Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. This is how psalm 27 verse 3 described peace of the heart that leads to peace of mind and act. Pope Shenouda III wrote that peace comes from faith. A heart full of faith leads to mind full of peace no matter how much problems are surrounding man. Having internal peace may be affected by surrounding circumstances. Having a calm family and home will have a different impact on a person from a home full of shouting and noise. This is the reason monks prefer to live in deserts where they can find peace and calm. Therefore, they enjoy peace of mind. May God grant us such peace and calm in order to save our souls and relations.

President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak is one of the most prominent presidents of Egypt and for me he comes second after Nasser. His achievement can’t be ignored by history or the Egyptians. He is the leader of the air strike in the October war and worked hard to restore the Egyptian land till Taba in Sinai. On the side of the infrastructure, Mubarak has established more than 200 bridges that helped solving traffic problems in Egypt including the October bridge. He is the ones who constructed the metro lines and several mega projects in Egypt. The Muslim Brotherhood tried to assassinate Hosni Mubarak more than three times because he did not allow terrorism and extremism. He was greatly concerned by security and safety of the citizen. Mubarak era was described as years of illiteracy was the season of private universities that provided quality education even for the rich people, but it cleared the way for the outstanding student in governmental universities. The US dollar under Mubarak era was equal only to 5.5 LE and the Egyptian Stock Exchange was in great position. He was accused of corruption, but several businessmen used his regime. He said that chaos will replace his regime and it was very true. I believe he should be honored and his name should be called on a Metro station to honor his memory among the Egyptians.

Last Tuesday, the former President of Egypt, Hosi Mubarak, died at the age of 92. The man who served his country for many years as leader of the Air forces, vice president and president of the republic from 1981 to 2011 deserved to receive a military funeral. Egypt shall remember what he did including all good and bad things. It is understood that history doesn’t know angels or devils, but human beings who commit mistakes and do great things as well. I remember here that when Mubarak left office after the revolution of January 25, he didn’t escape outside of his country to a place where he can be secure. Instead, he stayed and was judged till he died. In that occasion, I offer his family my sincere condolences and may God give him eternal rest and the family the strength to bear the great loss.

Recently another Sheikh released one of the ugliest statements trying to harass one of the purest people who devoted his life to cure children and establish centers in Egypt to cure people who have heart problems. I will not mention the person s name because he doesn t worth my time to waste in writing about him, but I will mention who he meant in his statement and as all knew that he meant Professor DR. Magdy Yacoob. That person tried to distract people from what Dr. Magdy Yacoob is doing to pay attention to himself because he is a failure, and no one remembers who he is and even what he is doing.

Doctors and specialists in the manufacture of prosthetics recommended the necessity of establishing a specialized college equipped with the latest equipment and technical experts, and the abolition of taxes on these devices. One of the companies announced its agreement with the Ministry of Solidarity to support the installation of these parties for those who are not able as a kind of social responsibility. The experts called, during a press conference to strengthen the national industry, and to turn Egypt into an export center for the prosthetics in the Arab and African countries. They demanded to form a high committee of ministries of solidarity, health, financial and private sector experts, to develop a plan to improve the educational and industrial field for prosthetics. Dr. Khaled El-Deeb, Chairman of the Board of Directors Orthomedics for prosthetics announced cooperating with the Ministry of Social Solidarity to provide prosthetics for the poor who need them, as well as donating its products to the concerned authorities. I hope this great idea will be completed to literally change the lives of many people, along with to rehabilitate society, cities and streets to receive people with disability. This needs strong will and understanding rather than a college.

The death of former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak sparked controversy over holding a full military funeral for him. The Law 35 of 1979 regarding honoring senior leaders of the armed forces has resolved this controversy and defines the general form of the funeral for leaders of the October 1973 war, including President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak. The law stipulates that the officers who occupied the positions of the leaders of the main branches and the head of the Armed Forces Operations Authority in the war of October 6, 1973 shall continue to serve in the forces throughout their lives, as an exception from the provisions of Article 12 of Law No. 90 of 1975. This means that the law granted him such military funeral. However, concerning the ruling issued against him by the Civil Court regarding presidential palaces, which some claim prevents him from holding a military funeral, it should be known that the ruling of the Civil Court against military personnel does not strip him from honors or military ranks. This can only be done through a military court ruling. We may disagree or agree with the late leader, but God will judge him and history will reveal his cons and pros. Our sincere condolences to his family and all his lovers.

Every now and then, we hear Muslims sheikhs discussing if it is permissible to congratulate Christians on their feasts. The answer varies between acceptance as co-citizens and rejection as infidels. The latest version of this shameful discussion came about Dr. Magdy Yacoub, and if his many charitable works may lead him to enter the paradise. I wonder if the clergy in our country have found the sole keys for the kingdom of heaven and, thus, became its guardians. How do they know things that are exclusive to God! They decided that God will allow billions of people to perish since they followed different religion to know Him! The surgeon who treats everyone without questioning their religion, race, sex, social or economical level, and transfers his knowledge to other doctors in order to allow more and more people to be treated, they decided that he has to perish since he is not good enough to join the paradise of the terrorists of ISIS! I call those sheikhs to stop insulting God and trade on religion. Let the people worship God the way they like till they meet with God in the other life.

The days of this week started with love and concluded with humanity. We have seen live examples of love, humility, and generosity in the love of Egypt. The start was on Friday, February 14th, which marked Valentine s Day, and it was a special day for the Egyptian community in Australia, which welcomed the presence of Egyptian guests in their humanitarian mission to support the poor of Egypt. The great writer and thinker Dr. Khaled Montaser and the great artist Ahmed Helmy and Judge Amir Razmy. I had the honor of receiving them at the Sydney International Airport. I can t express how busy their schedule was and how hard did they work to raise donations for the poor. This visit was organized by the Shepherd of Egypt association, which brought joy to the Egyptian community in Sidney. This is from one hand. On the other hand, Sir Magdi Yacoub was honored by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, on Thursday with the scarf of “Mohammed bin Rashid for humanitarian action” during the ceremony of Arab Hope Makers. During the ceremony, EGP 360 million (AED 88 million) donations were also raised for the new Cairo Heart Center inaugurated by Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation. All these achievements was in one week showing the world how the Egyptians love their country and love humanitarian work.

Coronovirus not just spreading fears about health issues and possibilities for death but also spreading fears and worries about the impact of this virus on the global economy especially that this virus mainly appeared in one of the biggest economies in the world which is China. Coronovirus already started to have a big impact on the market not just in Egypt and the middle east but the whole world including the American market.

We exalt you, the Mother of the true Light. We glorify you, O Saint, the Theotokos (Mother of God). This is a unique prayer we recite daily in the prayers of the Coptic Church seeking consolation, strength and hope. Father John Nassif, priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Chicago, said in his article We glorify you, O Mother of True Light is unique among all churches of the world, in which we honor the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and glorify the Lord Jesus, who is the head of the Church, its pride and steadfastness. This unique prayer is of Coptic origin and has no Greek origin and is not found in any other church in the world other than the Coptic Church. It was not written in the Council of Ephesus as some books claimed. This confusion may have come from the main topic discussed by Ephesus Council, which is the Mother of God. The prayer is part of the Liturgy and not the Nicene creed. Rather, it is a special prayer said before it. Therefore, it was called the introduction of the Nicene Creed. Yet, it introduces many details about the Christian faith. We don t know its writer, but we need to search for him. We exalt you, the Mother of the true Light. We glorify you, O Saint, the Theotokos, for you brought forth unto us the Savior of the whole world; He came and saved our souls. Glory to You, our Master, our King, Christ, the pride of the apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the joy of the righteous, the firmness of the churches, the forgiveness of sins.

It is scary to imagine myself inside a plane, and I see some passenger entering the cockpit and take the place of the pilot or his assistant to drive the plane even for one moment. It is scary because we know that this means of transportation is very sensitive and complicated. Any error may end with massive disaster that takes no more than several seconds. It is scary to see a pilot like Ashraf Abu Al-Yusr turning a blind eye to what he learned about flying and the sensitivity of the plane and its software, leaving one of the public to take the place of his assistant in the plane s cabin at the time of its flight to put his hands on the control of the plane. He even gave excuse that he turned on the autopilot, but it is also known that manipulating the controls may turn the autopilot off and cause a real disaster. Both the pilot and the celebrity are rich, but have no responsibility and both of them should be held accountable for such big mistake. We should show them no mercy since they could lead to disaster just to have fun and take a photo!

The Egyptian athlete Samar Hamza has recently won a gold medal in wrestling in Algeria, and she became the African champion in wrestling. Her medal was not the first for her, but she still dreams of earning an Olympic medal. Yet, her dream has become closer to the reality as she was qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Though Egypt has won several medals in wrestling, no woman has ever achieved an Olympic medal in the sport. Since Amsterdam 1928 to Rio de Janeiro 2016, Egypt won eight Olympic medals in wrestling. I wish the best of Samar and all Egyptian athletes who work hard to get medals and achieve new records for their country.

Many people in Egypt attacked the Singer Hassan Shakoush and his song, just like they should attack all negative scenes and attitudes in our streets. They should have strongly rejected sexual abuse of young girls, raping children by religious scholars, kidnapping children and trading their organs, extremism that invaded the minds and souls of our youth, corruption and bribery, drug and antiquities smuggling and high rates of divorce. These are samples of what should have been strongly rejected by our community. I don t blame Mr. Shakoush for his low taste in music since his only crime now is singing! He expressed his feelings and invited others to be happy among many reasons to be sad. In fact, people liked their songs and enjoyed it. I remember here the initiative taken by Maestro Selim Sahab who made a great music band of homeless people. I invite those who attacked Shakoush to listed to the words of his song and think what would they do if a super star had presented this song instead of Mr. Shakoush. I know they would have enjoyed this song, but they prefer to attack even before they think.

Love is a nice word to say but it s a hard act to practice. You can find a lot of people talking about love and how it s important and that we can t live without love but unfortunately we don t see them practice this love in their life. Love her not necessary to the wife only but to the family and to others. On this day we all wish to have someone to love and be loved but if we have this one sometimes we become carless to take care of it.

Egyptians have made several achievements in fencing and many of them won international competitions. In that account, we may hear about champions like Adham Moataz, the European gold medal for the fencing for young men, and Medhat Moataz, owner of the world bronze medal for the fencing. Now, there is a new generation of Egyptians who is not satisfied with achieving local titles, but works hard to win international competitions and the sky has become their limit. Fencing was the first Olympic game for the Egyptians to participate in when Ahmed Hassanein Pasha traveled to participate in the Stockholm Games in 1912. Yet, they waited exactly one hundred years before winning the first Olympic medal when Alaa Abu Al-Qasim won the London Games in 2012. I see a bright future for that game in Egypt with young competitive people seeking glory and working hard to raise the flag of their country. Greetings to the Egyptian fencing heroes and those responsible for reviving the sport in Egypt.

Many people talk about love, but they don’t really realize what it is. Creative American novelist Raymond Carver described love as spiritual feeling, physical relationship or familiarity. It is several feelings that we have each time differently. I myself have fallen in love several times and experienced this feeling in various ways. At the age of 13 years old, I fall in love with the daughter of the neighbors, who lived with her family on the first floor of the building. She was incredibly beautiful, or so I saw her. I didn’t see her much except through coincidence meetings at the entrance to the building, or when she paid my sisters a short visit. One day, I played a small role in a TV series, and she met me and was very proud of me. my heart couldn’t stop beating and I realized ever since that love is a story that can’t be explained. By time, I realized that she was simply an ordinary girl, but I saw her outstanding because I loved her, even because I didn’t know her very well. It looks like we love more when we know less! My father told me a funny story about a girl that he saw her face from her window on his way to school, but finally realized she was a doll! Love is what we believe it is and we see our beloved person as we want to see and not as he or she really is!

In the first day of the fasting of Jonah the Prophet, it is said that he is the son of the widow who was raised by Elijah the Prophet from death. God has called him to carry the message of repentance and salvation of the Kingdom of Assyria, whose capital was Nineveh (Mosul) in the State of Iraq. It was the Kingdom of Assyria that destroyed the Kingdom of Israel in the year 722 BC. In the story of Jonah the Prophet, it is an explicit and clear declaration that God s love for man exceeds the awareness and mind of human beings. He is the all-loving Creator, the long-suffering, merciful, and compassionate who wants everyone to know the way and the truth and be saved. Many times does the Holy Spirit visit us and call us to repentance and salvation by people and many means of media. It is His love that sought to save the people of Neneveh and calls us to repent every single day of our life. On the other hand, we find Jonah thinking they don t deserve repentance and they will never know God. Thus, he flee to another city His thinking was limited and he was worried more about this own dignity as a prophet. Yet, God didn t lose hope in them and decided to save them by all means. In that account we realize that one s selfishness may lead to disobedience for God s commandments. The Prophet Jonah lost time and money in his attempt to escape. He also needed to repent just like the people of Neneveh and he didn t realize that God exists everywhere. The story of the people of Neneveh was recorded in history and their repentance was taken as a role model by many people including the Coptic people who are currently fasting for three days to learn from their repentance. God is waiting for us just like He waited for the people of Neneveh.

With what s going around in Syria, Iran , Iraq, is it possible to see an end to this tunnel. Unfortunately, Turkey is going on its own way to destroy Syria in the name of Kurdish people. Russia is so burdened that Turkey bought a lot of weapons from it and it s a good market for Russian weapons. Iran is involved in many conflicts in the region and can t leave these countries after all what Iran did.

The monastery of St. George for nuns in ancient Cairo issued the largest and most comprehensive encyclopedia in Arabic documenting the biography of of the Saint. His Holiness Pope Tawadros II said that it is the greatest Arabic reference in the history of recording the biography of this great martyr. The book is a study in 96 manuscripts written in five different languages which are Coptic with its dialects, Bahriya, Syriac, Greek, Abyssinian and Arabic. These have been translated into the Arabic language, and many of these manuscripts date back to the sixth century. The study has varied in this book consisting of twelve chapters including a study on the icon of the saint, a study on the melodies about the saint. The book introduced new facts about the saint like the king who tortured him was Danyanus and not Diocletian, and that he was martyred in Iraq in 268 not in Lebanon 302 AD as it was known before. Indeed, we are proud of this distinguished work that proves that the church and monastery can be a spirtual universities providing great scientific research.