward ask yourself, what widowing are you required to do through your Masonic Journey from Profane to Mastery and what must you actively participate in to achieve that Mastery?

Brother: Does the widow symbolise our separation of the material world to that of the spiritual Father?

Coach: I guess this all depends upon how you desire to see it. In the paradigm I present here and hold to, we have both Wheat and Chaff in our lives - symbolized by the threshing-floor of Ornan. It is through our choices, decisions and subsequent actions that we divest ourselves accordingly. In the case of Freemasonry, we divest ourselves though the Masonic Work that Freemasonic Ritual and Process offers to us. I know of at least 4 fundamental life changing divestitures that it offers. What do you think those divestitures are?

Brother: As widow's son do we symbolise our human physical nature?

Coach: If we are to be called a "Widow's Son", according the Freemasonic paradigm offered through its Ritual and Process, we are the offspring of the separation process! But not before hand.

Brother: Are we bound to the mother (creation / material / earth) after the symbolic 'Fall' of mankind?

Coach: Only if you believe that this paradigm applies to you and you wish to embrace and live it. There are other paradigms one can live that do not include this paradigm. Some actually believe the fall alluded to in your question was not a fall at all and was actually a necessary step toward adulthood.

BTW - Winnowing and Threshing clues can be found upon the threshing-floor.  You might find it enlightening to explore.

Brother: So, can't we take the allegory that is Freemasonry and assign it a name?

Coach: Indeed we can!  Allegory assign personas to their characters.  And just like allegories of old, The Widow is definitely a characterization within our organization.  

Brother: Now you have my head spinning.  Who then is the Widow of Freemasonry.

Coach: That would depend entirely upon which of her members you ask and how astute they are at detecting her allegorical clues.

F&S,

Brother John S. Nagy