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What constitutes serious hardship in Masonic terms?
Masonic sources do not define serious hardship by a fixed monetary standard, but treat it through the concepts of distress, want, and destitution. In a physical sense, it encompasses penury, poverty, and a lack of the basic necessities of life, represented symbolically in the lodge through a state of destitution.
MackeyClaudy
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Why does the first degree stress on charity "in the hour of their affliction"?
The emphasis on charity during initial initiation—imparted symbolically through the Rite of Destitution—serves to teach the candidate that Masonic relief is far broader than the mere distribution of pecuniary alms. While physical relief and financial assistance are provided by Masons and lodges when real need exists, the principal lesson of the degree is a larger giving of self.
ClaudyDarrahMackey
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The end of the stream
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