[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 24535]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered the following 
prayer:
  The approaching celebration of Columbus Day brings to mind an 
acclamation of the prophet Ezekiel:
  ``God sees us in our nothingness. Yet God waits for us to grow into 
the maturity of our calling.''
  Lord, this land has been productive and this country has flourished 
since its discovery by Europeans. Yet we anguish over our lack of full 
maturity when we humbly admit our neglect or indifference, or when we 
are made aware of the violence among our children, the poverty of the 
homeless, and the hopelessness of the jobless.
  As You have waited and rejoiced in our growth in the past, so now, 
deepen the call You have placed in the hearts of all Americans; that 
Your goodness may be manifested in us. And then Your calling will bring 
this Nation to true greatness by our love for one another--both now and 
forever. Amen.

                          ____________________