Q: I am preparing to seal my brotherhood in the Order. I am working on the Brotherhood requirements and have only one question, "What is the admonition?" I have searched and searched. I have read the OA Handbook cover to cover, I have searched the internet and can not find the admonition anywhere. I have only heard it whispered once during the Ordeal induction ceremony. I must have been excited because I have forgotten it. Can you help me?

A: As you have discovered, the admonition of the OA is not readily available. This is by design, as it is intended to be known only to those who are members. It is not surprising that you may have forgotten the admonition; the Ordeal ceremony is intended to be the climax of an intense experience, and the exact details of it may not be clear until later. Do not be worried.

This is why most lodges have procedures to help Ordeal members like you as they work to better understand the Ordeal they went through, and its meaning. When you arrive at your event, you will probably find that there is a designated way for those members working to seal their membership in Brotherhood to meet and discuss the information they need to know. (Some lodges do this as a group session; others have the people working on Brotherhood meet individually with more experienced members.) You should be able to find out the admonition at that time.

If, for some reason, no such activity is scheduled for those working on Brotherhood, ask the event leaders. If they can not help you, you can ask an experienced OA member what the admonition is. The ceremony chair and adviser should know, as the admonition is written in the Ceremony for the Ordeal book.

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Revised 12/08/01