[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18184]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered the following 
prayer:
  Lord, source of light and love for each of us, we approach You with 
grateful humility because we are aware of Your many blessings upon our 
Nation, our families, and upon us personally.
  We stand before You in a poverty of spirit because the demands upon 
Congress are so great and the desire of this institution to respond to 
the many needs of Your people is deeply felt.
  Prayer at such moments can be a crucible in which expectations and 
experience are crushed by grinding truth.
  Yet mixed with faith in You and faith in the free people of this 
great Nation, this institution is confirmed, Lord, in its trust to make 
decisions born out of compromise. Thereupon, high hopes for the Nation 
can be sustained, and at the same time, specific steps can be taken to 
achieve a final goal.
  As a people, we live with trust now and forever.
  Amen.

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