A Mason is a man who has decided to improve himself while being part of a global brotherhood. He is someone who believes in a higher power and strives to live by the values of integrity, kindness, and honesty.
More poetically, a Mason is a man who realizes he is a "rough stone" and chooses to spend his life using the tools of the Craft to smooth his edges, aiming to become a "polished stone" fit for the betterment of society.
Freemasonry is the world's oldest and largest fraternal organization. It's a system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols, designed to help good men become better versions of themselves.
It is a lifelong course in ethics, public speaking, leadership, and history — not a religion, not a political organization, but a brotherhood committed to personal development and charitable service.
Freemasonry traveled with the colonists and British military regiments in the 1700s. In Ontario, many early lodges were "Military Lodges" attached to British regiments. After the American Revolution, United Empire Loyalists brought their Masonic traditions across the border to towns like Niagara and Kingston.
Brant Lodge No. 45 itself was chartered in 1853 under the Grand Lodge of Ireland — a reflection of the strong Irish immigrant heritage in the Brantford area at that time.
A lodge is two things: the people (the members who make up the group) and the place (the room or building where they meet). In Ontario, you'll find lodges in everything from historic downtown buildings to modern community halls.
Brant Lodge No. 45 meets at the Brant Masonic Centre, 117 Charing Cross Street in Brantford, on the second Tuesday of each month from September through June.
Meetings are typically split into two parts:
After the formal meeting, members often gather informally for conversation, fellowship, and refreshments.
A degree is a theatrical, multi-stage lesson. There are three basic degrees in Masonry:
Each degree uses stories from the building of King Solomon's Temple to teach a specific moral lesson in an engaging, ceremonial format.
It's less about secrets and more about privacy. The only real secrets in Freemasonry are the traditional modes of recognition — grips and passwords used to prove membership — which have existed for centuries as a fraternal tradition.
Everything else — our goals, our meeting times, our identities, our charitable work — is public knowledge. The lodge is not a secret society; it is a society with some traditional secrets.
No. Masonry requires a member to believe in a Supreme Being, but it does not tell him how to worship or which faith to follow. It is intended to be a place where men of all religions can meet in harmony.
Masonry has no theology of its own, no sacraments, no clergy, and makes no claims to offer salvation. It is a fraternity, not a faith.
It is usually a standard King James Version of the Bible, often featuring a special introductory section about Masonic history. In a lodge, we call the holy book the "Volume of the Sacred Law."
If a member follows a different faith — Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and so on — his faith's holy book is placed on the altar for his obligations. The lodge honours all sincere religious traditions.
Ritual is a "living tool" for teaching. By participating in a ceremony rather than just reading a book, the lessons of charity and truth become more memorable and impactful. Ritual creates a shared experience that bonds the members together across generations.
Masonry also uses the tools of ancient stonemasons as metaphors for character. For example, the square reminds a Mason to be honest and fair in his dealings with all people. The compasses remind him to keep his passions within due bounds.
In the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario, a candidate must:
By asking. Masons do not recruit or "headhunt." A man must seek out a Mason or a local lodge and express his sincere interest. It is often said:
"To be one, ask one."
Once a man expresses interest, the lodge will arrange for him to meet with members informally, answer any questions he has, and guide him through the petition process at his own pace.
A man is truly a Mason when the lessons he learns in the lodge room start to govern his actions in the outside world — when he consistently chooses the harder right over the easier wrong.
The degree ceremonies are the beginning, not the end. Masonry is a lifelong journey of self-improvement and service.
We're happy to answer any question you have about Freemasonry or Brant Lodge No. 45 — no obligation, no pressure.