[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 39 (Monday, April 3, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H1633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H1633]]
                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered the following 
prayer:
  Lord God Almighty, to call You Eternal is to place You in every 
moment yet beyond time. Be attentive to our prayer.
  We bless You and praise You for the time this weekend we have 
gathered with Your people of faith. In those moments we listened to 
Your Word, we thanked You with our brothers and sisters of faith for 
Your presence and guidance in our daily lives. We are grateful to You, 
O Lord, for the moments we had this weekend to spend with family and 
friends. These relationships ground us in love and sustain us in all 
that we do. Take care of those committed to our care by life or by 
constitution.
  Time is a most precious commodity to us and to all in the human 
family. To the wealthy and successful, time is a priceless gift. Never 
enough. To those suffering, in pain or incarcerated, time is elongated 
and penetrating. On them, Lord, have mercy. Help the people of this 
assembly and of this Nation to seize the present moment and to fill our 
day with works of peace and justice.
  Over this weekend we have taken time in our hands and through 
agreement we have changed time. Lord, let this be a sign of hope to all 
of us and to peoples of the world. If we can change this measure of 
motion which governs so much of our lives; if we can agree to meet one 
another on a new common perception of Your unfolding mystery, such as 
time change, how close we are to realizing the true power You give us 
to negotiate change and how myriad are the possibilities for other 
common endeavors in the future.
  Give us time to work through our problems. Help us to seek out the 
time to be truly present to one another. Help us, enable us to so enter 
this week, this day with open minds and hearts that we find You, Lord 
of life and light, here in the present moment. For You live and reign 
now and forever. Amen.

                          ____________________