[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 6]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, offered the following 
prayer:
  Merciful God, we give You thanks for giving us another year.
  We give You thanks also for the first session of the 114th Congress, 
and Your sustaining us with Your presence, wisdom, patience, and love. 
We ask that the efforts of the first session might prove fruitful in 
the benefits redounding to our Nation and its people.
  We ask as well Your forgiveness for the smallness of actions on some 
occasions and the inability to work together when so many were 
adversely affected. We know that this is not what You wish for us, not 
what the American people wish for our Nation, and not what the Members 
of this people's House have been elected for. Lord, have mercy.
  We ask Your blessing now on each Member of Congress, that they might 
be their best selves in representing not only their constituents, but 
also the entire American citizenry. They have taken oaths to do so. 
Give them the strength and the wisdom to fulfill those oaths.
  We thank You as well for this marvelous forum, where the important 
business of this Nation has been done in the past and will be done in 
the upcoming second session. May the work to be done be inspired by the 
wisdom of prophets and the love of saintly people.
  May all that we do be done for Your greater honor and glory.
  Amen.

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