[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5057]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, offered the following 
prayer:
  Dear God, we give You thanks for giving us another day.
  Bless abundantly the Members of this people's House. During the 
season of new growth, may Your redemptive power help them to see new 
ways to productive service, fresh approaches to understanding each 
other, especially those across the aisle, and renewed commitment to 
solving the problems facing our Nation.
  May they, and may we all, be transformed by Your grace and better 
reflect the sense of wonder, even joy, at the opportunities to serve 
that are ever before us.
  The issues of our day are a challenge for a Nation who claims Your 
blessing. May we not forget the reminders to Your chosen people of once 
having been oppressed foreigners and the admonitions of Scripture that 
we might be entertaining angels in the strangers among us. Help the 
Members of this House to find a balance that meets the demands of our 
beliefs with the practical realities that challenge us as a complex 
Nation.
  May all that is done this day be for Your greater honor and glory.
  Amen.

                          ____________________