Prayer
Under the rules of the House of Representatives a Member can invite a guest chaplain once per term of Congress. Representative Sherrod Brown of Ohio invited Samuldrala to offer the opening prayer n September 14, 2000 to coincide with an address to a joint session of Congress by the Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee (the first time an Indian Prime Minister had made such an address).
He opened the House's day with the following prayer:
"O God, You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and Omniscient. You are in everything and nothing is beyond You. You are our Mother and Father and we are all Your children. Whatever You do is for our good. You are the ocean of mercy and You forgive our errors. You are our teacher and You guide us into righteousness.
"Today, in this great Hall, are assembled the elected Representatives of the people of the Nation. They are ready to perform their duties. God, please guide them in their thoughts and actions so they can achieve the greatest good of all.
"We end this invocation with a prayer from the ancient scriptures of India:
May all be happy
May all be free from disease
May all realize what is good
May none be subject to misery
Peace, peace, peace be unto all"
Read more about this topic: Venkatachalapathi Samuldrala
Famous quotes containing the word prayer:
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 6:9-13.
the Lord’s Prayer. In Luke 11:4, the words are “forgive us our sins; for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us.” The Book of Common Prayer gives the most common usage, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.”
“Mr. Tennyson has said that more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of, but he wisely refrains from saying whether they are good or bad things.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“Prayer is the fair and radiant daughter of all the human virtues, the arch connecting heaven and earth, the sweet companion that is alike the lion and the dove; and prayer will give you the key of heaven. As pure and as bold as innocence, as strong as all things are that are entire and single, this fair and invincible queen rests on the material world; she has taken possession of it; for, like the sun, she casts about it a sphere of light.”
—Honoré De Balzac (1799–1850)