The Office of the Chaplain United States House of Representatives

Opening Prayer

03/06/2014
Reverend Patrick J. Conroy, S.J.

Eternal God, we give You thanks for giving us another day.

We come to the end of a short week. For many, the winter has outlived its welcome and the longing for spring and its warmth is palpable. May the longing for comity and good will in the fashioning of policies benefiting our Nation be equally manifest in the actions marking these days.

Now we approach a weekend during which many Members of this assembly will gather to remember a historic event in Selma, Alabama. Forty–nine years ago, brave men and women, Americans of all races, colors, and faiths, walked together to help guarantee freedom still denied the descendants of those who were slaves.

Bless the Members of this assembly and us all, that we would be worthy of the call we have been given as Americans, to nurture and guarantee democratic freedoms to all who dwell in our great Nation. Help us all to be truly thankful and appropriately generous in our response.

May all that is done this day be for Your greater honor and glory.

Amen.

Thought of the Week

“"Fasting and Feasting"

Enter into a holy fast and a holy feast in each of the days of this season, a fast in which we rend our hearts and not our garments; and a feast in which we act as ambassadors for Christ, and allow God to make His way through us to the world.

– Fast from worry, and feast on divine order by trusting in God.
– Fast from complaining, and feast on appreciation.
– Fast from negatives, and feast on affirmatives.
– Fast from unrelenting pressures, and feast on unceasing prayer.
– Fast from hostility, and feast on tenderness.
– Fast from bitterness, and feast on forgiveness.
– Fast from self–concern, and feast on compassion for others.
– Fast from the shadows of sorrow, and feast on the sunlight of serenity.
– Fast from idle gossip, and feast on purposeful silence.
– Fast from judging others, and feast on the Christ within them.
– Fast from apparent darkness, and feast on the reality of light.
– Fast from thoughts of illness, and feast on the healing power of God.
– Fast from discontent, and feast on gratitude.
– Fast from anger, and feast on optimism.
– Fast from personal anxiety, and feast on eternal truth.
– Fast from discouragement, and feast on hope.
– Fast from lethargy, and feast on enthusiasm.
– Fast from thoughts that weaken, and feast on promises that inspire.
– Fast from problems that overwhelm, and feast on prayer that undergirds.

by Richard J. Fairchild
”

—Ricahrd J. Fairchild

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