Contact Us Free Sample

Search

New user tutorial

Log In

New subscriber?

Create your password

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe

OR

Log In

Email

Password

I forgot my password

Sorry... user email or password wrong, please try again!

We’re sorry, but that email address is not in our system. If you are certain that you have entered the address you used to register for your PTW account, please contact us to confirm that we have entered it correctly in our system.

User Account Expired

Uh-oh. According to our records your subscription to Prepare the Word is no longer active. Did you forget to renew? If so, please click the RENEW button below. If not and you believe there is an error with your account, please contact us here.

My Account

Renew My Susbcription

| Sign Up

Home
About
HOMILY PREP
LIBRARY
Take Five for Faith
How to
My Account

Home
About
HOMILY PREP
LIBRARY
Take Five for Faith
How to
My Account

Search

Search word or phrase

Search word or phrase

Any word Exact phrase

Limit results to the following...

Sundays

Exploring The Word

Homilies

Homily Stories

Take Five Daily and Weekly

Preaching the News

Pastoral trends

Quotes

Tags

Question Catholics Ask

Results

Will Iran allow jailed Americans to take a hike?

18 Sep 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Our God “is generous in forgiving,” affirms this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Isaiah. Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said earlier this week that two American hikers jailed on espionage convictions in Iran would be freed as a humanitarian gesture--an announcement, observers note, that seems intended to cast him in a more generous light as he prepares to attend the United Nations General Assembly next week. Iran’s detention of the hikers has aggravated what was already a tense relationship with the U.S. The two countries are at odds over Iran’s nuclear program and its hostility toward Israel. The reported plan to free the two men came only a week after Iran made its first counterproposal in two years to ease the confrontation with the West over its nuclear program. Hikers Shane M. Bauer and Joshua F. Fattal have been held for more than two years. They and a third hiker who already had been released, Sarah Shourd, were arrested July 31, 2009 after apparently straying across an unmarked border between Iraq and Iran while hiking in northern Iraq's Kurdish region. They said they were unaware they had crossed into Iran, but Iranian authorities said they were spies who entered the country illegally. Last month Fattal and Bauer were convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison—five years for espionage and three years for illegal entry, according to Iranian media. Amnesty International issued a statement Wednesday calling for the hikers' immediate release. "All available evidence and the authorities' conduct throughout the trial suggests [sic] that the Iranian authorities have known all along that these men were not spies," it said. Sources: Articles by Shirzad Bozorgmehr and Elise Labott for CNNand Alan Cowell and Rick Gladstone for the New York Times

iran amnesty international sarah shourd joshua f fattal shane m bauer hikers mahmoud ahmadinejad
Iranian uranium leads to highly charged relations

15 Jan 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel Jesus asks a pointed question of the disciples of John the Baptist who are following him: "What are you looking for?" Diplomatic observers are worriedly asking the same of Iran as the country continues to challenge the West. Iran sentenced a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen to death Monday, allegedly for spying for the CIA. When Western governments announced tighter sanctions on the import of Iranian oil in response to that country’s continued development of nuclear enrichment materials, Iran responded by threatening to close the straits of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil shipping route. Further escalating tensions, an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed Wednesday by a car bomb, likely part of a covert war against Iran’s nuclear program. The sentence against the American, Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 28, a former U.S. Marine, became a new point of contention and possible bargaining leverage in Iran’s struggle against the West over it nuclear development. A tightening vise of sanctions, which threaten vital oil sales and with them the nation’s economy, has left Tehran feeling besieged and has plunged relations with the United States and its allies to their lowest levels since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. “This whole case is very politically motivated,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an advocacy group based in New York City that has been monitoring Hekmati’s case. “There’s absolutely no evidence against him.” Iranian officials accused the U.S. and Israel of being behind the car bomb that killed 32-year-old chemical engineer Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan. The fifth daylight attack on technical experts in two years, the magnetic bomb delivered a targeted blast to the door of Ahmadi-Roshan's car during Wednesday's morning rush-hour. His driver also died, Iranian media said, and a passerby was slightly hurt. The assassination comes a day after the head of Israel's military told parliament that 2012 "will be a critical year in the connection between Iran gaining nuclear power, changes in leadership, continuing pressure from the international community, and events that happen unnaturally." It follows other similarly cagey comments from top Israeli officials in recent months as well as remarks from former officials who said foreign intelligence agencies are responsible for the deadly attacks. "There are countries who impose economic sanctions and there are countries who act in other ways," Israel's Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy Dan Meridor said late last year. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his country's nuclear program as he began a four-nation tour of Latin America this week, joining his ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in accusing the U.S. and its allies of using the dispute to unjustly threaten Iran. Sources: Articles by Ian James for the Associated Press, Rick Gladstoneand Harvey Morris for the New York Times, and Alexander Marquardt for ABC News

nuclear power mostafa ahmadi-roshan hadi ghaemi amir mirzaei hekmati mahmoud ahmadinejad assassination bombings iran united states dan meridor

Take Five for Faith Daily

Sunday
February 02

FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD

Get ready to fulfill your destiny

The information in scripture on Jesus’ childhood is a bit sketchy. At the end of the story of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple, we learn that Jesus “grew and became strong, filled with wisdom.” When we next hear of him, Jesus is 12 years old, discussing Jewish teachings at the temple, and “astounding” those who hear him. Quite a bit of growth and development obviously transpired in the intervening years! Mary and Joseph are the unsung heroes here, for having nurtured and raised Jesus in such a way that he was ready to fulfill his destiny. How can you continue to grow and develop in your faith?

© 2025 - TrueQuest Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

Website by ideaPort, LLC

Wait

Success

Error

We have detected that cookies are turned off in your browser settings. To ensure you have the best experience, we recommend that you change your settings to permit cookies for this website.

Get Help