[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 101 (Wednesday, June 18, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S5707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Today's opening prayer will be offered by our 
guest Chaplain, Father Claude Pomerleau from the University of Portland 
in Portland, OR.
  The guest Chaplain offered the following prayer:
  Let us pray.
  Merciful and gracious Father, may this day begin with an attentive, 
abashed silence in which we stop and humbly consider the many gifts You 
give us, the immeasurable mercy of Your love, the many opportunities we 
have to witness and celebrate Your creation.
  We thank You for the challenges of this day. We thank You for the 
brains and hearts You give us to bring to bear on cruelty and 
brokenness. We thank You for the creativity and compassion You give us, 
so that we may craft policies that heal and elevate, that make room for 
the peace and joy that are Your greatest gifts to all.
  Lord, be with us today. Be in this room, walk with us, strengthen our 
hearts, deepen our mercy, open our ears, overcome our weaknesses, guide 
our dreams, make us the instruments not of the small matters of men and 
women, but of the endless love that is You.
  Most of all, today help us remember that our greatest charge is to 
craft a world in which the children of this Nation, and the children of 
every nation, can find the love and hope they deserve.
  With humility, we bow before You and ask Your hand on our work. Amen.

                          ____________________