The Office of the Chaplain United States House of Representatives

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick

Archbishop Emeritus
Washington, DC

Date of Prayer: 01/06/2009

Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:

Let us remind ourselves in this special place on this special day that we are in the presence of God.

Lord, we praise You at this historic moment. You are the loving Father of us all, the merciful, the compassionate, the source of all wisdom, the giver of all gifts.

We have so much to thank You for, dear God –– for our lives, our families, for our freedom and our opportunities, for our nation and for the historic choice of leadership it has just made, and, indeed, for the age–old values that are still enshrined in our Constitution and in our hearts.

Sustain the members of the 111th Congress in courage and in confidence as they face the daunting needs of this special time. Challenge, them, Lord, not to forget the hungry and the homeless, the unborn and the immigrant, those without access to good education or decent health care, and those men and women caught in a cycle of poverty from which they cannot escape without our help.

Let our Representatives be builders of a better world, a world without war or violence, without oppression or corruption, builders of a new world
whose foundations are human dignity, the values of family life and respect for the laws of nature.

Lord, we pray: make us always proud of those we have chosen to lead us, so that with their leadership and Your loving care, You may always be proud of us and these United States of America.

Amen.

To learn more about Members who have sponsored a Guest Chaplain, please visit the Congressional Biographical Directory