[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7453]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain offered the following prayer:
  Gracious God, we thank Thee for this cornucopia of a continent, 
blessed not only by natural beauty and resources but by the courage, 
endurance, inventive skill, and robust faith of those who came, and by 
the vision and wisdom of the Founders who lived with the awareness that 
their deeds were done under Thy Providence. We are heirs to a freedom, 
itself not free, but bought by others' sacrifice. We think even now of 
those who suffered and died to pass on this legacy.
  Remind us, Lord, that the everyday panoramic picture of life in this 
land is only possible when maintained within the framework of a strong 
defense. Since the only guarantee of the rights enunciated by the 
Constitution lies in the will of people prepared to die for them, then 
multiply, O God, our gratitude to all those who have done so in the 
past and those who continue to lay their lives on the line for the 
long-term safety and protection of this Nation and the cause of liberty 
across the globe. In these testing times give guidance and 
steadfastness to freedom's defenders: the President and his advisors, 
the Armed Forces, our allies, and the representatives of the people who 
gather under this roof.
  O God, although the future is unknown, yet grant to this Senate to 
see clearly the eternal beacons by which the Founders were led. So 
bless them with vision informed by wisdom; wisdom instructed by truth; 
truth revealed to integrity and integrity touched by love--all learned 
in humility before Thee, O God, whose children we are called to be. 
Amen.

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