Quotes from James Cowan

This was the spot, Mounir told me, where Pharaoh's daughter had discovered Moses while he was drifting past on the river. "I thought Moses had been rescued by the princess at Al-Maadi," I reminded Mounir. Mounir adjusted his shoulder bag as we walked back to the car. "Does it really matter, Mr. James? The important thing to know is that the Holy Family embarked from here, just as they did from Al-Maadi. Both places claim Moses as their own.

Jesus, the future Son of Man, was to be schooled in the art of exile in one of the world's oldest spiritual cauldrons. He was to journey through the ancient land of the Pharaohs, confront its gods, and do battle with what one observer calls the "chemistry of doubt.

One member of this family, however, was a divine child, a future avatar, and so of great consequence to the ensuing transformation of the world. The others—his stepfather Joseph, his mother Mary, and midwife Salome—were his chosen protectors.

The Bible, unfortunately, gives us only the barest outline of the flight into Egypt.

The Church of the Holy Virgin was built during the first century," he told us. "The monastery itself was founded in the fourth century at the time of Abba Pachomius in AD 342.

Miracles only occur when sanctity is acknowledged. We Muslims believe in the Lord Jesus. He may not be Allah, but he was surely a very pure person. We honor him in our thoughts and our prayers." "Certainly Sultan Malik recognized the mystery of his presence," I replied. "I know for a fact that he and Saint Francis of Assisi deeply respected one another, both acknowledging the power of their mutual faith.

Is it not true that men of good faith put aside what divides them in order to emphasize what brings them together?

We are all on a journey to an unknown place, all subject to forces and opinions that threaten to destroy us. At the same time, we are surrounded by miracles that protect us whenever we feel ourselves to be most vulnerable. A footprint in stone here, a golden sandal there, a solitary cloud somewhere else. Are we not looking for such signs that tell us that we are protected by an invisible hand? Certainly I was beginning to believe this to be so.

Christ wrote nothing in his lifetime