Masonic Reading Groups

Staying connected with your Brothers during the dark season

I’m finally at the age where I look forward to summer again. As a kid, it was like counting down the days until Christmas. “No more teachers, no more books. No more teachers dirty looks.” I still remember those final days spent helping the teacher clean the classroom, watching movies, and enjoying the free air conditioning. Now that I’m firmly planted in my 40’s, my body enjoys these warm summer days a little more each year. Winter with her ice and snow does a good job of getting my mind past the memories of bugs that sting, sunburns, and humidity that makes the boards on my deck bend.

As a Master Mason, summer means no more Lodge meetings. In exchange, I would get back two weeknights for a few months. While I look forward to enjoying Monday night dinners with my lady on our deck this time of the year, it’s a bittersweet feeling knowing that I also won’t be enjoying fellowship after meetings with my Brothers. No more ritual, no more meetings… but also no more of those random conversations on history, the meaning of life, or just the craziness of our daily lives. This year, I found with each passing meeting I was dreading having to say, “see you in September,” to the most important guys in my life.

The promise of “this summer being different” started when I picked up a copy of “Born in Blood” for $5 at an Albany thrift shop. I’m sure that book was freshly donated from someone’s discarded book collection. When I got to the halfway point in the book where Robinson begins to tease his belief in a connection with The Templars and Freemasonry, I found myself snapping photos of the pages to share in a text message with a fellow Brother. That’s when it happened.

Within an hour I had texted my other chat groups. “Hit me up with a private message if you want details. We’re starting this week.” And that is how three Brothers from my Lodge and one from another – started our Summer Masonic Reading group chat. “We’ll meet on Wednesday night at my place. I’ll make dinner – you guys bring over whatever you like. Here’s the link to buy the first book. See you in two weeks.”

Before the end of the day, all three Brothers had ordered the title from Amazon. The other cool thing, our group chat started flowing that night with those discussions on morality, symbolism, and the deeper meanings of our ritual that I have me crossing off the days on the calendar until our next Lodge meeting.

Below are the books with links to order that my group read and discussed. We purposely kept the titles to topics that covered a wide array of Masonic ideas while not requiring too much time to read. Less than 100 pages and under $20 a book (in most cases you can find them for around $10 each), these titles make the perfect addition or starters for Masonic home library/collection. Enjoy!

Contemplating Craft Freemasonry: Working the Way of the Craftsman

by W. Kirk MacNulty

I recommend this as a “esoteric guide” for all newly obligated Masons. MacNulty brilliantly connects Masonic symbolism and degree lessons is easy to ready chapters that all contain discussion questions.
» Order on Amazon

The Lost Keys of Freemasonry: The Legend of Hiram Abiff

by Manly P. Hall

Consider this a “light read” of Hall’s work, as the re-print version is less than 60 pages. Inside, Hall takes you through his signature journey of the deeper meanings of the symbolism and steps in the Blue Lodge degrees.
» Order on Amazon

The Point Within The Circle: Freemasonry Veiled In Allegory And Illustrated By Symbols

by Albert Pike

This re-print is less than 30 pages. However, Pike’s encyclopedic knowledge covers the diverse history of ancient symbols.
» Order on GoodReads