Why do Brothers sometimes say that “the Ritual is for the Candidate”? What about the Brethren?

The Candidate is certainly the focus of each Degree conferral, and these remarks are intended to highlight that importance. But the Ritual is by no means only for the Candidate. I would suggest that Degree conferrals are around fifty percent for the Candidate and fifty percent for the Brethren. After all, there are important parts of our Ritual practice such as the erection of the Symbolic Temple that are not even visible to the Candidate. Our Ritual itself proclaims that the lessons and principles of the Craft are imparted to Masons through inculcation, which is the process of learning or teaching something through frequent repetition or admonition. In the Masonic context, it means that the principles and practices, rules and maxims, duties and lessons of Freemasonry are imparted to us as a result of repeated exposure to the Masonic Work in which they are contained. Inculcation explains why it’s important to attend Degree conferrals again and again, for there can be no inculcation without repeated exposure.