[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24273]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered the following 
prayer:
  Lord God, on this Halloween, once called All Hallow's Eve, the vigil 
of the feast of all saints, we ask You to guard and protect the 
children of the world.
  Lord, they may no longer know the reasons behind the costumes or the 
feast, but they still enjoy scary stories and poking fun at sinister 
characters of scripture and fable.
  Dressing up as skeletons and ghosts once mocked death and removed 
fear of dying. Because tomorrow's feast, when all the saints come 
marching in, was full of joy and promise, both children and adults came 
to know there was still time to change and become the holy people God 
intended them to be.
  Lord, some days even on Capitol Hill, there is darkness and it can be 
full of apprehension and fear; but the promise of tomorrow in the land 
of free democracy can always bring joy and glory to Your holy name. 
Amen.

                          ____________________