"Who Will Help The Widow's Son?"

This is a phrase used in FreeMasonry. It stems back to the story of Hiram Abiff...The Masonic call of distress. The man they admire, Hiram Abiff, supposedly a craftsman for King David, was a widow's son. Any time a Freemason hears this (possibly combined with an arm gesture) they are obliged to assist the Mason in trouble, if it is more likely that they would save him than that they would die.

Let me explain...

Hiram Abiff in Masonic Ritual

During the Legend of the Third Degree, the candidate portrays Hiram Abiff in the ritual. He is blindfolded and led through the ritual by a conductor. In Masonic ritual, Hiram Abiff is not a worker of brass as in Scripture, but rather the Grand Master at the building of Solomon’s temple. Each day, he lays out the work for the workmen to complete. There are Fellowcrafts who work on the temple who are to be given the secrets of a Master Mason as compensation - when the temple is completed. Once they have the secrets of a Master Mason they will earn the wages of a Master. A group of fifteen Fellowcrafts decide that they do not want to wait until the work is completed. They form a plot which only three of them carry through. The three "ruffians" sequentially accost Hiram at the East gate, the South gate and the West gate. A similar dialog occurs at each temple entrance. The ruffian demands the secrets of a Master Mason. Hiram explains that this is neither the time, nor the place; the secrets can only be revealed in the presence of three, King Solomon, Hiram the King of Tyre and myself. The ruffian demands, "Your life, or the secrets." Hiram responds, "My life you can have, my integrity - never." When they fail to get what they want, they strike Hiram with one of the working tools and he staggers to the next gate and the next encounter. The third ruffian is also unable to extract the secrets from Hiram Abiff. He strikes Hiram on the head with a setting maul and kills him. Hiram willingly laid down his life rather than betray his trust.

Being a Masonic "orphan", my mother a Masonic "widow"...I pose this to you...

Who will help the Mason's Widow?

As we all struggle through life, some get pushed aside. Help begins, then fades away. Sometimes, the Mason's widows and orphans slip through the cracks. They are still thought of in prayers and rituals, yet, nothing is done for them. Why is this? Isn't it Masonic oath to take care of the widows and orphans, just as the brethren take care of each other? So why do so many widows and orphans get over looked? Why is it that those widows and orphans that have contributed so much to the Masonic Organization whilst their Masonic husbands/fathers were alive, can not receive the help that they ask for upon the death of the beloved Mason that has passed on?

I can not answer these questions. I have found no-one that will answer these questions. We all struggle through life at times. Some are struggling now, while others are either climbing to their recovery or have yet to even join that struggle. We all know life is not fair sometimes and have to "play with the hand we are dealt". But life is what we make of it. I believe in helping others. I also believe that if you help others, that should be returned to you in your time of need.

So I ask you one more question...

Why is it that when my mother or myself help others out, then we need help ourselves and ask for it, THERE IS NO HELP FOR THE MASON'S WIDOW?