Happy New Masonic Year!!

Auld Lang Syne

By Bro. Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And day of auld lang syne!

Chorus.-For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.  

For those who didn't know auld lang syne literally means "old long since" - but a more idiomatic English translation would be something like "long ago", "days of long ago", "in olden days", or even "once upon a time" -

and the poet Robert Burns was also a Freemason

Happy New Year, 2011 Brethren. May the year bring you peace, happiness, and light.

IF, YOU WILL MY BROTHER BE

If you believe in
A Great Architect,
And only if;

If you are a man
Good and true
And live God's chosen paths;

If you weep at a man's woes
And his pain is your pain;
His anguished needs
You carefully soothe:

If the moons no more
Your ambition keep
Or at least the direction know;

If the hard and stony path
Is but behind
And not ahead of you;

If your job, its satisfaction done,
And life's a plateau,
Life its stillness bore:

If you have loved
And all the joys of love,
Mellowed to its highest heights;

If life's eternal lesson learned
And have been rewarded
With God's gifts of joy and blessings;

If you have the heart and soul,
And the precious hours
To share this joy with other fellowmen:

If within you, lies a heart
That stirs for more,
And you know not why;

If you ask questions
That gives no answers;
Why, what or who am I:

If you ask,
Is life a tireless search
With no end!

Then, Time is right,
My good fellow,
You are
And you will, my brother be.

Masonic District NCR-A Joins Kara David's Project Malasakit

Masonic District NCR-A under VW Paul Ibasco, with Jacques DeMolay Memorial Lodge No. 305 and Macario Ramos Memorial Lodge No. 355 visited Sitio Dyangdang in Conrazon, Bansud, Mindoro Oriental on Dec. 4-5 2011, to help distribute medical supplies, Shool supplies, slippers and toys for the children of the Mangyan community in the area. This was also the day when the solar panels installed for the community center and homes were to be turned on for the first time.

Manuel A. Roxas - The Fifth Prsident

The Masonic life of Manuel A. Roxas began on August 14, 1920. Barely 28 years of age, he was already Governor of his province.

Manuel was born on January 1, 1892 to Gerardo Roxas and Rosario Acuna in Capiz, Capiz, a town which has since been renamed Roxas City in his honor.

He lost his father before his birth but his maternal grandmother took charge of his education. Sent to Hongkong to study, he returned to Manila after a year and enrolled in the Manila High School. Thereafter, he studied law at the newly-opened University of the Philippines, then under the presidency of a noted Scottish Rite Mason, Murray Bartlett. As a law student, Roxas studied at the feet of another Scottish Rite Mason, George A. Malcolm. He graduated valedictorian in 1913 and topped the bar examinations given in the same year.

Roxas immediately went into law practice in partnership with his only brother, Mamerto. Shortly thereafter, however, he accepted an appointment as private secretary to Chief Justice Cayetano S. Arellano. He also taught law in the Philippine Law School and the National University. After a few years stint with Chief Justice Arellano, the political bug bit Roxas. He resigned and returned to his home province to accept an appointment as municipal councilor. In 1919, he ran for governor and won.