[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 8583]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain offered the following prayer:
  Almighty God, well do we know that truth is the first casualty of 
war, yet through every sandstorm of spin or lie these truths stand--the 
dead are mourned, and we mourn them; the bereaved and suffering are 
prayed for and aided, and we pray for them; the motives of each side 
are clearly revealed either through their methods of atrocity and fear 
or in their actions of civilian-sparing strikes and humanitarian help.
  O God of truth, hear our prayer. We live in a world where moral 
confusion is encouraged by some who wave the wishful wand of relativism 
and behold, nothing is truth or lie, good or evil. Thus is swallowed 
the tempter's ancient bait to be ``as gods''--setting rules that suit, 
obliterating those that don't, reducing all to a mere matter of 
opinion.
  Thy word, O God, is still truth not opinion. Those who delight in thy 
law, as the first Psalm tells us, flourish like a fruitful tree. Their 
way is known to Thee. The evil are not so. Their path peters out.
  Teach us, O Lord, that Thy very nature is the truth of things. Before 
Thee no lie can last. Show us that the proof of truth is its ultimate 
consequences in rejoicing, not regret; in the spirit's freedom, not in 
self-forged chains; in vision, not venality; in a purpose that enlarges 
life, not in soul-destroying cynicism.
  O God, grant grace to this great Nation as it strives in a noble 
cause to bring liberty and may we all be blessed with desire for such 
truth as makes and keeps us free indeed. Let the lode-star of Truth be 
the beacon to guide these Senators on their paths of decision, as 
individually they get their daily bearings, and collectively think and 
act in good faith for the benefit of this people and the world. Amen.

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