[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 3, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H1356]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Reverend Dr. Ronald F. Christian, Lutheran Social Services, 
Fairfax, Virginia, offered the following prayer:
  God of all mercy and grace, look kindly upon all Your people this day 
in both the celebrations and the sufferings of life. Shield the joyous 
from pride and relieve the grieving of their sorrow.
  Where health of body and mind is in jeopardy, grant a full measure of 
Your healing and hope. Where conflict and distrust between people are 
present, provide a quiet and calm refrain in the clamor of their 
strife. And where hunger and thirst are Your children's basic needs, 
challenge all those with an abundance of this world's possessions the 
desire to be good stewards and to share with others from their own 
storehouses of wealth.
  Wherever hate outranks love, wherever sadness is more common than 
joy, wherever retaliation is the first acceptable alternative to mercy, 
then and there, Oh God, we pray, give to all of Your people a sense of 
what Your justice for our world might mean, and let Your peace ever 
rule in our lives. Amen.

                          ____________________