The Office of the Chaplain United States House of Representatives

Opening Prayer

03/26/2025
Chaplain Margaret Grun Kibben

Holy God, in this House of historic honor, these corridors of consequence, these Halls of justice, remind us that all power belongs to You, O God. All things came from You, exist in You, and will return to You in the fullness of time.

Humbled before You, then, we pour out our hearts, laying before You the work of our hands, the thoughts of our minds, and the desires of our souls. You call on us to trust You, for You alone are our refuge and our strength.

In You, Lord, is unfailing love, a love which transcends our best and sometimes failed intentions, our best laid but often poorly executed plans, but in the depth of Your love for us, transform the effect of our labor to align with Your grace plan for us and for this Nation.

In Your eternal name we pray. Amen.

Thought of the Week

It is hard enough, even with the best will in the world, to be just. It is hard, under the pressure of haste, uneasiness, ill–temper, self–complacency, and conceit, even to continue intending justice. Power corrupts; the “insolence of office” will creep in. We see it so clearly in our superiors; is it unlikely that our inferiors see it in us? How many of those who have been over us did not sometimes (perhaps often) need our forgiveness? Be sure that we likewise need the forgiveness of those that are under us.

—C.S. Lewis

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