Praying Together

Source: Virginia.Catholic.org

OK, here's the scenario.  You're at work when your boss invites you and some co-workers out for lunch.  You all go out to eat together.  Before you eat, you silently bow your head to pray over your food.  Everyone doesn't do this, but the way you were raised, you bless your food at every meal.  You don't know what religion your co-workers might be, and you don't much care.  It is a diverse environment with people of many religions.  It's not really your business, and you're fine with this.  You simply exercise the tenets of your own faith and move on.

When you're around you're family, maybe everyone prays together, while one person recites a prayer, and then you all eat.  Or maybe you don't.  Or when you are in Church, maybe everyone prays together, with a leader.  But you're not at Church right now.  Some of the people around you don't pray at all, and maybe a few others close their own eyes and bless their own food.

But wait a minute?  What religion are those other people? Are they Christian?  You don't know!  Oh no!  If you have accidently prayed with people who are of a different faith then you,... that is... its... well what does that mean?  Did you accidentally worship the wrong God?

But you wouldn't worry about that, right?  Because you are not in a Church, a Mosque, or a Temple, you are in a restaurant.  And you were not practicing a religion, you are just having lunch.  Your prayer was quick and personal.  You performed an expression to the God you worship, and nothing the people around you did or did not do changes or in any way impacts your faith.

Freemasonry is something like this.  It allows people of different faiths to participate in a shared experience.  Each may have different faith.  Each may even pray, or participate in prayer, at the same time, and in the same place.  Yet each has a personal experience, worshiping their own God.  That one person may focus his heart on Allah, another on Jehovah, another on Christ, does not invalidate the faith of any of them.  One person's faith has no more impact on anothers in the Lodge than it does in a restaurant.  We can pray together.