The Ceremony Of Light
I stand before you at this scared DeMolay altar upon which we have placed the mighty
bulwarks of our faith, the holy bible, and the school books. Not far away rests the banner
of our beloved country. Standing as sentries are these seven burning candles, beacons in
the darkness, lights to illuminate our pathway as we journey ever onward down the road
of life. They are the symbols of all that is good and right with the world. They are the
standards of which we as DeMolay's have pledged to base our lives.
The first candle symbolizes the love between parent and child, that love which existed
before we were born, has remained with us all our life through, and will follow us even
beyond the grave. The sages named this love "agape", love for no other reason than the
sake of being.
The second candle is emblematic of reverence for all that is sacred. A young man crossing
the threshold of DeMolay for the first time professes a deep and abiding faith in one living
and true god. Without this steadfast faith and the grace of our heavenly father our toil
would be for nothing.
The third candle stands for courtesy, a courtesy that transcends friendships, a courtesy
which reaches to the stranger, to the aged, to all men. It is this courtesy that brings a
warm feeling and a smile and makes this life more pleasant for others as it lights the
pathway before us.
The fourth candle, the candle in the center of our seven stands symbolically for
comradeship. Millions of young men such as ourselves, have knelt at this symbolic altar
and dedicated themselves to the same high principals of good sonship and good
citizenship. As long as we remain faithful to these pledges, as long as there is an order of
DeMolay, we are one.
The fifth candle stands simply for fidelity. A DeMolay can never justly be false to his
vows, his promises, his friends, his god. He is called upon daily to defend the bulwarks
and the precepts of the order, that he might never fail as a leader or as a man.
The sixth candle is symbolic of cleanness, not only bodily cleanness which we all practice
but the cleanness in every thought, word, and deed. Only in cleanness can a DeMolay
rightly be representative of the purness of our teachings.
The last candle is emblematic of patriotism. Perhaps we shall never be called upon to
defend our country on the field battle, but each day affords new opportunities to stand as
good and upright citizens in behalf of that beloved banner and our hallowed land.
Yet we live in troubled times, when the bulwarks of the bible, flag, and school books are
in danger of sinking into the waste of doubt and uncertainty. When these seven glorious
precepts may not be the most coveted of standards upon which to base ones life. When
trust, and justice, and brotherhood may not be considered the most virtuous of qualities.
And if we, as DeMolays do not stand unswervingly in the defense of the teachings of our
order, if we do not seek to perpetuate them in our daily lives, then perhaps these flames
shall be extinguished, muted in shadows and darkness shall inherit the land.
Yet each of you, as a DeMolay, holds within your heart a flame, a beacon to guide you
threw the darkness. If you can make this light shine upon another, if you can reach into the
intermost depths of his soul and set his flame afire, then therein lies the purpose of the
order of DeMolay and therein lies your purpose for living.