Outside the Temple Mount, the winds howled, carrying with the tempest rare flakes of stinging snow. But inside the mount, deep within one of its many labyrinthine appendices, was a wooden enclosure that held the spartan chamber of Templar Marshall Constant Hugh and his young Page, Thomas Bright.
“Up with you now, lad. We go forth from here immediately!” Marshall Hugh commanded, wrapping his well-worn white mantle over his wool-lined leather greatcoat.
The Page stalled, having already settled beneath the hay wrapped in his own wool blanket. The pause was long enough to be noticed by his Knight, who simply glanced in his direction.
The boy instantly scrambled to his feet and began laying on extra clothing while he dug for his warmest boots.
“Where is our quest, sire?” he inquired, scrambling to catch up.
“Bethlehem.”
“Then I shall prepare your mount!” the boy replied, fighting with his bootlaces.
“No, lad – we shall walk,” came forth the unexpected surprise.
The Page stopped and looked at his Knight with a puzzled expression.
“Walk, sire?” the boy asked, mentally calculating the distance and the weather conditions into one seriously challenging mental picture. “Ahh…,” the Page stammered, “Then we shall not be about battle tonight?” he queried, lamely fishing for information.
“We are going to honor the Great King on this Holy night,” his Knight responded with amplified resolution as he fastened his wide leather belt and sword around his waist.
“Is King Baldwin in Bethlehem tonight?”
“No, he is not. We are off to see the Babe King in the manger.”
“But He has been gone to Heaven more than a thousand years, sire!”
It was obvious to Templar Marshall Constant Hugh that his Page was totally lost, so he continued patiently.
“Did not our Lord Master instruct us that without faith, it is impossible to please Him?”
“He did so indeed, sire.”
“Did He not also say that if we were to ask anything in His Name He would do it?”
“Aye, sire, that He did.”
“Did our Lord Master the Christ promise that if we had even faith the size of a mustard seed we could command a mountain to be moved out of its place and tossed into the great sea?”
“These are His very words, sire. To these truths, I am a witness,” the Page replied solemnly.
“So why are you surprised when I tell you that tonight we shall both behold the Babe King in the Manger? Therefore, tell me, lad, are you the little one of faith – or are you the one of little faith? What shall you declare yourself to be this night?”
Accustomed to his Knight’s incessant teaching, the Page smiled broadly and replied boldly, “Neither, sir! Tonight I shall endeavor to be like you – the great Knight of great faith!”
As he prepared for the rugged journey, the lad thought about what his Kight had just said. Page Thomas Bright had as much faith in his Knight as he did in the Holy Word spoken in the great Convents that his Knight mirrored in his daily life and devotion.
Looking back at the busy, hulking man of honor and of armor, the Page smiled with the slightest of double nods in anticipation of the greatest of all his life’s adventures that lay just ahead in the bitterly cold and dark night.
On this very eventide, he mused with a barely contained excitement and astonishment, he would soon meet Jesus!
In days of old when Knights were bold
and faith’s bright star in hearts did hold,
A tale unfolds of two set forth,
a Knight and Page of noble worth.
The Knight, in mantle shining white,
led forth with sword through winter’s night.
His Page, a lad with eyes so wide,
closely followed, his faith as guide.
“The child we seek,” the Knight did say,
“Twas born this night, on Christmas Day,
“To bring us hope, to end our strife.
He is the Way, the Truth, the Life.”
The Knight, whose name was Constant Hugh,
had battles fought with honor true.
Yet on this eve, his mantle worn,
‘twas peace he sought by manger warm.
The Page, young lad named Thomas Bright,
was wonder-filled in night’s starlight.
He carried gifts, though humble they,
for newborn King on Christmas Day.
This Holy Night, their noble quest:
to find the manger-Babe, their Savior blessed.
Through dunes of sand and darkness cold,
they traveled on with hearts that glowed.
The Knight, his sword at his side, did lead.
The Page, with wonder, did indeed,
Follow where his Knight did stride,
to see the Child where angels bide.
Through cold they trudged the path so long;
their hearts sang hymns, in ancient song.
The quest was clear, the goal in sight:
to find yon King this Holy Night.
The town of Bethlehem they neared,
the star above, it brightly steered.
The stable’s warmth, a beacon clear,
where Love and Hope would soon appear.
They entered in; the hay was strewn
by animals where the light was shewn.
The Knight kneeled, his steel removed,
to honor Him with Whom angels communed.
The Page with gift approached the hay
where Jesus lay that Christmas Day.
A wooden toy, a simple treasure –
yet filled with love, a heartfelt pleasure.
The Knight with voice so deep did pray,
for peace on Earth on this new day.
His Page, with tears laid bare his fleece,
that all the world should live in peace.
This silent night, this holy night,
where man and angels with peace unite,
The Knight and Page, with hearts so warm,
found Jesus here through winter’s storm.
In that moment, truth observed
by love and faith, the Savior served.
For in the manger, first Christmas Day,
a Knight and Page had found faith’s way.
To worship Jesus with gift so small,
but faith so big, it served their all.
In Christ’s Presence, they found peace;
His Christmas story that shall never cease.
They each found joy, in quiet awe,
the Knight, the Page, by manger’s straw.
For in their faith forevermore,
the love of Christ their spirits bore.
From the upcoming book,
“Hallelujah Road – Encounters with Jesus on the Road to Zion”
by Dennis Chamberland
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Claudia and I wish you and yours the Peace and Joy of the Holy Presence of this Jesus.
It was this Holy Babe in a manger Who brought to us a gift that no one else could give – the gift of a compassionate Grace that covers not just a multitude of our sins, but all of them.
It is here, at His advent – and ultimately on His Cross – that Christ set us each on a journey down the pathway to an eternity filled with His Presence, His Peace,
and His eternal and incomparable Love.
Merry Christmas and blessings for 2025!
Dennis and Claudia Chamberland and for our whole family.