[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 110 (Tuesday, July 2, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H4449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben, offered the 
following prayer:
  Compassionate and loving God, call us to step out of ourselves and 
see the world that You see. Actually, maybe all that is within Your 
internal purview may be too much for us to handle. But in this moment 
in time, pull us out of our limited and inward focus, that we would 
look at, feel for, and share with others the same compassion and love 
You offer us when You look upon us.
  Then may we truly rejoice with those who rejoice. Because we know 
what it is like to accomplish a challenge with Your aid, to receive 
something long desired from Your hands, may we want to share that joy. 
May we be the kind of people with whom others can feel free to 
celebrate their delight in life and love.
  Likewise, may we never be afraid to come alongside someone in grief, 
pain, or sadness. There is not one of us who hasn't experienced loss, 
rejection, or despair. But because we have found comfort in Your 
compassion and kindness, may we be willing to mourn with those who 
mourn and serve as agents of Your love in their moments of sorrow. For 
in You we have found joy in our grief and hope in our pain.
  Send us forth this day to share, then, Your compassion and kindness 
and love with those around us.
  In the embrace of Your grace and by the power of Your name, we pray.
  Amen.

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