[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
[September 16, 2005]
[Pages 1444-1446]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance Service
September 16, 2005

    On this Day of Prayer and Remembrance, our Nation remains in the 
shadow of a storm that departed 2 weeks ago. We're humbled by the vast 
and indifferent might of nature and feel small beside its power. We 
commend the departed to God. We mourn with those who mourn, and we ask 
for strength in the work ahead.

    The destruction is immense, covering a city, a coastline, a region. 
Yet the hurt always comes down to one life, one family.

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We've seen the panic of loved ones separated from each other, the lonely 
pain of people whose earthly possessions were swept away, and the 
uncertainty of men and women and children driven away from the lives 
they knew. Many did not survive the fury of the storm. Many who did ask, 
``Why?'' and wonder, ``What comes next?''
    In this hour of suffering, we're prayerful. In a wounded region, so 
many place their faith in a God who hears and helps. And so many are 
bringing their grief to a Savior acquainted with grief. Our Nation joins 
with them to pray for comfort and sorrow, for the reunion of separated 
families, and a holy rest for the ones who died.
    Through prayer, we look for ways to understand the arbitrary harm 
left by this storm and the mystery of undeserved suffering. And in our 
search, we're reminded that God's purposes are sometimes impossible to 
know here on Earth. Yet even as we're humbled by forces we cannot 
explain, we take comfort in the knowledge that no one is ever stranded 
beyond God's care. The Creator of wind and water is also the source of 
even a greater power, a love that can redeem the worst tragedy, a love 
that is stronger than death.
    In this hour of suffering, our Nation is thankful. We have been 
inspired by acts of courage and goodness: Coastguardsmen and military 
personnel reaching out of helicopters and lifting victims from rooftops; 
firefighters wading through mud and debris to search for victims and 
survivors; doctors and nurses defying danger so their patients might 
live. Many of those who saved others lost their own homes and were 
separated from their own families. And many stories of heroism and 
rescue will never be told because they are known to God alone.
    We're thankful for a spirit, seen across the gulf coast, that faces 
the worst and chooses to hope. We're thankful as well for the many 
ordinary citizens who heard the cries of neighbors and answered them. 
Across the country, Americans saw the hungry and gave them something to 
eat, saw the thirsty and gave them something to drink, saw strangers and 
invited them in. One man who was rescued and given shelter after the 
storm said, ``I didn't think there was so much love in the world.''
    In this hour of suffering, our Nation is also mindful of the work 
ahead. Through this tragedy, great duties have come to our Nation. The 
destruction of this hurricane was beyond any human power to control, but 
the restoration of broken communities and disrupted lives now rests in 
our hands. And we accept this responsibility not as a burden or a chore 
but as an opportunity to serve our fellow Americans, as they would do 
for us.
    This task will measure our unity as a people. Americans of every 
race and religion were touched by this storm, yet some of the greatest 
hardship fell upon citizens already facing lives of struggle, the 
elderly, the vulnerable, and the poor. And this poverty has roots in 
generations of segregation and discrimination that closed many doors of 
opportunity. As we clear away the debris of a hurricane, let us also 
clear away the legacy of inequality. Let us deliver new hope to 
communities that were suffering before the storm. As we rebuild homes 
and businesses, we will renew our promise as a land of equality and 
decency. And one day, Americans will look back at the response to 
Hurricane Katrina and say that our country grew not only in prosperity 
but in character and justice.
    On this National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, we pledge ourselves 
to the demanding work of revival and renew the faith and hope that will 
carry that work to completion. In the worst of storms and in the rush of 
flood waters, even the strongest faith can be tested. Yet the Scriptures 
assure us, ``Many waters cannot quench love; neither can the floods 
drown it.''
    So now we go forward, confident in the good heart of America and 
trusting that even among the ruins, the love of God remains at work.

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    May God bless and keep the souls of the lost. May His love touch all 
those in need, and may He always watch over the United States of 
America. God bless.

Note: The President spoke at 11:58 a.m. at the Washington National 
Cathedral. The National Day of Payer and Remembrance proclamation of 
September 8 is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.