The Unfinished Temple: A Working Guide to the Master's Craft
Stone does not shape itself.
The ancient operative masons who built the great cathedrals understood this truth. No amount of hoping or wishing transforms a rough ashlar into a perfect cube. The temple rises only through the deliberate application of working tools, through measured force, calculated angles, and persistent labor.
You were given these tools. Are you using them?
THE UNFINISHED TEMPLE offers thirty-three meditations arranged according to the three degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry. Each meditation takes a symbol you received in Lodge and transforms it from a piece of ritual into a practical instrument for daily life.
The First Eleven address the Entered Apprentice work: subduing passions, laying foundations, learning to see the perfect stone hidden within yourself.
The Second Eleven illuminate the Fellowcraft journey: ascending the winding stairs, pursuing knowledge, discovering that science and faith are two languages describing the same sacred order.
The Final Eleven contemplate the Master Mason's wisdom: facing mortality, finding the lost word within, and learning that your perfected ashlar is useless until it is cemented to your brothers.
This is not a book of Masonic history or philosophy. It is a working guide. Each meditation includes a timeless quote, a focused teaching, and a plain-language summary you can carry into your day. The appendices provide structured practices for individual labor, Lodge education, and mentorship.
Written by a Past Master and retired Coast Guard Master Chief, THE UNFINISHED TEMPLE is for the Mason who suspects there is more to the Craft than memorizing ritual, and who is ready to pick up his tools and return to the work.
The temple awaits. The tools are prepared.
Go, and build.
Customer Reviews
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
