[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 8530-8536]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        TRANSCRIPT OF THE 48TH ANNUAL NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL F. DOYLE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2001

  Mr. DOYLE. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House and Senate Prayer 
Groups, it was an honor to chair the 48h Annual National Prayer 
Breakfast held on February 3rd, 2000.
  Each year, leaders and guests from across the nation and around the 
world meet in our capital city to share breakfast and to celebrate a 
mutual faith in God. We join in respect and love in a remarkable time 
of fellowship to honor the spiritual principles that are the heritage 
of our country and the God who has blessed us with them. We meet not as 
members of different countries and creeds but as children of God to 
pray for guidance and peace.
  Participating in the National Prayer Breakfast has been an honor and 
a blessing for me. The thoughts and prayers shared at this year's 
breakfast were of great value to those who attended, and I believe they 
will be so to many more. I am therefore including the program and 
transcript to be printed in the Record.
  The program and transcript follow:

                     2000 National Prayer Breakfast

       REP. ZACH WAMP: I am here to greet you in the spirit of 
     Jesus this morning, on behalf of the Prayer Breakfast Group, 
     and to introduce to you Maceo Sloan, the chairman, president, 
     and chief executive officer of the Sloan Financial Group who 
     will offer our pre-breakfast prayer. Please welcome Maceo 
     Sloan.
       MR. SLOAN: Good morning. George Washington Carver said, 
     ``How far you go in life depends on your being tender with 
     the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the 
     striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong, because 
     some day in life you will have been all of these.'' We must 
     remember that our nation will not be judged by how prosperous 
     we were or how innovative we were in business, but with how 
     we assisted those most in need of a fair chance and 
     opportunity. We must further realize that America's success 
     is predicated on these values, and that we violate those 
     principles if we do not reach back and embrace those 
     Americans who have not had an opportunity nor have they 
     benefited from our rising tide, for while a rising tide may 
     rise all boats, it does not help if you do not have a boat. 
     As the Reverend Jesse Jackson has said, ``We have removed the 
     ceiling above our dreams. There are no more impossible 
     dreams.''
       My prayer for America today can be found in part in John, 
     chapter 3, verse 18. Let us pray: Dear children, let us not 
     love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth. We 
     ask you dear Lord to open our hearts to those who need our 
     guidance, love, compassion and understanding. Lord, we are 
     assembled here today to ask you to strengthen our commitment 
     to love one another. We ask you to heal our nation and direct 
     our path to righteousness. These things we ask in your name. 
     Amen.
       REP. WAMP: Thank you, Maceo. Your Congressional hosts have 
     provided for our international guests translation into the 
     following six languages: Chinese, German, Russian, French, 
     Korean, and Spanish. Anyone who desires translation and has 
     not picked up a radio receiver, please raise your hand at 
     this time and an usher will provide you with one. For those 
     who may need to hear the English amplified, it is also 
     available on the radio receivers on Channel 1.
       Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention, for all 
     of our enjoyment this morning, it is my privilege to 
     introduce the Bethune-Cookman Concert Chorale. Welcome them.
       (Choral Performance.)

[[Page 8531]]

       SEN. CONNIE MACK: Good morning. My name is Connie Mack, and 
     as the leader of the Senate Prayer Breakfast Group, it is my 
     pleasure to welcome you to this special occasion on behalf of 
     both the United States Senate and the House of 
     Representatives. Members of the Senate and the House want to 
     express a warm welcome to President and Mrs. Clinton. We are 
     deeply honored by your presence. You have been with us every 
     year of your presidency, and again, we are deeply grateful 
     for your presence here with us this morning. (Applause.)
       A year ago, I had the pleasure of hearing a choral group 
     from Bethune-Cookman College, located in Daytona, Florida, 
     sing at the inauguration of Governor Jeb Bush. I was so moved 
     by their performance, I invited them to sing here at the 
     breakfast this morning. (Applause.) They are going to perform 
     again for us, The Battle Hymn of the Republic.
       (Choral Performance.)
       SEN. MACK: Again, I want to thank the Bethune-Cookman 
     Concert Chorale. You have truly touched our souls and moved 
     our hearts this morning. Thank you for getting us off to a 
     great start.
       At this point I would like to call General Joseph Ralston, 
     United States Air Force and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs 
     of Staff, to offer the opening prayer.
       GEN. RALSTON: Let us pray: Dear God, on this day of prayer, 
     we join together in thanksgiving for the many blessings you 
     share with us. We thank you for a land of abundant treasures, 
     a people of limitless talents, and a nation of priceless 
     freedoms, including freedom of religion. We ask that you 
     grant us the wisdom, courage and strength to be faithful 
     stewards of this trust so that future generations may benefit 
     as we have from your bountiful gifts.
       We are blessed today because we are joined by so many 
     people, from so many nations, so many cultures, and so many 
     religions who share in the unifying power of prayer. We ask 
     that you enlighten all of us that we may find the path to 
     peace and freedom, and that we all may come to embrace our 
     similarities and resolve our differences.
       We especially ask that you extend your guidance to those 
     who have been chosen to lead your people throughout the 
     world. Please give them the discernment of mind, heart and 
     spirit to be benevolent and just in all they do.
       Dear God, though we are of many faiths, we have one prayer 
     in common, that you would use each of us as instruments of 
     your peace, that we may ease the burdens of those less 
     fortunate.
       We ask this in your name. Amen.
       SEN. MACK: I would ask you, if you have not already had 
     breakfast to go ahead and eat your breakfast. Normally we 
     have a 20 to 25 minute period for breakfast, but we have an 
     extended program this morning and we want to get you out on 
     time, so this is going to be an abbreviated period of about 
     five minutes. I will be back with you in a moment.
       (Breakfast)
       SEN. MACK: The first prayer breakfast took place in 1953 
     during the administration of President Dwight David 
     Eisenhower, and every president since President Eisenhower 
     has been very supportive and involved in this annual event. 
     This is a moment in time when members of Congress, the 
     President and other national leaders and leaders and heads of 
     countries from around the world come together in one 
     gathering to reaffirm our trust in God and recognize the 
     reconciling power of prayer. Although we face tremendous 
     challenges each day in our lives, our hearts can be 
     strengthened both individually and collectively as we seek 
     God's wisdom and guidance together.
       As I have traveled around the world, I have been blessed 
     with the opportunity to meet with the leaders of government, 
     business, education and clergy in the spirit of the teachings 
     of Jesus of Nazareth. We gather in small groups representing 
     all religions, political, cultural and economic backgrounds. 
     We gather in the spirit of brotherhood, in the spirit of 
     love, and in the love of God. We are gathered here this 
     morning in that spirit, in the presence of our God. We are 
     reminded to live each day sharing with each other, our 
     families, our friends, and yes, even our adversaries, the 
     peace and joy which comes from following the teachings of 
     Jesus, teachings which speak to us of the importance of love, 
     of hope, of peace, of joy. But the most important of these is 
     love. In these moments we affirm who we are and why God has 
     called us to be servant leaders in such a time as this. Once 
     again, we join with our founders in committing our lives to 
     God, as sovereign of our lives, and our country, and our 
     world.
       At this time, I would like to introduce the folks seated at 
     the head table. Starting on your left and my far right--and I 
     know that probably bothers him a little bit to be referred to 
     as ``to my far right''--my cousin, Federal Appellate Judge 
     Richard Arnold. General Joseph Ralston, who you heard from a 
     moment ago. Mrs. Ralston. Hadassah Lieberman, wife of Senator 
     Joe Lieberman. Senator Joe Lieberman. My partner in life, 
     Priscilla Mack. The First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The 
     President of the United States, the Honorable William 
     Jefferson Clinton. Speaker of the House, the Honorable Dennis 
     Hastert. The Representative of the Vatican to the United 
     States, the Apostolic Nuncio, the Very Reverend Gabriel 
     Montalvo. Congressman from Pennsylvania, the Honorable Mike 
     Doyle. Ms. Amy Grant. Mrs. Joseph Gildenhorn, wife of 
     Ambassador Gildenhorn. The former Ambassador to Switzerland, 
     the Honorable Joseph Gildenhorn. Reverend Franklin Graham. 
     And a young lady I was worried about for a few minutes, but 
     she is here with us now, Erin Hughes. Mr. Maceo Sloan, who 
     you heard from earlier this morning.
       It is my privilege at this time to introduce to you the 
     Honorable Mike Doyle, Congressman from Pennsylvania, who is 
     the leader of the House Prayer Breakfast Group. Mike will 
     speak on behalf of the House and the Senate Prayer Breakfast 
     Groups.
       REP. DOYLE: Thank you very much, Senator. I feel a little 
     vertically challenged this morning. I'm going to stand up a 
     little bit to see you. How's that, huh? (Laughter and 
     applause.) It's not easy being short.
       It is a real honor to be here this morning. Mr. President, 
     Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Speaker, His Excellency, distinguished 
     guests one and all, fellow sinners--have I left anyone out? 
     (Laughter.) I want you to know it is my distinct pleasure to 
     bring you greetings from the United States House of 
     Representatives. I want to especially welcome our 
     international guests, people who have traveled thousands of 
     miles to be here with us today. Welcome. We are glad you are 
     here.
       My job this morning is to tell you a little bit about our 
     Prayer Breakfast here in the nation's capital. Every Thursday 
     morning we gather in the Capitol, approximately 50 or 60 
     members of the House, Republicans and Democrats, all 
     religious faiths, every background, from every part of the 
     country, and it is members only, with a few rare exceptions. 
     The amazing thing is that what is said in that room stays in 
     that room. That is probably unique in all of Washington, D.C.
       We have breakfast together, we hear a Scripture reading, 
     and we try to sing. We sing a hymn each morning, and some 
     days are better than others. Then we get a member to come up 
     and share a little bit about their life--their political 
     journey, how they got here to Washington, D.C., their family, 
     and most importantly, their spiritual journey. I can tell you 
     that we learn more about a member of Congress from those 30 
     minutes when that member shares, than from any other activity 
     that takes place on the House floor.
       It truly is an amazing event to watch people who you see 
     for the first time. You think, ``I don't really have much in 
     common with that person, or I might not particularly like 
     that person.'' Then they share their heart and tell their 
     story and you get to see what is really inside a person. You 
     realize that although there are so many things that separate 
     us and there are so many differences, there is so much more 
     that bring us together. It is in the spirit of Jesus Christ 
     that we meet, that people open up their hearts and you get to 
     see what is inside. It changes how you feel about people, and 
     it changes your own life.
       There is a verse in the Bible that says, ``Fix your eyes 
     not on what is seen, but on that which is unseen, for what is 
     seen is temporary, but that which is unseen is eternal.'' I 
     just want to take one moment to tell you how that verse 
     changed my life and to challenge everybody in this room to 
     take that verse and change someone else's life with it too.
       When I got to Congress in 1994, it took me about a week to 
     realize that one of the first things you do is try to get 
     your committee assignments. I learned right away I was not 
     going to be sitting on the Appropriations Committee or the 
     Ways and Means Committee as a freshman, and decided I wanted 
     to be on the Veterans Affairs Committee because we have a lot 
     of veterans back in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I got on this 
     committee, and the chairman at that time was a gentleman by 
     the name of Sonny Montgomery. There was a subcommittee I 
     wanted to serve on, the Hospital Subcommittee, but that 
     subcommittee was pretty full. There was only one slot open 
     and I did not have the seniority to get on the committee. I 
     saw Sonny in the gym and I told him how much I wanted to 
     serve on that committee, that my father was a 100 percent 
     service-connected disabled veteran, that what the VA 
     hospitals did for my family meant a lot to me and I would 
     like to be able to serve on that committee. Sonny told me 
     there were no slots on that committee.
       The morning we got to the committee meeting to draw the 
     committee assignments, I was told that I had a slot on that 
     subcommittee because Sonny Montgomery had stepped off that 
     committee as the chairman so that I could be on the 
     committee. He traded something that was seen for something 
     that was not seen. I did not know what that second half was, 
     but that week I saw Sonny in the gym, and he asked me if I 
     would come to the prayer breakfast that met on Thursday 
     mornings in the House. I had never heard of it before and 
     probably would have never attended. But because Sonny did 
     that for me, and he did not even know me, I thought it was 
     just a wonderful gesture on his part, I said, ``Sure, I'll 
     come to the prayer breakfast.''
       And that is how I was first acquainted with the prayer 
     breakfast. Here I am, six years

[[Page 8532]]

     later, having the privilege to serve as President of the 
     House Prayer Breakfast. That single act changed my life down 
     here in Washington, D.C., because somebody took something 
     that was seen and traded it for something much more powerful, 
     that which is unseen.
       I know Sonny is here. I see him sitting right there at the 
     first table. Sonny Montgomery, thank you for helping to 
     change my life.
       Ladies and gentlemen, that is my message today. Think about 
     that when you go home. What is seen is just so temporary, but 
     the unseen things in life, love, are the really powerful 
     things in your life. Touch someone else's heart when you go 
     home today. Trade something seen for something unseen, and 
     you will change people's lives.
       God bless you all.
       SEN. MACK: Mike, thank you for that story and for helping 
     us interpret the meaning of the Scripture that you read. 
     Thank you again very much for that personal story.
       We will now hear a reading from the Old Testament by the 
     Honorable Joseph Gildenhorn, former Ambassador to 
     Switzerland, a man who has been involved with this gathering 
     for many years.
       AMB. GILDENHORN: Thank you, Senator. As we start the new 
     millennium, our hope, desire and prayer is to promote peace 
     throughout the world. Our country's divine mission is to help 
     find solutions to problems facing nations both in distress 
     and in turmoil. To me, this is America's noblest calling, to 
     be a strong and trusted peacemaker and peacekeeper wherever 
     conflicts occur. We pray that we are successful in meeting 
     this awesome responsibility, not only for ourselves but for 
     our fellow man. I believe that the unqualified acceptance by 
     our country to play a major leadership role in seeking 
     universal peace poignantly demonstrates the greatness of 
     America as we look to the future.
       I have chosen a passage from the book of Micah, chapter 4, 
     verses 1-5, which I believe is relevant to this message. It 
     reads: ``But in the last days it shall come to pass that the 
     mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the 
     top of the mountain, and shall be exalted above the hills, 
     and people shall go unto it. And many nations shall come and 
     say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the 
     house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and 
     we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the 
     law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge 
     between many peoples and shall decide for strong nations afar 
     off, and they shall beat swords into plowshares and their 
     papers into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword 
     against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. But 
     they shall sit, every man under his vine and under his fig 
     tree, and none shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the 
     Lord of Hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk, 
     everyone in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name 
     of the Lord our God forever and ever.''
       SEN. MACK: Thank you, Mr. Ambassador.
       The music of Amy Grant has touched the lives of people 
     throughout the world. She has toured extensively, spreading a 
     message of hope and love, and her faith has been the driving 
     force of what she has done in the past 20 years. I am pleased 
     to have Amy with us this morning, singing the beautiful ``El-
     Shaddai.''
       (Amy Grant performs.)
       SEN. MACK: Amy, once again you have reminded us that music 
     truly is the voice of the soul. Thank you very much for that 
     beautiful song.
       It is now a special pleasure and a delight, frankly, to 
     introduce a gentleman from Arkansas, of whom I am very proud. 
     He is my cousin, Richard Arnold, and he is a federal judge 
     with the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Richard will read a 
     Scripture reading from the New Testament.
       JUDGE ARNOLD: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a reading 
     from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew: The Kingdom of 
     Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone has 
     found. He hides it again, goes off in his joy, sells 
     everything he owns and buys the field. Again, the Kingdom of 
     Heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he 
     finds one of great value, he goes and sells everything he 
     owns and buys it. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a drag 
     net that is cast into the sea and brings in a haul of all 
     kinds of fish. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore. 
     Then sitting down, they collect the good ones in baskets and 
     throw away those that are of no use. ``Have you understood 
     all this?'' He said. They said, ``Yes.'' And He said to them, 
     ``Well, then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the 
     Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out from 
     his store room new things as well as old.''
       SEN. MACK: Thank you, Richard.
       Last year we had a conversation with the Vatican about the 
     possibility of the Pope coming to this prayer breakfast. 
     However, we were unable to make the arrangements. We do have, 
     however, a very special message personally written by Pope 
     John Paul II, which has been sent to us through the 
     Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the Apostolic Nuncio in the 
     United States. It is my pleasure now to introduce the Most 
     Reverend Gabriel Montalvo, who will bring to us the special 
     message from the Pope.
       ARCHBISHOP MONTALVO: To the distinguished participants in 
     the 48th National Prayer Breakfast. ``Christ yesterday and 
     today, the beginning and the end, Alpha and Omega; all time 
     belongs to him and all the ages. To Him be glory and power 
     through every age, forever. Amen''
       With this ancient invocation to the Lord of History, I 
     greet all of you and thank you for the gracious invitation 
     extended to me through Senator Connie Mack, to address the 
     48th National Prayer Breakfast sponsored by the Congress of 
     the United States. Although it is not possible for me to be 
     present in person, I am grateful for this opportunity to 
     share some thoughts with you through my representative in the 
     United States, Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo.
       We are now at the dawn of the new millennium, when 
     followers of Christ throughout the world are celebrating the 
     Great Jubilee of the year 2000, the 2000th anniversary of 
     Christ's taking flesh and dwelling among us, the central 
     event of history and the key to the meaning of human 
     existence.
       The beginning of the millennium evokes reflection on the 
     passage of time, especially when we are convinced that 
     humanity is at the crossroads and must make important 
     decisions regarding the epoch that is opening up before us. 
     This is a time to reaffirm our belief that the God who 
     created the universe and fashioned human beings in his own 
     image and likeness continues to guide and sustain human 
     history. The Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 obliges us 
     followers of Christ to renew our faith in Christ, the key, 
     the center and the goal of all history, the new Adam who 
     reveals man to himself, unlocks the mystery of his origin and 
     goal, and sheds light on the path that leads to humanity's 
     true destiny.
       This great vision of faith has an authentic public 
     dimension: for the deeper understanding of the truth about 
     human nature and human fulfillment, given to us by faith, 
     naturally inspires efforts to build a better and more humane 
     world. The century that just ended has shown clearly that 
     immense suffering results when economic and political systems 
     do not respect the full truth about man, his spiritual nature 
     and his quest for the transcendental in his search for truth 
     and freedom.
       This great project--the building of our world more worthy 
     of the human person and our society, which can foster a 
     renaissance of the human spirit--calls also for that sense of 
     moral responsibility which flows from commitment to truth: 
     ``walking the path of truth,'' as the Apostle John puts it. 
     And such a moral responsibility, by its very nature, cannot 
     be reduced to a purely private matter. The light of Christ 
     should illumine every thought, word and action. There is no 
     area of personal or social life, which is not meant to 
     penetrate, enliven and make fruitful. The spread of a purely 
     utilitarian approach to the great moral issues of public life 
     points to the urgent need for a rigorous and reasonable 
     public discourse about the moral norms that are the 
     foundation of any just society. A living relationship with 
     the truth, Scripture teaches, is the very source and 
     condition of authentic and lasting freedom.
       Your nation was built as an experiment in ordered freedom, 
     an experiment in which the exercise of individual freedom 
     would contribute to the common good. The American separation 
     of Church and State as institutions was accomplished from the 
     beginning of your republic by the conviction that strong 
     religious faith, and the public expression of religious 
     faith, and the public expression of religiously informed 
     judgments, contribute a significantly to the moral health of 
     the body politic. Within the fabric of your national life, a 
     particular moral authority has been entrusted to you who are 
     invested with political responsibility as representatives of 
     the American people. In the great Western democratic 
     tradition, men and women in political life are servants of 
     the polis in its fullest sense--as a moral and civil 
     commonwealth. They are not mere brokers of power in a 
     political process, taking place in a vacuum, cut off from 
     private and public morality. Leadership in a true democracy 
     involves much more than simply the mastering the techniques 
     of political management: your vocation as representatives 
     calls for vision, wisdom, a spirit of contemplation, and a 
     passion for justice and truth.
       Looking back on my own lifetime, I am convinced that the 
     epoch-making changes taking place and the challenges 
     appearing at the dawn of this new millennium call for just 
     such a prophetic function on the part of religious believers 
     in public life. And, may I say, this is particularly true of 
     you who represent the American people, with their rich 
     heritage of commitment to freedom and equality under the law, 
     their spirit of independence and commitment to the common 
     good, their self-reliance and generosity and sharing their 
     God-given gifts. In the century just ended, this heritage 
     became synonymous with freedom itself for people throughout 
     the world, as they sought to cast off the shackles of 
     totalitarianism and to live in freedom. As one who is 
     personally grateful for what America did for the world in the 
     darkest days of the 20th century, allow me to ask: will 
     America continue to inspire people to

[[Page 8533]]

     build a truly better world, a world in which freedom is 
     ordered to truth and goodness; or will America offer the 
     example of pseudo freedom which, detached from the moral 
     norms that give life direction and fruitfulness, turns in 
     practice into a narrow and ultimately inhuman self-
     enslavement, one which murders people's spirits and dissolves 
     the foundations of social life? These questions pose 
     themselves in a particularly sharp way when we confront the 
     urgent issue of protecting every human being's inalienable 
     right to life from conception until natural death. This is 
     the great civil rights issue of our time, and the world looks 
     to the United States for leadership in cherishing every human 
     life and in providing legal protection for all the members of 
     the human community, but especially those who are weakest and 
     most vulnerable.
       For believers who bear political responsibility, our times 
     offer a daunting yet exhilarating challenge. I even go so far 
     as to say that their task is to save democracy from self-
     destruction. Democracy is our best opportunity to promote the 
     values that will make the world a better place for everyone, 
     but a society that extols individual choice as the ultimate 
     source of truth undermines the very foundations of democracy. 
     If there is no objective moral order that everyone must 
     respect, and if each individual is expected to supply his or 
     her own truth and ethic of life, there remains only the path 
     of contractual mechanisms as the way of organizing our living 
     together in society. In such a society, the strong will 
     prevail and the weak will be swept aside. As we have written, 
     ``if there is no ultimate truth to guide and direct political 
     action, then ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated 
     for reasons of power. As history demonstrates, a democracy 
     without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised 
     totalitarianism.''
       Faith compels followers of Christ in the public arena in 
     your country to promote a new political culture of service, 
     based on the vision of life and civilization that has 
     sustained the American people in their positive character and 
     outlook that has nourished their optimism, their hope, their 
     willingness to be generous in the service of others, and will 
     protect them from the cynicism which dissipates the very 
     energies needed for building the future. Today, this optimism 
     is being tested, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ remains the 
     sturdy foundation of hope for the future.
       I am convinced that, precisely at these crossroads in 
     history, Christ's message of truth and justice, and of our 
     universal brotherhood as God's beloved children, has the 
     power to emerge once again as the ``good news'' for our 
     times, a compelling invitation to real hope. It will do so if 
     the power of God leading to salvation is seen in the 
     transformed lives of those who profess the Gospel as the pole 
     star of their lives and the deepest source of their 
     commitment to others. To build a future of hope is, to use a 
     favorite expression of the late Paul VI, to build a 
     ``civilization of love.'' Love, as Scripture teaches, casts 
     out fear, fear of the future, fear of the other, fear that 
     there is not enough room at the banquet of life for the least 
     of our brothers and sisters. Love does not tear down, but is 
     rather the virtue that builds up. And this is my prayer for 
     you: that as men and women involved in public life, you will 
     truly be builders of a civilization of love, of a society 
     which precisely because it embodies the highest values of 
     truth, justice and freedom for all, is also a sign of the 
     presence of God's kingdom and its peace.
       May God grant you peace in your personal lives, in your 
     families, and in the country you are privileged to serve. 
     From the Vatican, January 29, 2000, John Paul II.
       SEN. MACK: Your Excellency, the members of the House and 
     the Senate and our guests this morning feel honored and 
     privileged to have received the message from the Pope, and we 
     thank you for delivering it this morning.
       At this time, it is my pleasure to introduce to you the 
     Speaker of the House, Mr. Denny Hastert.
       REP. HASTERT: Thank you, Senator. Would you please bow your 
     heads and join with me in prayer.
       Heavenly Father, in the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul 
     writes that we should offer our bodies as living sacrifices 
     to you. And Paul continues and he says we have different 
     gifts according to the grace given to us. If a man's gift is 
     prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it 
     is serving, let him serve. If it is teaching, let him teach. 
     If it is encouraging, let him encourage. If it is 
     contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously. 
     If it is leadership, let him govern diligently. If it is 
     showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
       Those of us gathered here in your name, Lord, have many 
     different gifts, but we all carry the responsibility of 
     leadership. But our first responsibility, Lord, is to serve 
     you. And let us remember that only through faith in you can 
     we transcend the fears and the doubts that confront us day by 
     day. Through your providence, you have helped place in us 
     these positions where we can do much good. And so we pray to 
     you, Lord, to help us govern diligently, to bless us with the 
     wisdom we need to make the decisions that will best help our 
     nation.
       Lord, also help us to remember your goodness and your mercy 
     so that we may show that goodness and mercy to others. And 
     help us to always remember why we have been called into your 
     service and into the service of this nation. Lord, as we walk 
     these paths of responsibility and governance, let us remember 
     that when we are on the high roads, when people are looking 
     up to us, that we continue to look to thee so that we don't 
     trip and fall. Lord, and when we walk the low roads, when it 
     is dark, help us again turn to thee for your faith and your 
     guidance and your love.
       We ask this, Lord, in your precious name. Amen.
       SEN. MACK: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Our principal 
     speaker today is a very dear friend, the Senator from 
     Connecticut, Senator Joseph Lieberman. I have been privileged 
     in my years in the Senate to have known Joe. He is a 
     participant in our weekly Senate prayer breakfast. Joe and I 
     have worked together in the Senate on a number of issues, and 
     we have traveled together and had great times together. He is 
     truly one of the finest men I have known. And he has 
     sometimes been referred to as the conscience of the Senate. 
     It is a special joy to be able to present to you my friend 
     and colleague, Senator Joe Lieberman.
       SEN. LIEBERMAN: Here is evidence of the power of prayer to 
     raise a man up. (Laughter.) Thank you, Connie Mack, my dear 
     friend. You are one of the most thoughtful, decent, loving 
     people that I have ever met or known. You not only give 
     politics a good name, you give humanity a good name. Thank 
     you very much. (Applause.)
       Perhaps you can hear--I have been struggling with a cold 
     and a sore throat for the last few days. This brings to mind 
     an incident that happened many years ago when I went to a 
     synagogue in my home city of New Haven. The Rabbi got up at 
     the time for the sermon and he said, ``Dear congregants, 
     those of you who have been here for the daily services and 
     those who are here today, can hear that I have a terrible 
     sore throat, and frankly I had decided that I would not give 
     a sermon this morning. But then I thought to myself, why 
     should you derive pleasure from my misery?'' (Laughter.) So, 
     with that in mind, I proceed.
       Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Speaker Hastert, distinguished 
     clergy, particularly here at the head table, Archbishop 
     Montalvo and Reverend Graham, other head table guests, 
     honored guests in the hall, ladies and gentlemen, to each and 
     every one of you, I extend the greeting that the people of 
     Jerusalem in temple times extended to those who came to thank 
     God for his blessings. (In Hebrew.) ``Blessed be those who 
     come in the name of the Lord.''
       Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, I want to particularly pray 
     for you this morning as we begin a session of Congress and 
     you begin the final year of this extraordinary 
     administration. God has given you gifts that you have used so 
     magnificently in the service of the people of this country, 
     indeed, of the people of the world, literally raising up 
     millions of our fellow citizens and making peace in places 
     where most people thought that was impossible. God has given 
     you many gifts, and this morning I think God particularly for 
     the gift that God has given you, Mr. President, to speak the 
     language of faith as you have at moments of crisis in our 
     history over the last seven years in a way that is powerfully 
     unifying and inclusive. May God bless both of you, not only 
     this year, but as you continue your lives of service in the 
     years ahead. God bless you. (Applause.)
       This morning, uniquely in this place, this very temporal 
     city we come together to reach up to the timeless, which 
     brings to mind the story of the man who is blessed to be able 
     to speak with God. And in awe of the Lord's freedom from 
     human constraints of time and space asks respectfully, 
     ``Lord, help me understand--what is a second of time like to 
     you?'' And God answers, ``A second, my son, to me is like a 
     thousand years.'' The man then asks, ``Then Lord, help me to 
     understand in my own mundane way--what is a penny like to 
     you?'' ``To me,'' the Lord declares, ``A penny is like a 
     million dollars.'' The man pauses, thinks for a moment, and 
     then asks, ``Lord, would you give me a penny?'' And God 
     answers, ``I will, in a second.'' (Laughter and applause.)
       I am honored deeply by being asked to speak to you this 
     morning. But as that story suggests, I proceed with a 
     profound sense of my own human limitations.
       I want to begin by talking with you about the weekly Senate 
     prayer breakfast. Those still small gatherings that have, 
     along with their counterpart in the House, spawned this 
     magnificent National Prayer Breakfast, as well as similar 
     meetings in every American state and so many countries 
     throughout the world.
       When I was first invited to the Senate Prayer Breakfast 
     years ago, I found a lot of excuses not to go. Some were 
     good, like my reluctance to leave my family early on another 
     weekday morning. But some excuses turned out to be not so 
     good, like my apprehension that the Senate Prayer Breakfast 
     was really a Christian breakfast, and that because I am 
     Jewish, either I might feel awkward or my presence might 
     inhibit my Christian friends in the Senate in their 
     expressions of faith. Well, I turned out to be

[[Page 8534]]

     wrong on both counts. The regular participants in the 
     breakfast and our wonderful shepherd, Chaplain Lloyd Ogilvie, 
     persisted and finally convinced me to attend by employing a 
     tactic that usually works with us politicians. They asked me 
     to be the speaker. (Laughter.)
       That was a very important morning in my now 11 years in 
     Washington. We began with prayer and readings from the Bible, 
     and then called on the Chaplain who told us about some people 
     in the Senate family we might want to pray for because they 
     were ill or had lost loved ones. And then it was my turn. I 
     spoke about the Passover holiday and answered some very 
     thoughtful questions. At the end, we joined hands and prayed 
     together. All in all, it lasted less than an hour, but I will 
     tell you, I was moved that morning. More than that, I felt at 
     home. I found a home. Today, years later, I can tell you that 
     the Senate Prayer Breakfasts have become the time in my 
     hectic life in the Senate when I feel most at home, most 
     natural, most free, most tied to a community, because when we 
     are at those breakfasts, we are there not as senators, not as 
     Republicans or Democrats or liberals, or conservatives--not 
     even particularly as Christians or Jews. We are there as men 
     and women of faith, linked by a bond that transcends all the 
     other descriptors and dividers, our shared love of God, and 
     acceptance of his sovereignty over us, in our common 
     commitment to struggle to live according to the universal 
     moral laws of the Lord.
       I pray that all of you who have come from so many places, 
     some from so far to be here this morning, feel that same 
     unifying, humanizing, elevating love. And I also pray as we 
     begin this new session of Congress that your presence will 
     inspire those of us who are privileged to serve in government 
     to appreciate the truth that is so palpable at these 
     breakfasts. What unites us is so much greater than what 
     divides us. The work that needs to be done for the people we 
     in government serve will best be done if we work together and 
     we will work together best if we understand that we are 
     blessed, not only to be citizens of the same beloved country, 
     but children of the same awesome God.
       Praying for the Lord's guidance, as Connie has said as we 
     begin a new session of Congress, has been the traditional 
     purpose of this National Prayer Breakfast. But there is 
     another stated aspiration, and I quote, ``To reaffirm our 
     faith and renew the dedication of our nation and ourselves to 
     God and his purposes.''
       I want to speak with you about that second goal this 
     morning because I believe it is critically important at this 
     moment in our national history, when our economic life and so 
     much else is thriving, but there is evidence that our moral 
     life is stagnating. Although so much is so good in our 
     country today, there are other ways in which we need to do 
     better. There is, for example, compelling evidence that our 
     culture has coarsened, that our standards of decency and 
     civility have eroded, and that the traditional sources of 
     values in our society--faith, family and community--are in a 
     life and death struggle with the darker forces of immorality, 
     inhumanity and greed.
       From the beginning of our existence, we Americans have 
     known where to turn in such times of moral challenge. John 
     Adams wrote, ``Our Constitution was made only for a moral and 
     religious people.'' George Washington warned us never to 
     indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained 
     without religion. That is why we pledge our allegiance, after 
     all, to one nation, under God, and why faith has played such 
     a central role in our nation's history.
       Great spiritual awakenings have brought strength and 
     purpose to the American experience. In the 18th century, for 
     instance, the First Great Awakening put America on the road 
     to independence and freedom and equality. In the 19th 
     century, the Second Awakening gave birth to the abolitionist 
     movement, which removed the stain of slavery from American 
     life and made the promise of equality more real. And early in 
     the 20th century, a third religious awakening led to great 
     acts of justice and charity toward the poor and the 
     exploited, which expressed themselves in a progressive burst 
     of social and humane legislation.
       In recent years, I believe, there have been clear signs of 
     a new American spiritual awakening. This one began in the 
     hearts of millions of Americans like you who felt threatened 
     by the vulgarity and violence in our society and turned to 
     religion as the best way to rebuild a wall of principle and 
     purpose around themselves and their families. Christians 
     flocked to their churches, Jews to their synagogues, Muslims 
     to their mosques, and Buddhists and Hindus to their temples. 
     Others chose alternate spiritual movements as their way to 
     values, order and peace of mind. I have thought at times that 
     it has been as if millions of modern men and women were 
     hearing the ancient voice of the prophet Hosea saying, ``Thou 
     hast stumbled in thine inequity, therefore, turn to thy
       This morning I want to ask all of you here to think with me 
     how we can strengthen and expand the current spiritual 
     awakening so that it not only inspires us individually and 
     within our separate faith communities, but also renews and 
     elevates the moral and cultural life of our country. Let me 
     suggest that we can begin by talking more to each other about 
     our beliefs and our values, talking in the spirit of these 
     prayer breakfasts--open, generous, and mutually respectful--
     so that we may strengthen each other in our common quest.
       The Catholic theologian Michael Novak has written wisely, 
     ``Americans are starved for good conversations about 
     important matters of the human spirit. In Victorian England, 
     religious devotion was not a forbidden topic of conversation, 
     sex was. In America today, the inhibitions are reversed.'' 
     So, let us break through those inhibitions to talk together, 
     study together, and pray together, remembering the call in 
     Chronicles to give thanks to God, to declare his name and to 
     make his acts known among the peoples, to sing to him, and 
     speak of all his wonders. And I would add that we who believe 
     and observe have an additional opportunity and responsibility 
     to reach out to those who may neither believe nor observe and 
     reassure them that we share with them the core values of 
     America, and that our faith is not inconsistent with their 
     freedom, that our mission is not one of intolerance but of 
     love.
       Discussion, and study and prayer, I think, are only the 
     beginning, because we know, all of us from our faith 
     communities, that in the end we will be judged by our 
     behavior. In the Koran, the prophet says, ``So woe to the 
     praying ones who are unmindful of their prayer and refrain 
     from acts of kindness.'' Isaiah at one point seems to 
     summarize the entire Torah in two acts: keep justice and do 
     righteousness. And the Beatitudes inspire and direct us 
     beautifully to action. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst 
     after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are 
     the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the 
     pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the 
     peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
       Turning faith into action I think is particularly 
     appropriate in this millennial year, whose significance will 
     be determined not by turning a page on our calendars at work 
     or home, but by turning a page on the calendars of our hearts 
     and deeds. To make a difference, we must take our religious 
     beliefs and values, our sense of justice and right and wrong 
     into America's communal and cultural life. In fact, I want to 
     suggest to you this morning that there is good news, that 
     that has begun to happen. In our nation's public places, 
     including our schools, people are finding constitutional ways 
     to honor and express faith in God. In the entertainment 
     industry, a surge of persistent public pressure, a revolt of 
     the revolted, has prodded at least some executives to 
     acknowledge their civic responsibility to our society and our 
     children. It is even happening in government, my friends, 
     where we have come together, under the leadership of 
     President Clinton in recent years, to embrace some of our 
     best values, by enacting, for instance, new laws and programs 
     that help the poor by reforming welfare, that protect the 
     innocent by combating crime, and that restore responsibility 
     and trust by balancing our budget. In communities across 
     America, people of faith are working to repair some of the 
     worst effects of our damaged moral and cultural life, like 
     teenage pregnancy, family disintegration, drug dependency and 
     homelessness. Charitable giving is up. More of the young are 
     turning to community service. And because our economy is 
     booming, or perhaps in spite of it, people are finding that 
     they need more than material wealth to achieve happiness. 
     They want spiritual fulfillment, cultural inspiration, more 
     time with their families, and more confidence that they in 
     their lives are making a difference for the better.
       So, there is ample reason in this millennial year to go 
     forward from this 48th National Prayer Breakfast with our 
     hearts full of hope, ready, each of us in our own way, to 
     serve God with gladness, to work to transform these good 
     beginnings into America's next spiritual awakening, one that 
     will secure the moral future of our nation and raise up the 
     quality of life of all of our people.
       ``Let your light shine before others,'' Jesus said, ``so 
     that they may see your good works and give glory to your 
     father in heaven.'' And if enough of us do let our lights 
     shine before others and involve ourselves in good works, then 
     in time, as Isaiah prophesied, ``Every valley will be 
     exalted, every mountain and hill will be made low, the 
     crooked will become straight, and the rough places smooth, 
     for the earth will be full of the glory of the Lord.''
       Thank you. God bless you. Godspeed.
       SEN. MACK: Joe, thank you very much for that most inspiring 
     and thoughtful and beautiful presentation, the message of 
     which is unity and love that we share among each other. Thank 
     you again for that beautiful message.
       Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, as I mentioned 
     a moment ago, we are deeply honored to have both the 
     President and Mrs. Clinton with us this morning. It is now my 
     pleasure and honor to present to you the President of the 
     United States.
       (Applause.)
       PRESIDENT CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank 
     you and good morning Senator Mack, Senator Lieberman, Mr. 
     Speaker, Congressman Doyle, other distinguished head table 
     guests, and members of

[[Page 8535]]

     Congress and the Cabinet and my fellow Americans and our 
     visitors who have come from all across the world. Let me 
     thank you again for this prayer breakfast and for giving 
     Hillary and me the opportunity to come. I ask that we 
     remember in our prayers today the people who are particularly 
     grieved, the men, women and children who lost their loved 
     ones on Alaska Airlines Flight 261. And let me say to all of 
     you, I look forward to this day so much every year; a little 
     time to get away from public service and politics into the 
     realm of the spirit and to accept your prayers.
       This is a special year for me because, like Senator Mack, I 
     am not coming back, at least in my present position. I have 
     given a lot of thought to what I might say today, much of it 
     voiced by my friend of 30 years now, Senator Joe Lieberman, 
     who did a wonderful job for all of us.
       The question I would hope that all of my fellow citizens 
     would ask themselves today is: ``What responsibilities are 
     now imposed on us because we live at perhaps the greatest 
     moment of prosperity and promise in the history of our 
     nation, at a time when the world is growing ever more 
     interdependent? What special responsibilities do we have?'' 
     Joe talked about some of them.
       I sometimes think in my wry way: when Senator Mack referred 
     to his cousin, Judge Arnold, a longtime friend of Hillary's 
     and mine, as being on his far right and that making it 
     uncomfortable, I laughed to myself, ``That's why Connie 
     wanted him on the bench so he'd get one more Democrat out of 
     the public debate.'' (Laughter.) But I wonder how long we 
     will be all right after this prayer breakfast. I wonder if we 
     will make it 15 minutes or 30 or an hour; maybe we will make 
     it 48 hours before we will just be back to normal.
       So I want to ask you to think about that today: What is 
     underneath the fundamental points that Senator Lieberman made 
     today? For us Christians, Jesus said the two most important 
     commandments of all were to love the Lord with all our heart 
     and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The Torah says that 
     anyone who turns aside the stranger acts as if he turned 
     aside the most high God. The Koran contains its own powerful 
     version of the golden rule, telling us never to do unto 
     others what we would not like done to ourselves.
       So what I would like to ask you in this, my last 
     opportunity to be the President at this wonderful prayer 
     breakfast: Who are our neighbors? And what does it mean to 
     love them?
       His Holiness John Paul II wrote us a letter about how he 
     answered that question, and we are grateful for that.
       For me, we must start with the fact that ``neighbors'' mean 
     something different today in common language than it did when 
     I was a boy. It really means something different in common 
     language than it did when I became president, when there were 
     50 websites on the world wide web. Today there are over 50 
     million, in only seven years, so that we see that within our 
     borders we are not only growing more diverse every day, in 
     terms of race and ethnic groups and religion, but we can talk 
     to people all across the world in an instant, in ever more 
     interesting ways that go far beyond business and commerce and 
     politics.
       I have a cousin who is from the same little town in 
     Arkansas I am, who plays chess a couple times a week with a 
     man in Australia, 8,000 miles away. The world is growing 
     smaller and more interdependent.
       The point I would like to make to you today is, as time and 
     space contract, the wisdom of the human heart must expand. We 
     must be able to love our neighbors and accept our essential 
     oneness.
       Now, globalization is forcing us to that conclusion. So is 
     science. I have had many opportunities to say in the last few 
     months that the most enlightening evening I had last year was 
     one that Hillary sponsored at the White House, where a 
     distinguished scientist, an expert in human genome research, 
     informed us that we are all genetically 99.9 percent the 
     same, and furthermore said that the differences among people 
     in the same racial and ethnic group genetically are greater 
     than the differences from group to group.
       For some, that is reassuring. For some, that is disturbing. 
     When I said that in the State of the Union, the Republicans 
     and Democrats both laughed uncomfortably. (Laughter.) It 
     seemed inconceivable. (Soft laughter.) But the truth is that 
     modern science has taught us what we always learned from 
     ancient faiths: the most important fact of life on this Earth 
     is our common humanity.
       Our faith is the conviction of things unseen--I love what 
     Representative Doyle said--but more and more our faith is 
     confirmed by what we know and see. So with all the blessings 
     we now enjoy, what shall we do with it? If we say, okay, we 
     accept it, God, even though we don't like it everyday, we are 
     one with our brothers and sisters. Whether we like them or 
     not all the time, we have to be bigger. Our hearts have to 
     grow deeper. Time and space contract; help us to expand our 
     spirits. What does that mean?
       We know we cannot build our own future without helping 
     others to build theirs, but many of us live on the cutting 
     edge of a new economy while over a billion people live on the 
     bare edge of survival; and here in our own country there are 
     still too many poor children and too many communities that 
     have not participated in our prosperity.
       The Bible says that Jesus warned us that even as we do it 
     unto the least of these, we have done it unto our God. When 
     times are tough and all of our fellow citizens are having a 
     hard time pulling together, we can be forgiven if we look at 
     the welfare of the whole. Now the welfare of the whole is the 
     strongest it has ever been, but people within our country and 
     beyond our borders are still in trouble--people with good 
     values, people with the values you have held up here today, 
     people who would gladly work. We dare not turn away from them 
     if we believe in our common humanity.
       We see all over the world a chorus of denial about our 
     common responsibility for the welfare of this planet, even 
     though all the scientists say that it is changing and warming 
     at an unsustainable rate, and all the great faiths remind us 
     of our solemn obligation to our earthly home.
       Even more troubling to me, our dazzling modern world is 
     witness to a resurgence of society's oldest demon--the 
     inability to love our closest neighbors as ourselves if they 
     look or worship differently from the rest of us. Today the 
     Irish peace process is strained by a lack of trust between 
     Republican Catholics and Protestant Unionists. In the Middle 
     East, with all its hope, we are still having to work very 
     hard to overcome the profoundest of suspicions between 
     Israeli Jews and Palestinian and Syrian Arabs.
       We have people here today from the Indian subcontinent, 
     perhaps the most dangerous place in the world today because 
     of the tensions over Kashmir and the possession of nuclear 
     weapons. Yet, when people from the Indian subcontinent come 
     to America, they do better than nearly anybody because of 
     their family values, their work ethics and their remarkable 
     innate capacity for absorbing all the lessons of modern 
     science and technology.
       In Bosnia and Kosovo, Christians thought they were being 
     patriotic to cleanse their lands of Muslims. In other places, 
     Islamic terrorists claim their faith commands them to kill 
     infidels, though the Koran teaches that God created nations 
     and tribes that we might know one another, not that we might 
     despise one another. Here at home, we still see Asians, 
     blacks, gays, even in one instance last year children at a 
     Jewish school, subject to attacks just because of who they 
     are.
       Here in Washington, we are not blameless, for we often, 
     too, forget in the heat of political battle our common 
     humanity. We slip from honest difference, which is healthy, 
     into dishonest demonization. We ignore when we are all tight 
     and in a fight, all those biblical admonitions we profess to 
     believe, that we all see through a glass darkly; that with 
     St. Paul, we all do what we would not and we do not do what 
     we would; that faith, hope and charity abide, but ``the 
     greatest of these is charity''; that God says to all of us, 
     not just some: ``I have redeemed you. I have called you by 
     your name. You are mine, all of you.''
       Once Abraham Lincoln responded to some friends of his who 
     were complaining really bitterly about politicians who would 
     not support him. And he said to them, and I quote: ``You have 
     more of a feeling of personal resentment than I have. Perhaps 
     I have too little of it. But I never thought it paid.''
       We know it does not pay. And the truth is we are all here 
     today because, in God's timetable, we are all just like 
     Senator Mack and me: we are all term-limited.
       In my lifetime, our nation has never had the chance we now 
     have--to build the future of our dreams for our children, to 
     be good neighbors to the rest of the world, to live out the 
     admonition of all our faiths. To do it, we will have to first 
     conquer our own demons and embrace our common humanity, with 
     humility and gratitude.
       I leave you with the words of a great prayer by Chief 
     Seattle. ``This we know: all things are connected. We did not 
     weave the web of life. We are merely a strand in it, and 
     whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.''
       May God bless you all. (Applause.)
       SEN. MACK: Mr. President, thank you for those comments. At 
     least for me, what you said was a challenge, a challenge to 
     reconcile the way we live, what we do, with the spirit that 
     we hold so dear--the challenge for us as individuals and the 
     challenge for the nation as well. Thank you so much for those 
     beautiful words. (Applause.)
       Mr. President, we have another very special moment, I 
     think. Our closing song this morning will be sung by a young 
     lady from my hometown of Ft. Myers, Florida. Her name is Erin 
     Hughes. I had the joy of hearing Erin sing last year at the 
     prayer breakfast in Ft. Myers. Erin will sing for us The 
     Lord's Prayer.
       (Erin Hughes performs.)
       SEN. MACK: Wow! Thank you so much, Erin. You touched my 
     heart a year ago, and you touched it again this morning. 
     Thank you so much.
       Now I would like to call on Reverend Franklin Graham, who 
     will lead us in the closing prayer. But first let me say to 
     you,

[[Page 8536]]

     Franklin, we are delighted to have you with us. Your father, 
     Billy Graham, was one of the founders of this event in 1953, 
     and has been with us almost every year since its inception. 
     We wish him and your mother our best and our love, and our 
     prayers are with both of them.
       REV. FRANKLIN GRAHAM: Thank you, Senator Mack. Mr. 
     President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Speaker, distinguished guests, 
     ladies and gentlemen, I bring greetings to you from my mother 
     and father. I spoke with my father last night, Mr. President, 
     and he asked I give to you and Mrs. Clinton his love and his 
     greetings. He is unable to be with us this morning due to an 
     operation that my mother had just a few days ago. She is in 
     the hospital, and she is not doing very well. I know my 
     mother and father would appreciate your prayers for them.
       We have heard much said about a new beginning at the start 
     of this millennium. Many would like to have a new beginning 
     because of the mistakes and sin in their lives. They wish 
     they could experience forgiveness and just some way start 
     over again, to have a new beginning. This is exactly what you 
     can have with Jesus Christ, a new beginning. In your personal 
     life, your home, your family, in your role as a leader, in 
     your office, in daily relationships and responsibilities, a 
     new beginning is what Jesus Christ accomplished with his 
     death on the cross and his resurrection from the grave. The 
     Bible says that we have all sinned and come short of God's 
     glory and that the wages of sin is death. But God so loved 
     the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever 
     believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 
     God gives each one who will respond in faith to his son the 
     opportunity for a new beginning. If we confess our sins to 
     God and repent, and by faith receive Jesus Christ, God's son, 
     into our hearts and make him the lord of our lives, God will 
     forgive our sins. He will heal our hearts and give us the 
     hope of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
       Let us pray: Our father and our God, once again, we thank 
     you for this unique occasion that brings us together to 
     reflect on your goodness to our nation, to meditate on thy 
     word and pray to you with thanksgiving. We come this morning 
     first of all to pray especially for those in leadership over 
     us. We ask you to give wisdom and strength to our President, 
     to our Vice President, the Cabinet, the members of the 
     Supreme Court, the Congress, our military leaders, and all 
     others who carry such heavy responsibility in our nation. We 
     thank you for their willingness to give of themselves, 
     sometimes at great personal sacrifice. We pray also for those 
     heads of state and those who have joined us from other 
     nations.
       We humbly turn to you, oh God, for the help we need each 
     day. In spite of the fact that we are now in the year 2000, 
     the social problems of the world are still with us, as they 
     have been since the dawn of history. Our tremendous 
     technological and scientific achievements have not solved the 
     basic human heart and the problems of this world of greed, 
     and pride, and moral depravity and hatred, or the problem of 
     loneliness and sorrow and suffering.
       Once again as we have gathered here in this great city and 
     amidst this bountiful breakfast, we are reminded that there 
     are those that are hungry and hurting in this country and 
     around the world. We pause, father, to remember those who are 
     homeless and those who are starving, those who are living 
     under war and oppression and persecution like in the Sudan 
     and other parts of the world. Oh, father, guide our President 
     and leaders in Congress as they try to solve and respond to 
     the great political and humanitarian crises at home and 
     around the world.
       You alone have given this nation our prosperity, father. 
     You have given our freedom, and our strength. Our faith in 
     you, oh God, is our heritage and our foundation. We have 
     neglected your word. We have ignored your laws. We have tried 
     to solve our problems without reference to you, and we ask 
     for your forgiveness. Help us this day to confess our sins 
     and to repent and to receive by faith your salvation, your 
     son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for our great nation and the 
     freedoms you have given to us. With this freedom, may we not 
     serve ourselves, but may we serve others in your holy name. 
     Amen.
       SEN. MACK: That concludes our prayer breakfast. There have 
     been lots of people who have spent a great deal of time in 
     preparing both the program and the breakfast this morning, 
     and I would like for you to give them and all those who 
     volunteered a round of applause. (Applause.)
       I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for 
     coming this morning. Your presence has helped to make the 
     event a great success, and I hope you are happy that you came 
     and that you are leaving with a very special spirit.
       Good morning, and God bless.

       

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