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Lance Card, Senior Deacon
Damascus Lodge #10 F&AM of Utah

Faith, Hope, and Charity. ese are the three with open and honest eyes truly need the leniency
Masonic Graces most commonly displayed to the of Self Charity, for there isn’t one amongst us who
Public. Of these three, the greatest is Charity. O en, can claim perfection. Every day brings with it new
when we think of charity, our many philanthropic opportunities to improve, but it also delivers to each
associations come to mind, or the lessons learned in of us a laundry list of errors in behavior, thought, and
the Entered Apprentice degree are what we focus on. assumption.
Within this article, I’m going to recommend to you
another kind of Charity. A charity is o en one of the A man once said to me when considering joining
most di cult to give. Charity to yourself. the Fraternity, “I am already very aware of my failures,
why would I want another organization to point them
Overcoming the Impression of Selfi shness out to me?” Various iterations of this phrase are
birthed in the minds of men on a more frequent basis
e thought of applying charity to oneself is likely than we are likely aware. We must learn to daily apply
mistaken as sel shness. Indeed, when the subject of compassion, kindness, tenderness, understanding,
charity is brought up people tend to think of the most and gracious forgiveness to ourselves. We must
common de nitions of the word; organizations whose practice Self Charity.
design is to generate money, food, clothing, housing,
etc. for people in need; volunteering time, money, The Power of Self Charity
or goods to such organizations; even generosity in
judgment, a kindness, and consideration of a fellow One changed heart can be a light for many.
human being. Each of these de nitions is pointedly – L.M. Fields
external in nature. e noble characteristic of charity
seems to be solely the domain on the exterior, a gi to Our exterior re ects our interior condition. Our
others, certainly not to be applied to oneself. spiritual health and growth are equally as important
as our physical and mental condition. When our spirit
My contention is that without applying charity to is shadowed and harried by self-deprecation, self-
yourself, you cannot fully apply it to others and are then loathing, self-doubt, self-disappointment, or any other
thusly incapable of fully and genuinely understanding negative pallor, such is the ambiance of our character.
the principle as it is taught in Freemasonry. We exude the paint of our soul. Some call this an
aura, some accept it as mood, others still associate this
As an organization bent on the singular purpose of feeling as, “something just isn’t right with that person.”
guiding good men along the path of becoming better
men, we naturally attract those who are subject to When we are light of heart, having forgiven ourselves
introspect. Men who consider their own shortcomings our shortcomings, we become approachable. We are

Montana Freemason Page 10 April/May 2020 Volume 96 No. 3