Day 70 out of 100 to Learn Masonic Ritual and we continue our learning of the Third Degree. Yesterday we covered the small piece of Ritual that leads from the Third Degree Obligation to the…
Learning Masonic Ritual, Day 70 of 100: The Exhortation
The Exhortation in the Third Degree Ceremony (pages 180-182 in my book of Emulation Ritual) is sometimes outsourced to a Past Master, but it is better if it is down by the Master himself. When it is outsourced it may be because the Master is having problems learning all the Ritual so it is agreed with the DC to share some of the workload.
If this is the case this should be decided at least a month prior to the Ceremony. This way the Brother who is tasked with performing the Exhortation has plenty of time to prepare themselves, and you know you can concentrate your revision and rehearsal efforts elsewhere. Therefore, we’ll assume that you are doing the The Exhortation and won’t skip it. If you have been told that you won’t need to learn it then I suggest you still take time to read through and get familiar with the piece. You may find yourself having to do it next year, or perhaps the person who volunteered to do it may call in sick! Either way, spend some time today reading through and getting used to it. It is approximately the same length as the Obligation, though we haven’t the luxury of a standard format to follow. It is broken down in Emulation Ritual into four paragraphs.
I recommend after a few read-throughs you add a few more paragraphs breaks in to make it more manageable and get to grips with the flow of the Exhortation.