[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 50 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                THE 42D ANNUAL NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

  Mr. HEFLIN. Madam President, on February 3 of this year, I had the 
honor of presiding over the 42d annual National Prayer Breakfast, held 
at the Washington Hilton Hotel here in Washington. Each year hundreds 
of leaders and thousands of guests from all over the world gather at 
the National Prayer Breakfast to seek spiritual guidance and to engage 
in fellowship with our friends from many diverse backgrounds. This 
year, we had over 4,000 in attendance. Attendees literally come from 
all walks of life.
  Each year, by tradition, the President and First Lady attend, as well 
as the Vice President and his wife. We pray, sing, reflect, and 
soulfully examine our roles as leaders and what it means to guided by a 
divine power. This year, we were especially graced by having in 
attendance at the breakfast Mother Teresa.
  I have been involved with several National Prayer Breakfasts since 
coming to the Senate, and I must say this year's was among the most 
memorable and uplifting I have ever participated in. I think most of 
those who attended went away with a true sense of spiritual renewal.
  There are many people around the country and world who did not have 
the opportunity to attend this event but who are keenly interested in 
the breakfast and in learning more about it. I therefore ask unanimous 
consent that the transcript of the 42d National Prayer Breakfast be 
printed in the Record at this point.
  There being no objection, the transcript was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               The 42nd Annual National Prayer Breakfast

       Sen. Howell Heflin. A good friend of ours, Lt. General 
     Claude M. Kicklighter, Retired, will lead us in a pre-
     breakfast prayer. He is a former commanding General of the 
     Army of the Pacific and now serves in the Department of 
     Defense as the Director of World War II Commemorative 
     Programs. His work involves going to various battle sites 
     from World War II and setting up programs to commemorate the 
     events. I was with him at Pearl Harbour recently. General 
     Kicklighter, if you'd come forward and give the pre-breakfast 
     prayer.
       Lt. General Claude M. Kicklighter, Retired. Thank you, sir. 
     This is a very special day. You can feel it. Wondrous things 
     are going to happen here this morning. As you remain seated I 
     would ask you to join hands in the bond of friendship around 
     your table and bow your heads.
       Almighty God, whose love and mercy is known in heaven and 
     on earth, we praise your name as we come together from all 
     over the world and from across this great nation with one 
     purpose: to focus on loving you and loving one another. Lord, 
     as we attend this 42nd National Prayer Breakfast, let us 
     remember that just 50 years ago this world was engaged in a 
     life and death struggle that became known as World War II. 
     Now this morning we come together from all over that world in 
     friendship, with our President, other heads of state, and 
     citizens from more than 150 nations. We give you thanks for 
     50 years without another World War and for the end of the 
     Cold War.
       We praise you for blessing our nations with the quest for a 
     lasting peace, along with the fruits of abundance of 
     freedom--especially the freedom to worship according to the 
     dictates of our own hearts. Help us, as it is written in 
     Micah, to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our 
     God. We ask for courage, strength, and wisdom to ensure a 
     safer and better world, a world free of war where freedom 
     continues to ring. Guide our President through the maze of 
     conflicting interests as he leads our great nation. Just as 
     Jesus reminded us, no sparrow falls to the ground without 
     your notice. Surely no nation can rise from the ground 
     without your divine assistance. This morning we pray for that 
     assistance.
       Lord, we known that you have a message for each of us here 
     today. We pray that you will open our hearts to hear your 
     message, a message that can fill us with the power of your 
     love--and that love can change lives in the world. Christ 
     loving us is the hope of the world and there's no better 
     example of the power of love than the life of your speaker 
     this morning.
       Lord, we ask you to continue to watch over our friend and 
     mentor, Mother Teresa, and sustain her in her mission of 
     mercy to those who are stricken by disease and poverty. Help 
     us to emulate her life of service and sacrifice in our own 
     lives. We express our gratitude for the food upon our tables 
     this morning. Help us to extend our heart and hands to those 
     who are hungry. As we thank you for the help we posses, help 
     us to be mindful of those who are ill. As we extol the 
     freedoms we enjoy, help us to champion the cause for those 
     who are denied freedom.
       Oh God, author of Liberty, protector of the just and 
     merciful, how great thou art. We feel your presence here this 
     morning and we humbly turn to you and ask, ``Heal our land 
     and protect our children.'' We ask in the name of Jesus 
     Christ, your blessings on this gathering. Amen.
       Sen. Heflin. I am Howell Heflin, the Chairman of the Senate 
     breakfast group.
       Today's prayer breakfast is a time for people of all walks 
     of life to collectively lift their voices and turn their eyes 
     toward the living God and to devoutly petition him for His 
     assistance. It is a time for reflection. It is a time for 
     renewal of our faith. And it is a time for fellowship full of 
     love and enjoyment.
       At exactly 7:45 this morning, Alabama's Tuskegee choir will 
     start singing several selections. After the arrival of the 
     President and Vice President, the choir will sing ``God Bless 
     America.'' Tuskegee University was founded in 1881 by Booker 
     T. Washington, it's first President. A special feature of the 
     university today is the George Washington Carver Museum, 
     named after the distinguished scientist who taught at 
     Tuskegee. We're pleased to have with us this morning 
     Tuskegee's current President, Dr. Benjamin Patton and Dr. 
     Luther Foster, President from 1953-1981. You may begin your 
     breakfast as it is served and at 7:45 the Tuskegee University 
     choir will give us several selections.
       [Breakfast].
       [Tuskegee University choir sang.]
       Announcer. Ladies and gentlemen, Vice President Al Gore and 
     Tipper Gore. (Applause.)
       Ladies and gentlemen, the President and First Lady of the 
     United States. (Applause.)
       [Tuskegee University choir sang ``God Bless America.''] 
     (Applause.)
       Sen. Heflin. Thank you. If you will remain standing, we 
     will ask Senator Harris Wofford to come and lead us in 
     prayer. He's an active member of the Senate Breakfast Group 
     and was a close advisor to President John F. Kennedy and Dr. 
     Martin Luther King, Jr.
       Senator Wofford.
       Sen. Harris Wofford. Our God, God of the Christian and the 
     Jew, God of the Muslim and the Hindu, God of the Buddhists 
     and of those with no church, God of the Republican and the 
     Democrat, God of the rich and the poor, God bless America. 
     May it become America the Beautiful. Help us make the words 
     we just heard become the music and the measure of our lives. 
     Help us listen to the words that unite, not the words that 
     divide; to the words that create, not the words that destroy. 
     For in the beginning is the Word, and the words we live by do 
     become flesh. And in the end, in the last judgment when the 
     Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, there is no 
     Greek nor Jew nor Arab; there is only the man who to the 
     hungry gave food, the woman who to the thirsty gave drink, 
     the citizen who to the stranger said, ``Come in.''
       So God of all nations, help us, your children of this one 
     human race, so lonely in your vast universe. Help us realize 
     that here in this world your work must truly be our own. Help 
     us make Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. From 
     the streets of Calcutta to the peaks of Kashmir, from the 
     hills of Bosnia to the plains of Somalia, from the port of 
     Haiti to the port of Philadelphia, from the coast of 
     California to the inland waters of Russia, from the college 
     halls of New Jersey to the halls of Congress, from 
     Washington, DC, to Washington, PA, may the words we hear 
     today--especially the words from our president and vice 
     president and Mother Teresa--enter our hearts and help us 
     ``crown Thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.''
       Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Senator Wofford.
       Mr. President and Mrs. Clinton, Vice President and Mrs. 
     Gore, and distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is my 
     pleasure to welcome each of you and to thank you for 
     participating in the 42nd Annual National Prayer Breakfast. 
     The name ``International Prayer Breakfast'' would probably be 
     a more fitting title for our gathering this morning, since we 
     have as guests not only representatives from 50 states, but 
     from over 150 nations. This morning's event is being 
     translated into six languages since there are those present 
     that do not understand English. Also C-SPAN is carrying this 
     program live, as approximately 500 prayer breakfasts around 
     the country are meeting simultaneously and worshipping with 
     us.
       As this year's breakfast approached, I wondered why it and 
     similar gatherings had come to be centered around a breakfast 
     rather than a luncheon or a dinner. I suppose the logical 
     reason would be that it is more convenient to meet early in 
     the morning before the rigors of the busy day set in, but 
     through further research I discovered a more significant 
     meaning behind the National Prayer Breakfast tradition that 
     we have come to observe over the years. Congressman and later 
     Kansas Senator Frank Carlson was an active leader in the 
     House Prayer Group during World War II. He got the idea of 
     associating the prayer group meeting with a breakfast from a 
     New Testament passage in the 21st chapter of the Gospel of 
     St. John.
       Several of the disciples had been out fishing in the Sea of 
     Tiberias during the night but didn't catch anything. As they 
     went toward the shore the next morning with the sun rising, 
     they saw Jesus on the beach, and he instructed them to go 
     back and cast their net on the right side of the ship, and 
     when they did, they caught a multitude of fish. As they came 
     ashore again, Jesus was there preparing fish and bread for 
     the disciples, and he said to them, ``Come and dine.''
       Whether we look back at Frank Carlson's inspiration or to 
     the usual and customary practice as the reason, breakfasts 
     provide an excellent setting for a prayerful gathering. We 
     think it is appropriate that we meet here today with this 
     magnificent crowd and with the 500 prayer breakfasts around 
     the country meeting simultaneously to praise the Lord and to 
     ask for his assistance in the many problems that we have.
       The president and Mrs. Clinton, the vice president and Mrs. 
     Gore left after they came in to visit with Mother Teresa and 
     also to visit another group of about 600 that are in a 
     different room in this building where this is being telecast 
     to them.
       Now I would like to introduce those distinguished guests 
     here at the head table who are not speaking this morning: The 
     first lady, Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton, known to the 
     world as Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Applause.) Mrs. Albert A. 
     Gore, Jr., known affectionately to the members of the Senate 
     as Tipper Gore. (Applause.)
       Now the remaining ones at the head table I'll ask you to 
     hold your applause in order that we might conserve time, and 
     then at the end you may applaud. Mrs. Claude M. Kicklighter, 
     Mrs. Ted Stevens, Mrs. Don Shula, Mrs. Earl Hutto, my wife 
     Elizabeth Ann Heflin, Mrs. Mark Hatfield, Dr. Ted Rothstein, 
     Mrs. Harris Wofford, and Mrs. Wintley Phipps. Let's give them 
     all a hand. (Applause.)
       Mrs. Janet Hall, the wife of Congressman Tony Hall, is 
     seated in the audience at her request. However, I would like 
     to say that Janet Hall has actively worked on this National 
     Prayer Breakfast. And, Janet, we appreciate you being here, 
     and I ask you to stand at this time. (Applause.)
       I want to also particularly welcome the five heads of state 
     we're honored to have with us this morning: The distinguished 
     prime ministers from Dominica, Western Samoa, Tonga, the 
     president of Palau, and the governor general of the British 
     Virgin Islands. If you will please stand. (Applause.)
       Congressman Earl Hutto of Florida, who is the chairman of 
     the House Breakfast Group, will now give remarks on their 
     behalf.
       Congressman Hutto. (Applause.)
       Rep. Earl Hutto. Thank you, Senator Heflin.
       Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice President and Mrs. 
     Gore, distinguished head table guests, and ladies and 
     gentlemen, shortly before 8:00 a.m. on any Thursday that 
     the House is in session, members are filing into Room H-
     130 on the House side of the Capitol. There's no sign on 
     the door that says ``Republicans Only'' or ``Democrats 
     Only.'' This is the weekly House prayer breakfast. In the 
     Bible, Romans 13:1, it says, ``Left every soul be subject 
     under the higher powers, for there is no power but of God; 
     the powers that be are ordained of God.''
       We are there at that breakfast for a common purpose: to 
     fellowship together in the Spirit of Christ; to pray for you, 
     Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, for government 
     officials throughout the land, for each other and for our 
     great nation, as well as for peace in the world. Included in 
     the program is the reading of Scripture from God's word. 
     Congressman Sonny Montgomery, a long-time stalwart of the 
     prayer breakfast, gives what he calls a report on the sick 
     and wounded, and others are listed for whom we should pray.
       Before we sing a hymn, our colleague Jake Pickle tells us 
     all about the composer and his or her inspiration for writing 
     the hymn. This really amazes us, and sometimes we get a big 
     laugh because we suspect that Jake is making a lot of this up 
     as he goes along. (Laughter.) Congressman Pickle is retiring 
     after this year, and he will be greatly missed.
       Approximately 50 members attend the breakfast each week. 
     Partisanship is out the window. We are not there as members 
     of a political party or any particular religious groups, but 
     to bond together in gaining strength and inspiration for our 
     service to God and our constituents.
       Our speaker each week--one week a Republican and the next 
     week a Democrat--is always a member of Congress but not 
     necessarily someone who regularly attends the breakfast. In 
     fact, oftentimes when we invite a member to come and share 
     his or her faith with us, it really gets their attention in a 
     positive way. They share with us their life and what is in 
     their heart. Some relate the trauma, the hardships, the 
     sadness and disappointments, as well as the joys and triumph 
     over the years. We've had some wonderful messages and, with 
     each one, inspiration and a better understanding and closer 
     friendship.
       You know, across the nation there is cynicism and lack of 
     trust in government. People deplore the bickering, the 
     partisanship that often results in gridlock. With this in 
     mind, I'm often asked, what about the spiritual atmosphere in 
     Washington? And I reply that it's similar to that in your 
     hometown. We are still one nation under God. But is there any 
     doubt that we have lost some of the standards and values that 
     made us great in the first place? There is need to live by 
     the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule and acknowledge our 
     dependence on Almighty God for solutions to the many problems 
     confronting the world.
       God indeed can make a difference in our individual lives, 
     in the nation and the world. So today I bring you greetings 
     from the House Prayer Breakfast Group. We welcome you all, 
     including a warm welcome to those who are with us from many 
     nations around the world. Let me say that we're encouraged 
     that governmental prayer breakfasts are being started in many 
     other countries.
       God bless you all. (Applause.)
       Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Earl Hutto, for those great words.
       Chief Judge Barbara Rothstein of the United States District 
     Court for the Western District of Washington will now read 
     from the Old Testament. I hope she doesn't mind me mentioning 
     that today is her birthday. (Laughter.)
       Judge Rothstein. (Applause.)
       Judge Barbara Rothstein. Thank you, Senator.
       Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice President and Mrs. 
     Gore, honored guests, visiting dignitaries, I shall read from 
     1 Kings, Chapter 3, beginning at verse 5.
       ``In Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by 
     night, and God said, `ask what I shall give thee.'
       ``And Solomon said: `Thou hast shown unto Thy servant 
     David, my father, great kindness, according as he walked 
     before Thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness 
     of heart with Thee, and Thou hast kept for him this great 
     kindness, that Thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne 
     as it is this day. And now, oh, Lord, my God, Thou hast made 
     Thy servant king instead of David, my father, and I am but a 
     little child. I know not how to go out or come in, and Thy 
     servant is in the midst of Thy people which Thou hast chosen, 
     a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for 
     multitude. Give Thy servant, therefore an understanding heart 
     to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and 
     evil. For who is able to judge this, Thy great people?'
       ``And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked 
     this thing, and God said unto him: `Because thou hast asked 
     this thing and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither 
     hast asked riches for thyself nor hast asked the life of 
     thine enemies but has asked for thyself understanding to 
     discern justice, behold I have done according to thy word. 
     Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, and 
     I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both 
     riches and honor.'''
       I have chosen this passage because it is rich with themes 
     relevant to modern times. As a judge myself, it is moving to 
     me to see Solomon's deep concern with doing justice. Man's 
     search for justice and wisdom is a constant theme throughout 
     the Old Testament.
       Another aspect of Solomon's dream impacts leaders in any 
     century. Solomon is shown as a very human being. He is 
     feeling doubts, fears and insecurities. He is following in 
     the footsteps of his father, David, who is one of the 
     greatest kings. Solomon finds himself filled with trepidation 
     about the responsibility he is assuming. In his fear and his 
     concern for his people, he asks the Lord to give him the 
     wisdom and understanding to be able to distinguish good from 
     evil, truth from falsity.
       The passage illustrates how even the greatest of leaders 
     can be intimidated by the responsibility they hold for the 
     lives and fortunes of others, that looking into one's heart 
     from a position of power it is acceptable to question one's 
     own adequacy and to ask for divine help, guidance and 
     inspiration.
       Finally in the passage, we see that, because King Solomon 
     puts the interests of his people before his own, God richly 
     rewards him.
       Thank you. (Applause.)
       Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Judge, for those words from the Old 
     Testament.
       Senator Mark Hatfield, a stalwart of the Senate Breakfast 
     Group is representing the Senate Group this morning. When he 
     was governor of Oregon several years ago, he organized the 
     first governors' prayer breakfast.
       Senator Hatfield. (Applause.)
       Sen. Mark Hatfield. Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice 
     President, Mrs. Gore, my brothers and sisters, 52 years ago, 
     while the terror of World War II engulfed the world, a small 
     group of senators, the vice president of the United States 
     and a member of the Supreme Court met together in the Capitol 
     to discuss the war and to pray.
       We have continued meeting since that time. We come together 
     as friends to share a meal and to pray for each other and to 
     pray for the nation. We leave our labels at the door as 
     Democrats, Republicans, liberals, moderates, conservatives. 
     We remove our masks. We bridal our egos. And we experience 
     spiritual renewal. In our vulnerability, we wrestle with the 
     great issues confronting us as a nation and as a world, and 
     very often we find that these political and economic 
     solutions that we seek can only be found as spiritual 
     solutions to basically spiritual problems. And, therefore, we 
     pray for spiritual renaissance.
       Today, too, we in this room have left our labels at the 
     door. We have assembled from most of the continents of the 
     world and from many islands of the oceans, bringing our 
     different cultures, languages and histories, but we are here 
     today bonded by our common humanity. The inspiration of this 
     gathering reminds us of the power and the beauty in 
     diversity. We are truly a mosaic of magnificent beauty.
       We know that we can never realistically be isolated from 
     each other living on this planet. We understand the wisdom of 
     King Solomon when he noted, ``He who builds a high gate 
     invites destruction.'' We also understand the pragmatism of 
     St. Paul, who said that the individual parts of the body, 
     each with its distinctive function, all are interrelated to 
     form the whole person, and so, too, it is with the spiritual 
     body worldwide. Our diversity is our source and foundation of 
     our strength. Without this interrelationship, this 
     connection, we are isolated--a fractured humanity.
       As we come together today in the spirit of the reconciling 
     and healing savior, Jesus Christ, my prayer is that our 
     strategies are empowered by love, that the priority of our 
     commitments are to the poor and that our lives are lived as 
     peacemakers in this wounded and hurting world.
       Please, God, bless us all with Your understanding. Amen. 
     (Applause.)
       Sen. Howell Heflin. Now I would like to introduce a 
     gentleman, Mr. Fred McClure, who will sing. Fred is a friend 
     of mine as well as of many members of Congress.
       Mr. Fred McClure.
       [Mr. Fred McClure sang Amazing Grace.]
       Sen. Helfin. Dr. Billy Graham usually joins us each year 
     for the National Prayer Breakfast, but unfortunately, he 
     could not be with us this year. This is only the third time 
     that he has missed since its beginning. He did want me to 
     extend his greetings, and I quote:
       ``Even though I am in Asia this morning, I am united with 
     you in prayer for the people of America and the world. It is 
     clear that nothing is more important during these critical 
     days than for the leaders of the world to learn to pray 
     together. I salute all of you this morning who share this 
     dream. I would especially like for President and Mrs. Clinton 
     and Vice President and Mrs. Gore to know that my prayers are 
     with them daily.''
       It is now my pleasure to introduce the vice president of 
     the United States, the Honorable Albert A. Gore, Jr. He 
     brings strong spiritual principles to his job each day. He 
     comes from a long Baptist background, with plenty of old-
     fashioned Baptist common sense and grit-(laughter)--Al Gore 
     was one of the most active members of our prayer breakfast in 
     the Senate when he served there, and I understand he was 
     likewise when he served in the House. Yesterday he 
     participated in the Diplomatic luncheon for the world 
     leaders, the ambassadors and our international guests from 
     around the world.
       Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and high 
     privilege to present to you the Vice President of the United 
     States. (Applause.)
       Vice President Gore. (Continued applause.) Thank you.
       Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, and distinguished guests, the 
     way Judge Helfin put that extra emphasis on Baptist 
     (laughter)--sometimes a Methodist will do that (laughter)--it 
     reminds me of when the Baptist minister and the Unitarian 
     minister were having an argument, and finally the Unitarian 
     attempted to make up and said, ``We all worship the same 
     God.'' The Baptist minister said, ``Yes, you in your way, and 
     I in His.'' (Laughter.)
       And it is a great honor to be here with all of you and a 
     particular honor, may I say, to be blessed with the presence 
     of Mother Teresa, who epitomizes selfless dedication to God's 
     work. Because of her faith, she has helped people regardless 
     of religion and is admired by people of every religion.
       We were privileged to spend a few moments with her this 
     morning, and I recalled my own feelings when Tipper and I 
     were driving over here, and I was reflecting on the fact that 
     for just a minute or two I was going to speak here about the 
     power of faith in my life on the same program in which Mother 
     Teresa will shortly speak. And I was reminded of a story that 
     I read in one of the news magazines about five years ago 
     about a basketball game, a rather extraordinary game, in 
     which Michael Jordan scored 68 points. And after the game one 
     of the news reports interviewed a rookie on the team who had 
     scored one point and asked him for his reaction to this 
     extraordinary game. And he said, ``I will always remember 
     this as the occasion when Michael Jordan and I combined for 
     69 points.'' (Laughter.)
       I'm going to remember this breakfast also.
       We have all been invited to this morning's breakfast in the 
     Spirit of Christ. Men and women of many different religious 
     traditions are here, and we are united by our belief that 
     gathering together in prayer, often in small groups for 
     prayer and reflection, is a source of strength and 
     friendship. In my life, I find such groups a source of great 
     solace and strength. And in our world, in this time of 
     religious and ethnic hatred and conflict all over the world, 
     in this time of wars and environmental destruction, in this 
     time of a continuing epidemic of violence here in the United 
     States of America, we need such solace and strength and 
     guidance.
       My one point is, at such a time, it is a source of strength 
     just to see so many of us from so many places gathered under 
     one roof able to sing with the ancient psalmists and consider 
     the timeless questions: ``Oh, Lord, our Lord, how excellent 
     is Thy name in all the earth, who has set Thy glory above the 
     heavens. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy 
     fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained, 
     what is man that Thou art mindful of him?'' (Applause.)
       Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Al Gore. We appreciate your great 
     contribution over the years to the House, the Senate, and now 
     in the Executive Branch.
       You mentioned the Baptists and the Methodists. I'm reminded 
     of a story about a fellow that was prone to drink too much on 
     Saturday night. He would go to church on Sunday and would 
     frequently nod when the preacher was preaching. They had 
     brought in a visiting preacher to the Shady Grove Methodist 
     Church and this was what we would call a deep water 
     Methodist--he could go down the deepest, stay the longest, 
     and come up the driest of any minister you ever heard! 
     (Laughter.) Anyway, during the sermon, this border who had 
     had too much to drink on the Saturday night before began to 
     nod and before long he just went off to sleep. And the 
     preacher noticed that several members in the congregation 
     were nodding and he decided he'd better do something to get 
     their attention. So in the middle of the sermon, he says, 
     ``If there's anyone in the congregating that wants to go to 
     hell, stand up!'' Well, this brother that was asleep, the 
     only thing he heard was, ``Stand up!, so up he shoots! 
     (Laughter.) And the preacher turns to him and says, ``Well, 
     brother, do you have something you want to say?'' He said, 
     ``Well, preacher, I don't know what we're voting on, but it 
     looks like you and I are the only ones in favor of it.'' 
     (Laughter.)
       Well, we all admire our next participant in this program. 
     He has had a remarkable record. He has been to Congress 
     several times lifting his voice relative to religious 
     matters. Coach Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins will read from 
     the New Testament. With his 325th victory last November, 
     Coach Shula became professional football's winningest coach. 
     He's taken the Miami Dolphins to five Super Bowls. Coach 
     Shula never hesitates to give credit where it is due. He once 
     told a writer: ``I believe that God is up there. I try to 
     live in his likeness. That's my prayer every day--to do the 
     job to the best of my ability in a way that will reflect on 
     his image and likeness.''
       Coach Shula. (Applause.)
       Don Shula. Thank you, Senator.
       Mr. President and Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice President and Mrs. 
     Gore, honored guests at the head table, ladies and gentlemen, 
     I want to mention that I'm Catholic. I want equal time up 
     here. (Laughter.)
       I've selected two short passages this morning from the New 
     Testament--Matthew 5, verses 1-12, and 1st Corinthians 9, 
     verses 24-27.
       The amazing thing about this book written thousands of 
     years ago is how perfectly it applies to the world in which 
     we live today. A man we all admire and whom we all miss, 
     former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, called a sermon I 
     would like to read the best political speech ever given. I'd 
     like to dedicate this reading to the memory of a man who put 
     these words into action. Matthew 5, verses 1-12:
       ``When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and 
     after he sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to 
     teach them, saying `--the Beatitudes--''' Blessed are the 
     poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed 
     are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted; blessed are 
     the meek, for they shall inherit the land; blessed are they 
     who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be 
     satisfied; blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown 
     mercy; blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God; 
     blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children 
     of God; blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of 
     righteousness, for their is the kingdom of heaven; blessed 
     are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter 
     every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice 
     and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus, 
     they persecuted the prophets who were before you.''
       The second reading is not for the faint of heart. It takes 
     a lot of toughness to succeed spiritually, and I, coming from 
     the world of physical achievement, especially appreciate St. 
     Paul's athletic analogy to success in the effort. 1st 
     Corinthians 9, verses 24-27:
       ``Do you know that the runners in the stadium all run in 
     the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. 
     Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it 
     to win a perishable crown, but we earn an imperishable one. 
     Thus, I do not run aimlessly. I do not fight as if I were 
     shadow boxing. No, I drive my body and train it for fear 
     that, after having preached to others, I myself should be 
     disqualified.''
       Thank you and have a great day. Thank you. (Applause.)
       Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Coach.
       Congressman Tony Hall of Ohio will now offer the prayer for 
     national leaders. He is dedicated to improving human rights 
     and combating hunger around the world. He's a founding member 
     of the Senate Committee on Hunger, and in April of 1993, Tony 
     Hall helped focus attention on the problem of world hunger by 
     fasting for three weeks in response to the abolishment of 
     that committee.
       Congressman Hall. (Applause.)
       Rep. Tony Hall. Thank you, Senator.
       Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, distinguished guests, 
     ladies and gentlemen, they have a saying in Africa that says 
     that, when the elephants fight, the grass dies. Essentially 
     what it means is that, when the big people fight, when the 
     people in authority--the kings--when they fight, the people, 
     they hurt and oftentimes they perish. And as you look around 
     the world, we have a lot of problems. We have environmental 
     problems. Half the world's water is polluted. We have 
     conflict. We have presently 42 wars going on. We have famine 
     and drought, and we have a lot of people that are really 
     hurting.
       It says in the Scriptures that we are to pray for 
     everybody, but specifically to pray for those people in 
     authority so that the people, which is us and the world, will 
     live in peaceful and tranquil lives in all godliness and 
     dignity. And that's what I'd like to do today. Can we bow our 
     heads?
       Father, we just thank you for being here, and we thank you 
     for presence. We thank you for the chance to humble ourselves 
     before you. I pray for the leadership of this country, oh, 
     Lord--the President, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet and the 
     Congress, the governors, the mayors, the distinguished 
     visitors and parliamentarians from around the world that are 
     in this room today. Lord. We just ask that you shine down 
     upon us from the standpoint of helping us with our problems.
       I pray specifically for President Clinton and his family, 
     that you protect him and that you be with him and when he has 
     to make such complex and important decisions, oh, Lord. Be 
     with him when he's lonely and be with him and his wife as 
     you've been with him for the past few months as they have 
     lost their loved ones. We ask you to watch over him as he 
     directs and guides and shepherds the country. We ask you to 
     bless him, give him wisdom.
       We ask that your spirit of love would shine down upon this 
     room, Lord, on each and every leader, wherever they might be, 
     and that we might be people of goodness and kindness and 
     justice and mercy and understanding. We do these things so 
     that the people can have peaceful and tranquil lives living 
     in all godliness and dignity, and we give you all the credit.
       I pray in the name of Jesus, amen. (Applause.)
       Sen. Heflin. It is my pleasure now to present to you Mother 
     Teresa, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and often 
     acknowledged as one who truly loves God and serves him among 
     the poor and the oppressed. She is a woman respected, 
     admired, and loved throughout the world. Her name has become 
     synonymous with selfless service, unconditional love, and 
     pure goodness. Once asked how she sees herself, Mother Teresa 
     answered, ``I pray I can be a pencil in God's hand.'' And so 
     she is. We're deeply honored and touched by her presence with 
     us today.
       Mother Teresa. (Extended applause.)
       Mother Teresa. (Extended applause.) Make us worthy, Lord, 
     to serve our fellow men throughout the world who live and die 
     in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands this day 
     their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give peace 
     and joy.
       Jesus came to give us the good news that God loves us and 
     that He wants to love one another as He loves each one of us. 
     And to make it easy for us to love one another, Jesus said: 
     ``Whatever you do to the least, you do it to me. If you give 
     a glass of water, you give it to me. If you receive a little 
     child in my name, you receive me. So whatever you do to the 
     least, you do it to me.''
       And where does this love begin? In our own families. How 
     does it begin? By praying together. The family that prays 
     together stays together, and if you stay together, you will 
     love each other as God loves each one of you. So teach your 
     children to pray, and pray with them, and you will have the 
     joy and the peace and the unity of Christ's own love living 
     in you.
       As we have gathered together here, I think it would be 
     beautiful if we begin with a prayer that expresses very well 
     what Jesus wants us to do for the least. St. Francis of 
     Assisi understood very well these words of Jesus, and in his 
     life very well expressed them by prayer. And this prayer, 
     which we say every day after holy communion, always surprises 
     me very much, because it is very fitting for each of us, and 
     I always wonder whether 800 years ago when St. Francis lived 
     they had the same difficulties that we have today. I think 
     that some of you already have this prayer of peace, so we 
     will pray it together.
       ``Lord, make me a channel of your peace.'' You have the 
     prayer with you? Will we say it together?
       (In unison.) ``Lord, make me a channel of your peace. Where 
     there is hatred, may I bring love; where there is injury, 
     pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, 
     hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, 
     joy. Oh, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to 
     be consoled as to console; not so much to be understood as to 
     understand; not to be loved as to love. For it is in giving 
     that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and 
     it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.''
       Let us thank God for the opportunity he has given us today 
     to have come here to pray together. We have come here 
     especially to pray for peace, for joy and for love. We are 
     reminded that Jesus came to bring the good news to the poor. 
     He told us what is that good news when he said, ``My peace I 
     leave with you, My peace I give unto you.'' He came not to 
     give the peace of the world, which is only that we don't 
     bother each other; he came to give the peace of heart, which 
     comes from loving, from doing good to others.
       And God loved the world so much that he gave his son. It 
     was a giving. God gave his son to the Virgin Mary. And what 
     did she do with him? As soon as Jesus came into Mary's life, 
     immediately she went in haste to give that good news. And as 
     she came into the house of her cousin Elizabeth, Scripture 
     tells us that the unborn child, the child in the womb of 
     Elizabeth, leaps with joy. While still in the womb of Mary, 
     Jesus brought peace to John the Baptist, who leapt for joy in 
     the womb of Elizabeth. The unborn was the first one to 
     proclaim the coming of Christ.
       And as if that were not enough, as if it was not enough 
     that God's son should become one of us and bring peace and 
     joy while still in the womb of Mary, Jesus also died on the 
     cross to show that great love. He died for you and for me and 
     for that leper and for that man dying of hunger and that 
     naked person dying in the street, not only of Calcutta but of 
     Africa and all over the world.
       Our sisters serve these poor people in 105 countries 
     throughout the world. Jesus insisted that we love one another 
     as he loves each one of us. Jesus gave his life to love us, 
     and he tells us that we also have to give whatever it takes 
     to do good to one another. And in the gospel, Jesus says very 
     clearly, ``Love as I have loved you.'' Jesus died on the 
     cross because that is what it took for him to do good to us, 
     to save us from our selfishness and sin. He gave up 
     everything to do the Father's will, to show us that we, too, 
     must be willing to give up everything to do God's will, to 
     love one another as He loves each one of us.
       If we are not willing to give whatever it takes to do good 
     to one another, sin is still in us. That is why we, too, must 
     give to each other until it hurts. It is not enough for us to 
     say, ``I love God.'' But I also have to love my neighbor. St. 
     John said that you are a liar if you say you love God and you 
     don't love your neighbor. How can you love God, whom you do 
     not see, if you do not love your neighbor, whom you see, whom 
     you touch, with whom you live?
       And so it is very important for us to realize that love, to 
     be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it 
     takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to 
     them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. 
     Otherwise, there is no true love in me, and I bring 
     injustice, not peace, to those around me.
       It hurt Jesus to love us. We have been created in his image 
     for greater things--to love and to be loved. We must put on 
     Christ, as Scripture tells us, and so we have been created to 
     love as he loves us. Jesus makes himself the hungry one, the 
     naked one, the homeless one, the unwanted one, and he says, 
     ``You did it to me.'' On the last day he will say to those on 
     his right, ``Whatever you did to the least of these, you did 
     to me.'' And he will also say to those on his left, 
     ``Whatever you neglected to do for the least of these, you 
     neglected to do it for me.''
       When he was dying on the cross, Jesus said, ``I thirst.'' 
     Jesus is thirsting for our love, and this is the test of 
     everyone, poor and rich alike. We all thirst for love of 
     others, that they go out of their way to avoid harming us and 
     to do good to us. This is the meaning of true love: to give 
     until it hurts.
       I can never forget the experience I had in the sitting room 
     where they kept all these old parents of sons and daughters 
     who had just put them into an institution and forgotten them, 
     maybe. I say that in that home, these old people had 
     everything--good food, comfortable place, television, 
     everything--but everyone was looking toward the door. And I 
     did not see a single one with a smile on their face. I turned 
     to a sister and I asked, ``Why do these people who have every 
     comfort here, they are there looking toward the door? Why are 
     they not smiling? I'm so used to seeing the smiles on our 
     people. Even the dying ones smile.'' And sister said, ``This 
     is the way it is nearly every day. They are expecting, they 
     are hoping that a son or a daughter will come to visit them. 
     They are hurt because they are forgotten.
       And see, this neglect to love brings spiritual poverty. 
     Maybe in our own family we have somebody who is feeling 
     lonely, who is feeling sick, who is feeling worried. Are we 
     there? Are we willing to give until it hurts in order to be 
     with our family, or do we put our interests first? These are 
     the questions we must ask ourselves, especially as we begin 
     this year of the family. We must remember that love begins at 
     home. And we must also remember that the future of humanity 
     passes through the family.
       I was surprised in the West to see so many young boys and 
     girls given to drugs, and I tried to find out why, why is it 
     like that, when those in the West have so many more things 
     than those in the East. And the answer was, because there is 
     no one in the family to receive them. Our children depend on 
     us for everything--their health, their nutrition, their 
     security, their coming to know and love God. For all of this, 
     they look to us with trust, hope and expectation. But often, 
     father and mother are so busy they have no time for their 
     children, or perhaps they are not even married or have given 
     up on their marriage. So the children go to the streets and 
     get involved in drugs and other things. We are talking of 
     love of the child, which is where love and peace must begin--
     there, in our own family.
       But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is 
     abortion, because Jesus said, ``If you receive a little 
     child, you receive me.'' So every abortion is the denial of 
     receiving Jesus, the neglect of receiving Jesus. (Applause.) 
     It is really a war against the child, and I hate killing of 
     the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we 
     accept that the mother can kill even her own child, how can 
     we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we 
     persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must 
     persuade her with love. And we remind ourselves that love 
     needs to be willing to give until it hurts.
       Jesus gave even his live to love us, so the mother who is 
     thinking of abortion should be helped to love--that is, to 
     give until it hurts, her plans, her free time, to respect the 
     life of a child, for the child is the greatest gift of God to 
     the family, because it has been created to love and to be 
     loved.
       The father of that child, however, must also give until it 
     hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but 
     kills even her own child to solve her problem. And by 
     abortion, the father is taught that he does not have to take 
     any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into 
     that world. So that father is likely to put other women into 
     the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion.
       Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its 
     people to love one another but to use any violence to get 
     what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love 
     and peace is abortion. (Applause.)
       The beautiful gift God has given our congregation is to 
     fight abortion by adoption. We have given--(applause)--we 
     have given already from one house in Calcutta over 3,000 
     children in adoption, and I can't tell you what joy, what 
     love, what peace those children have brought into those 
     families. It has been a real gift of God for them and for us. 
     I remember one of the little ones got very sick, so I sent 
     for the father and the mother, and I asked them, ``Please, 
     give me back the sick child; I will give you a healthy one.'' 
     And the father looked at me and said, ``Mother Teresa, take 
     my life first, then take the child.'' So beautiful to see so 
     much love, so much joy that little one has brought into that 
     family.
       So pray for us that we continue this beautiful gift. And 
     also I offer you--our sisters who are here. Anybody who 
     doesn't want a child, please give it to me. I want the child 
     (Applause.)
       I will tell you something beautiful. As I have already told 
     you, by adoption, by care of the mother and adoption for her 
     baby, we have saved thousands of lives. we have sent word to 
     the clinics, to the hospitals and police stations, ``Please 
     don't destroy the child; we will take the child.'' So we 
     always have someone tell the mothers in trouble, ``Come, we 
     will take care of you; we will get a home for your child.'' 
     And we have a tremendous demand from couples who cannot have 
     a child, but I never give a child to a couple who have done 
     something not to have a child. Jesus said, ``Anyone who 
     received a child in my name, receives me.'' By adopting a 
     child, these couples receive Jesus. By aborting a child, a 
     couple refuses to receive Jesus.
       Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give 
     me the child. I'm willing to accept any child who would be 
     aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will 
     love the child and be loved by the child.
       I know that couples have to plan their family, and for that 
     there is natural family planning. The way to plan the family 
     is natural family planning, not contraception. In destroying 
     the power of giving life or loving through contraception, a 
     husband or wife is doing something to self. This turns the 
     attention to self, and so it destroys the gift of love in him 
     and her. In loving, the husband and wife must turn the 
     attention to each other as happens in natural family 
     planning, and not to self as happens in contraception. Once 
     that living love is destroyed by contraception, abortion 
     follows very easily. That's why I never give a child to a 
     family that has used contraception, because if the mother has 
     destroyed the power of loving, how will she love my child?
       I also know that there are great problems in the world, 
     that many spouses do not love each other enough to practice 
     natural family planning. We cannot solve he problems in the 
     world, but let us never be involved in the worst problem of 
     all--to destroy love, to destroy life.
       The poor are very great people. They can teach us so many 
     things. Once one of them came to thank us for teaching her 
     natural family planning and said, ``You people who have 
     practiced chastity--you are the best people to teach us 
     natural family planning, because it is nothing more than self 
     control of the love for each other.'' And what this poor 
     person said is very true. These poor people maybe have 
     nothing to eat. Maybe they have not a home to live in. but 
     they can still be great people when they are especially rich 
     in loving one another as God loves each one of them.
       When I pick up a person from the streets hungry, I give him 
     a plate of rice, a piece of bread. But a person who is shut 
     out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person who 
     has been thrown out of society, that spiritual poverty is 
     much harder to be overcome. And abortion, which often follows 
     from contraception, causes the people to be spiritually poor, 
     and that is the worst poverty and the most difficult to 
     overcome.I21Those who are materially poor can be very 
     wonderful people. One evening we went out and we picked up 
     four people from the street, and one of them was in a most 
     terrible condition. I told the sisters, ``You take care of 
     the other three; I will take care of the one who looks 
     worse.'' So I did for her all that my love can do. I put her 
     in bed. And there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She 
     took hold of my hand, and she said one thing only: Thank you. 
     And she died. I couldn't help but examine my conscience 
     before her, and I asked what would I say if I were in her 
     place? And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to 
     draw a little attention to myself. I would have said: ``I'm 
     hungry. I'm dying. I'm cold. I'm in pain.'' But she gave me 
     much more. She gave me her grateful love. She died with a big 
     smile on her face.
       Then there was the man we picked up from the drain half 
     eaten with worms, and after we had brought him to the home, 
     he only said, ``I've lived like an animal in the street, but 
     I'm going to die as an angel, loved and cared for.'' Then, 
     after we had removed all the worms from his body, all he said 
     with a big smile was, ``Sister, I'm going home to God,'' and 
     he died. It was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man 
     who could speak like that without blaming anybody, without 
     comparing anything, like an angel. This is the greatness of 
     people who are spiritually rich even when they are materially 
     poor.
       We are not social workers. We may be doing social work in 
     the eyes of some people, but we must be contemplatives in the 
     heart of the world, for we must bring that presence of God 
     into your family, for the family that prays together stays 
     together. There is so much hatred, so much misery, and we 
     with our prayer, with our sacrifice, are beginning at home. 
     Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how 
     much love we put into what we do.
       If we are contemplatives in the heart of the world with all 
     these problems, these problems can never be discouraging. We 
     must always remember that God tells us in Scripture even if 
     the mother could forget the child in her womb--something 
     impossible--but even if she could forget, I will never forget 
     you. As so, here I'm talking with you. I want you to find the 
     poor here, right in your own home first, and begin to love 
     there. Be the good news to your own people first and find out 
     about your next door neighbor. Do you know who they are?
       I had a most extraordinary experience of love of neighbor 
     with a Hindu family. A gentleman came to our house and said, 
     ``Mother Teresa, there is a family who have not eaten for so 
     long. Do something.'' So I took some rice and went there 
     immediately. And I saw the children--their eyes shining with 
     hunger. I don't know if you have every seen hunger. But I 
     have seen it very often. And the mother of the family took 
     the rice I gave her and went out. When she came back, I asked 
     her, ``Where did you go? What did you do?'' And she gave me a 
     very simple answer, ``They are hungry also.'' What struck me 
     was that she knew--and who are they? A Muslim family--and she 
     knew. I didn't bring any more rice that evening because I 
     wanted them, Hindus and Muslims, to enjoy the joy of sharing. 
     But there were those children, radiating joy, sharing the joy 
     and peace with their mother because she had the love to give 
     until it hurts. You see, this is where love begins--at home 
     in the family.
       So, as the example of this family shows, God will never 
     forget us, and there is something you and I can always do. We 
     can keep the joy of loving Jesus in our heart and share that 
     joy with all we come in contact with. Let us make that one 
     point, that no child will be unwanted, unloved, uncared for 
     or killed and thrown away. And give until it hurts--with a 
     smile.
       As you know, we have a number of homes here in the United 
     States where people need tender love and care. This is the 
     joy of sharing. Come and share. We have the young people 
     suffering with AIDS. They need that tender love and care. But 
     such beautiful smiles--I've never yet seen a young man or 
     anybody die displeased or angry or frightened. They're merely 
     going home to God. Such a beautiful smile always. So let us 
     pray that we'll have the gift of sharing the joy with others 
     and loving until it hurts.
       Also I talk so much about giving with a smile that once a 
     professor from the United States asked me, ``Are you 
     married?'' And I said yes. And I find it sometimes very 
     difficult to smile at my spouse, Jesus, because he can be 
     very demanding sometimes. (Laughter.) This is really 
     something true, and there is where love comes, when it is 
     demanding and yet we can give it with joy. One of the most 
     demanding things for me is traveling everywhere and 
     publicity. I have said to Jesus that, if I don't go to heaven 
     for anything else, I will be going to heaven for all the 
     traveling, with all the publicity, because it has purified me 
     and sacrificed me and made me really ready to go home to God. 
     (Laughter.)
       If we remember that God loves us and that we can love 
     others as he loves us, then America can become the sign of 
     peace for the whole world, the sign of joy from where a sign 
     of care for the weakest and the weak, the unborn child, must 
     go out to the world. If you become a burning light of justice 
     and peace in the world, then really you will be true to what 
     the founders of this country stood for. This is to love one 
     another as God loves each one of us. And where does this love 
     begin? In our own home. How does it begin? By praying 
     together.
       Pray for us that we continue God's work with great love. 
     The sisters, the brothers, and the fathers, lay missionaries 
     of charity and co-workers, we are all one heart full of love, 
     that we may bring a joy of loving everywhere we go.
       And my prayer for you is to love one anther, for this peace 
     and joy in the family, that you may grow in holiness. 
     Holiness is not the luxury of the few. It is a simple duty 
     for you and for me. Because Jesus has very clearly said, ``Be 
     ye holy as the Father in heaven is holy.'' So let us pray for 
     each other that we grow in love for each other and through 
     this love become holy as Jesus wants us to be, for he died 
     out of love for us.
       One day I met a lady who was dying of cancer in a most 
     terrible condition, and I told her--I said, ``You know, this 
     terrible pain is only the kiss of Jesus, a sign that have you 
     come so close to Jesus on the cross that he can kiss you.'' 
     And she joined her hands together and said, ``Mother Teresa, 
     please tell Jesus to stop kissing me.'' (Laughter.)
       So pray for us that we continue God's work with great love, 
     and I will pray for you, for all your families. And also I 
     want to thank the families who have been so generous in 
     giving their daughters to us to consecrate their life to 
     Jesus by the vow of poverty, chastity, obedience, and by 
     giving wholeheartedly through service to the poorest of the 
     poor. This is our fourth vow in our congregation, and we have 
     a novitiate in San Francisco where we have many beautiful 
     novices who are wanting to give their whole life to Jesus in 
     the service of the poorest of the poor.
       So once more I thank you for giving your children to God. 
     And pray for us that we continue God's work with great love.
       God bless you all. (Applause.)
       Sen. Heflin. Amen. Mother Teresa, you are truly a pencil in 
     God's hand.
       Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the co-chairman of the 
     Senate Breakfast Group, will now introduce the President.
       Senator Steven. (Applause.)
       Sen. Ted Stevens. Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice 
     President, Mrs. Gore, and those who have come to be united in 
     prayer. You know, when the Senate breakfast comes to a close, 
     we stand around tables, and they're just like yours now, and 
     hold the hand of the Senator on either side of us, and we are 
     truly united in prayer. You need that. Why don't you stand 
     up? And we will do the same thing right now. Let us join 
     together in silent prayer not only for the President and the 
     Vice President and their families and Mother Teresa, but all 
     who have worked so hard to make this international prayer 
     breakfast such a success this year. Let's just have a silent 
     prayer for a few moments.
       (Pause for silent prayer.)
       And now it is my great privilege and high honor to 
     introduce to you William Jefferson Clinton, the President of 
     the United States. (Applause.)
       President Clinton. Thank you very much.
       Thank you very much, Senator Stevens. Ladies and gentlemen, 
     you have to forgive me. My voice has not quite returned.
       The Vice President said earlier that being on the same 
     program with Mother Teresa reminded him of the basketball 
     player who scored one point in a game where Michael Jordan 
     scored 68, and then he said for the rest of his life, ``Well, 
     we scored 69 points together.'' I feel like the guy who comes 
     in with five seconds lefts to go, where the team's gotten a 
     40-point lead and all I have to do is hold the ball until the 
     buzzer sounds. (Laughter, applause.)
       First of all, I thank you, Mother Teresa, for your moving 
     words and, more importantly, for the lifetime of commitment, 
     for you have truly lived by what you say, something we would 
     all do well to emulate, and I thank you for that. (Applause.)
       Like all of you, I was so moved by the profession of faith 
     and the experiences of Mother Teresa that almost anything 
     that any of us could say would be anti-climactic. However, I 
     would like to make these points as briefly as I can, for we 
     come here to pray for those in authority, authority given by 
     the people of the United States under our Constitution and 
     laws, for those with the responsibility and the opportunity 
     of making decisions every day which affect all of us.
       First I say that this prayer breakfast is an important time 
     to reaffirm that in this nation where we have freedom of 
     religion, we need not seek freedom from religion. The genius 
     of the book which I have--(applause)--the genius of the book 
     which I have promoted almost shamelessly for the last several 
     months, ``The Culture of Disbelief,'' by Professor Stephen 
     Carter, is that very point, that we should all seek to know 
     and to do God's will, even when we differ.
       Second, if we really seek to do that, it requires certain 
     personal characteristics that very frankly all of us in this 
     room who have ever been elected to anything have abandoned 
     from time to time, including me. It requires, first, that we 
     be humble, that we know that even as we seek to do God's 
     will, we remember what President Lincoln said, ``The Almighty 
     has his own purposes, and we are not capable of fully knowing 
     them.''
       It requires, second, that we be honest and that we be fair. 
     Sometimes I think the commandment we most like to overlook in 
     this city is thou shalt not bear false witness.
       Third, it requires that we give our bitterness and our 
     resentments up. I was thinking of this when Mother Teresa 
     told the story of the person who died in her arms, saying 
     simply, ``Thank you''--not ``I'm cold, I'm hungry,'' a simple 
     thank you--someone with more cause to be resentful, more 
     cause to be bitter, more cause to be angry than anyone in 
     this room could ever be bitter or angry or resentful because 
     of what one of us has said or done to the other and still 
     dying with a simple ``thank you.''
       Somehow we all have to give up our resentments. We have to 
     find the courage and the faith to forgive ourselves and to 
     forgive our foes. And if we cannot, we will surely fail.
       And finally, that which will permit us to do what Mother 
     Teresa has done: to focus every day on other people. If 
     Christ said we would all be judged by how we treated the 
     least of these--the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the 
     strangers, the imprisoned--how can we meet that test in a 
     town where we all spend so much time obsessed with ourselves 
     and how we stand on the totem pole and how we look in the 
     morning paper? Five years from now it will be nothing. Five 
     hundred years from now the papers will be dust. And all that 
     will endure is the strength and the integrity and the beauty 
     of what we felt and what we did.
       Today, this headline is in our paper: ``Nineteen Children 
     Found Amid Squalor in Chicago Apartment''. Not in Calcutta, 
     but in Chicago. Nineteen children living amid human waste and 
     cockroaches, fighting a dog for food. I say to you, we will 
     always have our differences, we will never know the whole 
     truth, of course that this true. But hopefully we have 
     learned today again that we must seek to know the will of God 
     and live by it, that to do it we have to give up our 
     bitterness and resentment, that we have to learn to forgive 
     ourselves and one another and that we have to fight, as hard 
     as it is, to be honest and fair. And if we can be focused on 
     others and not ourselves, realizing that we did not one whit 
     of power from the Constitution and laws from the framers to 
     do anything for ourselves. It all comes from the purpose of 
     helping others. Then perhaps we can do honor to the faiths 
     and to the God who brought us all here today.
       Thank you, and God bless you. (Applause.)
       Sen. Heflin. Amen, amen, amen. This has been a great 
     experience. It's one of the most wonderful prayer breakfasts 
     that we've ever had. And now, Wintley Phipps will sing one of 
     our favorite hymns: ``How Great Thou Art.'' A Grammy award 
     nominee and accomplished gospel singer, Wintley Phipps writes 
     music and sings as a way of doing something beautiful for 
     God. He once said, ``I hope when people listen to my music, 
     they sense a life that is committed. The purpose of music is 
     to glorify God. After all, he is the one who gives us the 
     song.''
       After the first verse of How Great Thou Art, the Tuskagee 
     choir will sing the second verse, and then we will have 
     audience participation. We ask you on the third verse to 
     stand and join in singing the third verse. And I hope that 
     the rafters of this hotel will be moved. You will find the 
     words of How Great Thou Art printed in your program.
       Mr. Wintley Phipps. The greatness of a nation is it's 
     voluntary faith. God is great. Amen? God is great.
       [Mr. Phipps sang ``How Great Thou Art'' with the choir and 
     audience participation.] (Applause.)
       Sen. Heflin. Hallelujah! One of the most exciting things to 
     happen over the last four years has been the quiet, behind-
     the-scenes partnership between college student leaders and 
     political, business, and community leaders to mobilize the 
     spiritual resources of our nation's youth. My colleague, 
     Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico, along with former Vice 
     President Dan Quayle, has led this movement by hosting a 
     National Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values and 
     Leadership. This past year Vice President and Mrs. Gore has 
     joined Senator Domenici and many of my colleagues to continue 
     this fruitful time of interaction with young people.
       To bring our closing prayer, I'm pleased to introduce 
     Midshipman Anthony Bilotti of California, who is in his 
     second year at the United States Naval Academy.
       Mr. Bilotti. (Applause.)
       Midshipman Anthony Bilotti. President Clinton, Mother 
     Teresa, thank you very much for your inspirational words 
     which I'm sure have touched us all.
       On behalf of thousands of students across America, I'd like 
     to thank the Vice President, Members of Congress and other 
     national leaders for demonstrating a way to come together to 
     learn about the precepts of Christ and about caring for 
     others. After accepting an invitation for a gathering such as 
     this one here this morning and hearing the Vice President and 
     others discuss issues that count most in life, I along with 
     many other young people across America are making significant 
     changes in our priorities.
       At this time I ask you to please join me in prayer.
       Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to live in a 
     country where the leaders are willing and able to discuss 
     spiritual as well as material values. Lord, we thank you for 
     bringing us here today on such a great occasion. We pray that 
     you give our national leaders the strength, courage and 
     wisdom to make the difficult decisions that face our 
     turbulent society on the domestic scale as well as in the 
     world wide arena. Help us, dear God, to practice what we have 
     heard here this morning. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
       Sen. Heflin. Please, continue to stand at your table while 
     the President and Vice President leave with the heads of 
     state.
       This concludes our program this morning, but I'd like to 
     leave you with a quote from Philip Brooks, who once said, 
     ``Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger people. Do 
     not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers 
     equal to your tasks.'' As we leave this morning, may we leave 
     stronger, with a sense of renewed energy and spirituality to 
     perform the tasks that await us and to face the problems that 
     lie ahead.
       God bless each and every one of you.

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