[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 50 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: May 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
THE 42D ANNUAL NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST
Mr. HEFLIN. Madam President, on February 3 of this year, I had the
honor of presiding over the 42d annual National Prayer Breakfast, held
at the Washington Hilton Hotel here in Washington. Each year hundreds
of leaders and thousands of guests from all over the world gather at
the National Prayer Breakfast to seek spiritual guidance and to engage
in fellowship with our friends from many diverse backgrounds. This
year, we had over 4,000 in attendance. Attendees literally come from
all walks of life.
Each year, by tradition, the President and First Lady attend, as well
as the Vice President and his wife. We pray, sing, reflect, and
soulfully examine our roles as leaders and what it means to guided by a
divine power. This year, we were especially graced by having in
attendance at the breakfast Mother Teresa.
I have been involved with several National Prayer Breakfasts since
coming to the Senate, and I must say this year's was among the most
memorable and uplifting I have ever participated in. I think most of
those who attended went away with a true sense of spiritual renewal.
There are many people around the country and world who did not have
the opportunity to attend this event but who are keenly interested in
the breakfast and in learning more about it. I therefore ask unanimous
consent that the transcript of the 42d National Prayer Breakfast be
printed in the Record at this point.
There being no objection, the transcript was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
The 42nd Annual National Prayer Breakfast
Sen. Howell Heflin. A good friend of ours, Lt. General
Claude M. Kicklighter, Retired, will lead us in a pre-
breakfast prayer. He is a former commanding General of the
Army of the Pacific and now serves in the Department of
Defense as the Director of World War II Commemorative
Programs. His work involves going to various battle sites
from World War II and setting up programs to commemorate the
events. I was with him at Pearl Harbour recently. General
Kicklighter, if you'd come forward and give the pre-breakfast
prayer.
Lt. General Claude M. Kicklighter, Retired. Thank you, sir.
This is a very special day. You can feel it. Wondrous things
are going to happen here this morning. As you remain seated I
would ask you to join hands in the bond of friendship around
your table and bow your heads.
Almighty God, whose love and mercy is known in heaven and
on earth, we praise your name as we come together from all
over the world and from across this great nation with one
purpose: to focus on loving you and loving one another. Lord,
as we attend this 42nd National Prayer Breakfast, let us
remember that just 50 years ago this world was engaged in a
life and death struggle that became known as World War II.
Now this morning we come together from all over that world in
friendship, with our President, other heads of state, and
citizens from more than 150 nations. We give you thanks for
50 years without another World War and for the end of the
Cold War.
We praise you for blessing our nations with the quest for a
lasting peace, along with the fruits of abundance of
freedom--especially the freedom to worship according to the
dictates of our own hearts. Help us, as it is written in
Micah, to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our
God. We ask for courage, strength, and wisdom to ensure a
safer and better world, a world free of war where freedom
continues to ring. Guide our President through the maze of
conflicting interests as he leads our great nation. Just as
Jesus reminded us, no sparrow falls to the ground without
your notice. Surely no nation can rise from the ground
without your divine assistance. This morning we pray for that
assistance.
Lord, we known that you have a message for each of us here
today. We pray that you will open our hearts to hear your
message, a message that can fill us with the power of your
love--and that love can change lives in the world. Christ
loving us is the hope of the world and there's no better
example of the power of love than the life of your speaker
this morning.
Lord, we ask you to continue to watch over our friend and
mentor, Mother Teresa, and sustain her in her mission of
mercy to those who are stricken by disease and poverty. Help
us to emulate her life of service and sacrifice in our own
lives. We express our gratitude for the food upon our tables
this morning. Help us to extend our heart and hands to those
who are hungry. As we thank you for the help we posses, help
us to be mindful of those who are ill. As we extol the
freedoms we enjoy, help us to champion the cause for those
who are denied freedom.
Oh God, author of Liberty, protector of the just and
merciful, how great thou art. We feel your presence here this
morning and we humbly turn to you and ask, ``Heal our land
and protect our children.'' We ask in the name of Jesus
Christ, your blessings on this gathering. Amen.
Sen. Heflin. I am Howell Heflin, the Chairman of the Senate
breakfast group.
Today's prayer breakfast is a time for people of all walks
of life to collectively lift their voices and turn their eyes
toward the living God and to devoutly petition him for His
assistance. It is a time for reflection. It is a time for
renewal of our faith. And it is a time for fellowship full of
love and enjoyment.
At exactly 7:45 this morning, Alabama's Tuskegee choir will
start singing several selections. After the arrival of the
President and Vice President, the choir will sing ``God Bless
America.'' Tuskegee University was founded in 1881 by Booker
T. Washington, it's first President. A special feature of the
university today is the George Washington Carver Museum,
named after the distinguished scientist who taught at
Tuskegee. We're pleased to have with us this morning
Tuskegee's current President, Dr. Benjamin Patton and Dr.
Luther Foster, President from 1953-1981. You may begin your
breakfast as it is served and at 7:45 the Tuskegee University
choir will give us several selections.
[Breakfast].
[Tuskegee University choir sang.]
Announcer. Ladies and gentlemen, Vice President Al Gore and
Tipper Gore. (Applause.)
Ladies and gentlemen, the President and First Lady of the
United States. (Applause.)
[Tuskegee University choir sang ``God Bless America.'']
(Applause.)
Sen. Heflin. Thank you. If you will remain standing, we
will ask Senator Harris Wofford to come and lead us in
prayer. He's an active member of the Senate Breakfast Group
and was a close advisor to President John F. Kennedy and Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Senator Wofford.
Sen. Harris Wofford. Our God, God of the Christian and the
Jew, God of the Muslim and the Hindu, God of the Buddhists
and of those with no church, God of the Republican and the
Democrat, God of the rich and the poor, God bless America.
May it become America the Beautiful. Help us make the words
we just heard become the music and the measure of our lives.
Help us listen to the words that unite, not the words that
divide; to the words that create, not the words that destroy.
For in the beginning is the Word, and the words we live by do
become flesh. And in the end, in the last judgment when the
Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, there is no
Greek nor Jew nor Arab; there is only the man who to the
hungry gave food, the woman who to the thirsty gave drink,
the citizen who to the stranger said, ``Come in.''
So God of all nations, help us, your children of this one
human race, so lonely in your vast universe. Help us realize
that here in this world your work must truly be our own. Help
us make Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. From
the streets of Calcutta to the peaks of Kashmir, from the
hills of Bosnia to the plains of Somalia, from the port of
Haiti to the port of Philadelphia, from the coast of
California to the inland waters of Russia, from the college
halls of New Jersey to the halls of Congress, from
Washington, DC, to Washington, PA, may the words we hear
today--especially the words from our president and vice
president and Mother Teresa--enter our hearts and help us
``crown Thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.''
Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Senator Wofford.
Mr. President and Mrs. Clinton, Vice President and Mrs.
Gore, and distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is my
pleasure to welcome each of you and to thank you for
participating in the 42nd Annual National Prayer Breakfast.
The name ``International Prayer Breakfast'' would probably be
a more fitting title for our gathering this morning, since we
have as guests not only representatives from 50 states, but
from over 150 nations. This morning's event is being
translated into six languages since there are those present
that do not understand English. Also C-SPAN is carrying this
program live, as approximately 500 prayer breakfasts around
the country are meeting simultaneously and worshipping with
us.
As this year's breakfast approached, I wondered why it and
similar gatherings had come to be centered around a breakfast
rather than a luncheon or a dinner. I suppose the logical
reason would be that it is more convenient to meet early in
the morning before the rigors of the busy day set in, but
through further research I discovered a more significant
meaning behind the National Prayer Breakfast tradition that
we have come to observe over the years. Congressman and later
Kansas Senator Frank Carlson was an active leader in the
House Prayer Group during World War II. He got the idea of
associating the prayer group meeting with a breakfast from a
New Testament passage in the 21st chapter of the Gospel of
St. John.
Several of the disciples had been out fishing in the Sea of
Tiberias during the night but didn't catch anything. As they
went toward the shore the next morning with the sun rising,
they saw Jesus on the beach, and he instructed them to go
back and cast their net on the right side of the ship, and
when they did, they caught a multitude of fish. As they came
ashore again, Jesus was there preparing fish and bread for
the disciples, and he said to them, ``Come and dine.''
Whether we look back at Frank Carlson's inspiration or to
the usual and customary practice as the reason, breakfasts
provide an excellent setting for a prayerful gathering. We
think it is appropriate that we meet here today with this
magnificent crowd and with the 500 prayer breakfasts around
the country meeting simultaneously to praise the Lord and to
ask for his assistance in the many problems that we have.
The president and Mrs. Clinton, the vice president and Mrs.
Gore left after they came in to visit with Mother Teresa and
also to visit another group of about 600 that are in a
different room in this building where this is being telecast
to them.
Now I would like to introduce those distinguished guests
here at the head table who are not speaking this morning: The
first lady, Mrs. William Jefferson Clinton, known to the
world as Hillary Rodham Clinton. (Applause.) Mrs. Albert A.
Gore, Jr., known affectionately to the members of the Senate
as Tipper Gore. (Applause.)
Now the remaining ones at the head table I'll ask you to
hold your applause in order that we might conserve time, and
then at the end you may applaud. Mrs. Claude M. Kicklighter,
Mrs. Ted Stevens, Mrs. Don Shula, Mrs. Earl Hutto, my wife
Elizabeth Ann Heflin, Mrs. Mark Hatfield, Dr. Ted Rothstein,
Mrs. Harris Wofford, and Mrs. Wintley Phipps. Let's give them
all a hand. (Applause.)
Mrs. Janet Hall, the wife of Congressman Tony Hall, is
seated in the audience at her request. However, I would like
to say that Janet Hall has actively worked on this National
Prayer Breakfast. And, Janet, we appreciate you being here,
and I ask you to stand at this time. (Applause.)
I want to also particularly welcome the five heads of state
we're honored to have with us this morning: The distinguished
prime ministers from Dominica, Western Samoa, Tonga, the
president of Palau, and the governor general of the British
Virgin Islands. If you will please stand. (Applause.)
Congressman Earl Hutto of Florida, who is the chairman of
the House Breakfast Group, will now give remarks on their
behalf.
Congressman Hutto. (Applause.)
Rep. Earl Hutto. Thank you, Senator Heflin.
Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice President and Mrs.
Gore, distinguished head table guests, and ladies and
gentlemen, shortly before 8:00 a.m. on any Thursday that
the House is in session, members are filing into Room H-
130 on the House side of the Capitol. There's no sign on
the door that says ``Republicans Only'' or ``Democrats
Only.'' This is the weekly House prayer breakfast. In the
Bible, Romans 13:1, it says, ``Left every soul be subject
under the higher powers, for there is no power but of God;
the powers that be are ordained of God.''
We are there at that breakfast for a common purpose: to
fellowship together in the Spirit of Christ; to pray for you,
Mr. President and Mr. Vice President, for government
officials throughout the land, for each other and for our
great nation, as well as for peace in the world. Included in
the program is the reading of Scripture from God's word.
Congressman Sonny Montgomery, a long-time stalwart of the
prayer breakfast, gives what he calls a report on the sick
and wounded, and others are listed for whom we should pray.
Before we sing a hymn, our colleague Jake Pickle tells us
all about the composer and his or her inspiration for writing
the hymn. This really amazes us, and sometimes we get a big
laugh because we suspect that Jake is making a lot of this up
as he goes along. (Laughter.) Congressman Pickle is retiring
after this year, and he will be greatly missed.
Approximately 50 members attend the breakfast each week.
Partisanship is out the window. We are not there as members
of a political party or any particular religious groups, but
to bond together in gaining strength and inspiration for our
service to God and our constituents.
Our speaker each week--one week a Republican and the next
week a Democrat--is always a member of Congress but not
necessarily someone who regularly attends the breakfast. In
fact, oftentimes when we invite a member to come and share
his or her faith with us, it really gets their attention in a
positive way. They share with us their life and what is in
their heart. Some relate the trauma, the hardships, the
sadness and disappointments, as well as the joys and triumph
over the years. We've had some wonderful messages and, with
each one, inspiration and a better understanding and closer
friendship.
You know, across the nation there is cynicism and lack of
trust in government. People deplore the bickering, the
partisanship that often results in gridlock. With this in
mind, I'm often asked, what about the spiritual atmosphere in
Washington? And I reply that it's similar to that in your
hometown. We are still one nation under God. But is there any
doubt that we have lost some of the standards and values that
made us great in the first place? There is need to live by
the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule and acknowledge our
dependence on Almighty God for solutions to the many problems
confronting the world.
God indeed can make a difference in our individual lives,
in the nation and the world. So today I bring you greetings
from the House Prayer Breakfast Group. We welcome you all,
including a warm welcome to those who are with us from many
nations around the world. Let me say that we're encouraged
that governmental prayer breakfasts are being started in many
other countries.
God bless you all. (Applause.)
Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Earl Hutto, for those great words.
Chief Judge Barbara Rothstein of the United States District
Court for the Western District of Washington will now read
from the Old Testament. I hope she doesn't mind me mentioning
that today is her birthday. (Laughter.)
Judge Rothstein. (Applause.)
Judge Barbara Rothstein. Thank you, Senator.
Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice President and Mrs.
Gore, honored guests, visiting dignitaries, I shall read from
1 Kings, Chapter 3, beginning at verse 5.
``In Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by
night, and God said, `ask what I shall give thee.'
``And Solomon said: `Thou hast shown unto Thy servant
David, my father, great kindness, according as he walked
before Thee in truth and in righteousness and in uprightness
of heart with Thee, and Thou hast kept for him this great
kindness, that Thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne
as it is this day. And now, oh, Lord, my God, Thou hast made
Thy servant king instead of David, my father, and I am but a
little child. I know not how to go out or come in, and Thy
servant is in the midst of Thy people which Thou hast chosen,
a great people that cannot be numbered nor counted for
multitude. Give Thy servant, therefore an understanding heart
to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and
evil. For who is able to judge this, Thy great people?'
``And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked
this thing, and God said unto him: `Because thou hast asked
this thing and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither
hast asked riches for thyself nor hast asked the life of
thine enemies but has asked for thyself understanding to
discern justice, behold I have done according to thy word.
Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, and
I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both
riches and honor.'''
I have chosen this passage because it is rich with themes
relevant to modern times. As a judge myself, it is moving to
me to see Solomon's deep concern with doing justice. Man's
search for justice and wisdom is a constant theme throughout
the Old Testament.
Another aspect of Solomon's dream impacts leaders in any
century. Solomon is shown as a very human being. He is
feeling doubts, fears and insecurities. He is following in
the footsteps of his father, David, who is one of the
greatest kings. Solomon finds himself filled with trepidation
about the responsibility he is assuming. In his fear and his
concern for his people, he asks the Lord to give him the
wisdom and understanding to be able to distinguish good from
evil, truth from falsity.
The passage illustrates how even the greatest of leaders
can be intimidated by the responsibility they hold for the
lives and fortunes of others, that looking into one's heart
from a position of power it is acceptable to question one's
own adequacy and to ask for divine help, guidance and
inspiration.
Finally in the passage, we see that, because King Solomon
puts the interests of his people before his own, God richly
rewards him.
Thank you. (Applause.)
Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Judge, for those words from the Old
Testament.
Senator Mark Hatfield, a stalwart of the Senate Breakfast
Group is representing the Senate Group this morning. When he
was governor of Oregon several years ago, he organized the
first governors' prayer breakfast.
Senator Hatfield. (Applause.)
Sen. Mark Hatfield. Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice
President, Mrs. Gore, my brothers and sisters, 52 years ago,
while the terror of World War II engulfed the world, a small
group of senators, the vice president of the United States
and a member of the Supreme Court met together in the Capitol
to discuss the war and to pray.
We have continued meeting since that time. We come together
as friends to share a meal and to pray for each other and to
pray for the nation. We leave our labels at the door as
Democrats, Republicans, liberals, moderates, conservatives.
We remove our masks. We bridal our egos. And we experience
spiritual renewal. In our vulnerability, we wrestle with the
great issues confronting us as a nation and as a world, and
very often we find that these political and economic
solutions that we seek can only be found as spiritual
solutions to basically spiritual problems. And, therefore, we
pray for spiritual renaissance.
Today, too, we in this room have left our labels at the
door. We have assembled from most of the continents of the
world and from many islands of the oceans, bringing our
different cultures, languages and histories, but we are here
today bonded by our common humanity. The inspiration of this
gathering reminds us of the power and the beauty in
diversity. We are truly a mosaic of magnificent beauty.
We know that we can never realistically be isolated from
each other living on this planet. We understand the wisdom of
King Solomon when he noted, ``He who builds a high gate
invites destruction.'' We also understand the pragmatism of
St. Paul, who said that the individual parts of the body,
each with its distinctive function, all are interrelated to
form the whole person, and so, too, it is with the spiritual
body worldwide. Our diversity is our source and foundation of
our strength. Without this interrelationship, this
connection, we are isolated--a fractured humanity.
As we come together today in the spirit of the reconciling
and healing savior, Jesus Christ, my prayer is that our
strategies are empowered by love, that the priority of our
commitments are to the poor and that our lives are lived as
peacemakers in this wounded and hurting world.
Please, God, bless us all with Your understanding. Amen.
(Applause.)
Sen. Howell Heflin. Now I would like to introduce a
gentleman, Mr. Fred McClure, who will sing. Fred is a friend
of mine as well as of many members of Congress.
Mr. Fred McClure.
[Mr. Fred McClure sang Amazing Grace.]
Sen. Helfin. Dr. Billy Graham usually joins us each year
for the National Prayer Breakfast, but unfortunately, he
could not be with us this year. This is only the third time
that he has missed since its beginning. He did want me to
extend his greetings, and I quote:
``Even though I am in Asia this morning, I am united with
you in prayer for the people of America and the world. It is
clear that nothing is more important during these critical
days than for the leaders of the world to learn to pray
together. I salute all of you this morning who share this
dream. I would especially like for President and Mrs. Clinton
and Vice President and Mrs. Gore to know that my prayers are
with them daily.''
It is now my pleasure to introduce the vice president of
the United States, the Honorable Albert A. Gore, Jr. He
brings strong spiritual principles to his job each day. He
comes from a long Baptist background, with plenty of old-
fashioned Baptist common sense and grit-(laughter)--Al Gore
was one of the most active members of our prayer breakfast in
the Senate when he served there, and I understand he was
likewise when he served in the House. Yesterday he
participated in the Diplomatic luncheon for the world
leaders, the ambassadors and our international guests from
around the world.
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and high
privilege to present to you the Vice President of the United
States. (Applause.)
Vice President Gore. (Continued applause.) Thank you.
Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, and distinguished guests, the
way Judge Helfin put that extra emphasis on Baptist
(laughter)--sometimes a Methodist will do that (laughter)--it
reminds me of when the Baptist minister and the Unitarian
minister were having an argument, and finally the Unitarian
attempted to make up and said, ``We all worship the same
God.'' The Baptist minister said, ``Yes, you in your way, and
I in His.'' (Laughter.)
And it is a great honor to be here with all of you and a
particular honor, may I say, to be blessed with the presence
of Mother Teresa, who epitomizes selfless dedication to God's
work. Because of her faith, she has helped people regardless
of religion and is admired by people of every religion.
We were privileged to spend a few moments with her this
morning, and I recalled my own feelings when Tipper and I
were driving over here, and I was reflecting on the fact that
for just a minute or two I was going to speak here about the
power of faith in my life on the same program in which Mother
Teresa will shortly speak. And I was reminded of a story that
I read in one of the news magazines about five years ago
about a basketball game, a rather extraordinary game, in
which Michael Jordan scored 68 points. And after the game one
of the news reports interviewed a rookie on the team who had
scored one point and asked him for his reaction to this
extraordinary game. And he said, ``I will always remember
this as the occasion when Michael Jordan and I combined for
69 points.'' (Laughter.)
I'm going to remember this breakfast also.
We have all been invited to this morning's breakfast in the
Spirit of Christ. Men and women of many different religious
traditions are here, and we are united by our belief that
gathering together in prayer, often in small groups for
prayer and reflection, is a source of strength and
friendship. In my life, I find such groups a source of great
solace and strength. And in our world, in this time of
religious and ethnic hatred and conflict all over the world,
in this time of wars and environmental destruction, in this
time of a continuing epidemic of violence here in the United
States of America, we need such solace and strength and
guidance.
My one point is, at such a time, it is a source of strength
just to see so many of us from so many places gathered under
one roof able to sing with the ancient psalmists and consider
the timeless questions: ``Oh, Lord, our Lord, how excellent
is Thy name in all the earth, who has set Thy glory above the
heavens. When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy
fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained,
what is man that Thou art mindful of him?'' (Applause.)
Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Al Gore. We appreciate your great
contribution over the years to the House, the Senate, and now
in the Executive Branch.
You mentioned the Baptists and the Methodists. I'm reminded
of a story about a fellow that was prone to drink too much on
Saturday night. He would go to church on Sunday and would
frequently nod when the preacher was preaching. They had
brought in a visiting preacher to the Shady Grove Methodist
Church and this was what we would call a deep water
Methodist--he could go down the deepest, stay the longest,
and come up the driest of any minister you ever heard!
(Laughter.) Anyway, during the sermon, this border who had
had too much to drink on the Saturday night before began to
nod and before long he just went off to sleep. And the
preacher noticed that several members in the congregation
were nodding and he decided he'd better do something to get
their attention. So in the middle of the sermon, he says,
``If there's anyone in the congregating that wants to go to
hell, stand up!'' Well, this brother that was asleep, the
only thing he heard was, ``Stand up!, so up he shoots!
(Laughter.) And the preacher turns to him and says, ``Well,
brother, do you have something you want to say?'' He said,
``Well, preacher, I don't know what we're voting on, but it
looks like you and I are the only ones in favor of it.''
(Laughter.)
Well, we all admire our next participant in this program.
He has had a remarkable record. He has been to Congress
several times lifting his voice relative to religious
matters. Coach Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins will read from
the New Testament. With his 325th victory last November,
Coach Shula became professional football's winningest coach.
He's taken the Miami Dolphins to five Super Bowls. Coach
Shula never hesitates to give credit where it is due. He once
told a writer: ``I believe that God is up there. I try to
live in his likeness. That's my prayer every day--to do the
job to the best of my ability in a way that will reflect on
his image and likeness.''
Coach Shula. (Applause.)
Don Shula. Thank you, Senator.
Mr. President and Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice President and Mrs.
Gore, honored guests at the head table, ladies and gentlemen,
I want to mention that I'm Catholic. I want equal time up
here. (Laughter.)
I've selected two short passages this morning from the New
Testament--Matthew 5, verses 1-12, and 1st Corinthians 9,
verses 24-27.
The amazing thing about this book written thousands of
years ago is how perfectly it applies to the world in which
we live today. A man we all admire and whom we all miss,
former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, called a sermon I
would like to read the best political speech ever given. I'd
like to dedicate this reading to the memory of a man who put
these words into action. Matthew 5, verses 1-12:
``When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and
after he sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to
teach them, saying `--the Beatitudes--''' Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed
are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted; blessed are
the meek, for they shall inherit the land; blessed are they
who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
satisfied; blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown
mercy; blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God;
blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children
of God; blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of
righteousness, for their is the kingdom of heaven; blessed
are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter
every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice
and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus,
they persecuted the prophets who were before you.''
The second reading is not for the faint of heart. It takes
a lot of toughness to succeed spiritually, and I, coming from
the world of physical achievement, especially appreciate St.
Paul's athletic analogy to success in the effort. 1st
Corinthians 9, verses 24-27:
``Do you know that the runners in the stadium all run in
the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win.
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it
to win a perishable crown, but we earn an imperishable one.
Thus, I do not run aimlessly. I do not fight as if I were
shadow boxing. No, I drive my body and train it for fear
that, after having preached to others, I myself should be
disqualified.''
Thank you and have a great day. Thank you. (Applause.)
Sen. Heflin. Thank you, Coach.
Congressman Tony Hall of Ohio will now offer the prayer for
national leaders. He is dedicated to improving human rights
and combating hunger around the world. He's a founding member
of the Senate Committee on Hunger, and in April of 1993, Tony
Hall helped focus attention on the problem of world hunger by
fasting for three weeks in response to the abolishment of
that committee.
Congressman Hall. (Applause.)
Rep. Tony Hall. Thank you, Senator.
Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, distinguished guests,
ladies and gentlemen, they have a saying in Africa that says
that, when the elephants fight, the grass dies. Essentially
what it means is that, when the big people fight, when the
people in authority--the kings--when they fight, the people,
they hurt and oftentimes they perish. And as you look around
the world, we have a lot of problems. We have environmental
problems. Half the world's water is polluted. We have
conflict. We have presently 42 wars going on. We have famine
and drought, and we have a lot of people that are really
hurting.
It says in the Scriptures that we are to pray for
everybody, but specifically to pray for those people in
authority so that the people, which is us and the world, will
live in peaceful and tranquil lives in all godliness and
dignity. And that's what I'd like to do today. Can we bow our
heads?
Father, we just thank you for being here, and we thank you
for presence. We thank you for the chance to humble ourselves
before you. I pray for the leadership of this country, oh,
Lord--the President, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet and the
Congress, the governors, the mayors, the distinguished
visitors and parliamentarians from around the world that are
in this room today. Lord. We just ask that you shine down
upon us from the standpoint of helping us with our problems.
I pray specifically for President Clinton and his family,
that you protect him and that you be with him and when he has
to make such complex and important decisions, oh, Lord. Be
with him when he's lonely and be with him and his wife as
you've been with him for the past few months as they have
lost their loved ones. We ask you to watch over him as he
directs and guides and shepherds the country. We ask you to
bless him, give him wisdom.
We ask that your spirit of love would shine down upon this
room, Lord, on each and every leader, wherever they might be,
and that we might be people of goodness and kindness and
justice and mercy and understanding. We do these things so
that the people can have peaceful and tranquil lives living
in all godliness and dignity, and we give you all the credit.
I pray in the name of Jesus, amen. (Applause.)
Sen. Heflin. It is my pleasure now to present to you Mother
Teresa, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and often
acknowledged as one who truly loves God and serves him among
the poor and the oppressed. She is a woman respected,
admired, and loved throughout the world. Her name has become
synonymous with selfless service, unconditional love, and
pure goodness. Once asked how she sees herself, Mother Teresa
answered, ``I pray I can be a pencil in God's hand.'' And so
she is. We're deeply honored and touched by her presence with
us today.
Mother Teresa. (Extended applause.)
Mother Teresa. (Extended applause.) Make us worthy, Lord,
to serve our fellow men throughout the world who live and die
in poverty and hunger. Give them through our hands this day
their daily bread, and by our understanding love, give peace
and joy.
Jesus came to give us the good news that God loves us and
that He wants to love one another as He loves each one of us.
And to make it easy for us to love one another, Jesus said:
``Whatever you do to the least, you do it to me. If you give
a glass of water, you give it to me. If you receive a little
child in my name, you receive me. So whatever you do to the
least, you do it to me.''
And where does this love begin? In our own families. How
does it begin? By praying together. The family that prays
together stays together, and if you stay together, you will
love each other as God loves each one of you. So teach your
children to pray, and pray with them, and you will have the
joy and the peace and the unity of Christ's own love living
in you.
As we have gathered together here, I think it would be
beautiful if we begin with a prayer that expresses very well
what Jesus wants us to do for the least. St. Francis of
Assisi understood very well these words of Jesus, and in his
life very well expressed them by prayer. And this prayer,
which we say every day after holy communion, always surprises
me very much, because it is very fitting for each of us, and
I always wonder whether 800 years ago when St. Francis lived
they had the same difficulties that we have today. I think
that some of you already have this prayer of peace, so we
will pray it together.
``Lord, make me a channel of your peace.'' You have the
prayer with you? Will we say it together?
(In unison.) ``Lord, make me a channel of your peace. Where
there is hatred, may I bring love; where there is injury,
pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair,
hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness,
joy. Oh, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; not so much to be understood as to
understand; not to be loved as to love. For it is in giving
that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.''
Let us thank God for the opportunity he has given us today
to have come here to pray together. We have come here
especially to pray for peace, for joy and for love. We are
reminded that Jesus came to bring the good news to the poor.
He told us what is that good news when he said, ``My peace I
leave with you, My peace I give unto you.'' He came not to
give the peace of the world, which is only that we don't
bother each other; he came to give the peace of heart, which
comes from loving, from doing good to others.
And God loved the world so much that he gave his son. It
was a giving. God gave his son to the Virgin Mary. And what
did she do with him? As soon as Jesus came into Mary's life,
immediately she went in haste to give that good news. And as
she came into the house of her cousin Elizabeth, Scripture
tells us that the unborn child, the child in the womb of
Elizabeth, leaps with joy. While still in the womb of Mary,
Jesus brought peace to John the Baptist, who leapt for joy in
the womb of Elizabeth. The unborn was the first one to
proclaim the coming of Christ.
And as if that were not enough, as if it was not enough
that God's son should become one of us and bring peace and
joy while still in the womb of Mary, Jesus also died on the
cross to show that great love. He died for you and for me and
for that leper and for that man dying of hunger and that
naked person dying in the street, not only of Calcutta but of
Africa and all over the world.
Our sisters serve these poor people in 105 countries
throughout the world. Jesus insisted that we love one another
as he loves each one of us. Jesus gave his life to love us,
and he tells us that we also have to give whatever it takes
to do good to one another. And in the gospel, Jesus says very
clearly, ``Love as I have loved you.'' Jesus died on the
cross because that is what it took for him to do good to us,
to save us from our selfishness and sin. He gave up
everything to do the Father's will, to show us that we, too,
must be willing to give up everything to do God's will, to
love one another as He loves each one of us.
If we are not willing to give whatever it takes to do good
to one another, sin is still in us. That is why we, too, must
give to each other until it hurts. It is not enough for us to
say, ``I love God.'' But I also have to love my neighbor. St.
John said that you are a liar if you say you love God and you
don't love your neighbor. How can you love God, whom you do
not see, if you do not love your neighbor, whom you see, whom
you touch, with whom you live?
And so it is very important for us to realize that love, to
be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it
takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to
them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts.
Otherwise, there is no true love in me, and I bring
injustice, not peace, to those around me.
It hurt Jesus to love us. We have been created in his image
for greater things--to love and to be loved. We must put on
Christ, as Scripture tells us, and so we have been created to
love as he loves us. Jesus makes himself the hungry one, the
naked one, the homeless one, the unwanted one, and he says,
``You did it to me.'' On the last day he will say to those on
his right, ``Whatever you did to the least of these, you did
to me.'' And he will also say to those on his left,
``Whatever you neglected to do for the least of these, you
neglected to do it for me.''
When he was dying on the cross, Jesus said, ``I thirst.''
Jesus is thirsting for our love, and this is the test of
everyone, poor and rich alike. We all thirst for love of
others, that they go out of their way to avoid harming us and
to do good to us. This is the meaning of true love: to give
until it hurts.
I can never forget the experience I had in the sitting room
where they kept all these old parents of sons and daughters
who had just put them into an institution and forgotten them,
maybe. I say that in that home, these old people had
everything--good food, comfortable place, television,
everything--but everyone was looking toward the door. And I
did not see a single one with a smile on their face. I turned
to a sister and I asked, ``Why do these people who have every
comfort here, they are there looking toward the door? Why are
they not smiling? I'm so used to seeing the smiles on our
people. Even the dying ones smile.'' And sister said, ``This
is the way it is nearly every day. They are expecting, they
are hoping that a son or a daughter will come to visit them.
They are hurt because they are forgotten.
And see, this neglect to love brings spiritual poverty.
Maybe in our own family we have somebody who is feeling
lonely, who is feeling sick, who is feeling worried. Are we
there? Are we willing to give until it hurts in order to be
with our family, or do we put our interests first? These are
the questions we must ask ourselves, especially as we begin
this year of the family. We must remember that love begins at
home. And we must also remember that the future of humanity
passes through the family.
I was surprised in the West to see so many young boys and
girls given to drugs, and I tried to find out why, why is it
like that, when those in the West have so many more things
than those in the East. And the answer was, because there is
no one in the family to receive them. Our children depend on
us for everything--their health, their nutrition, their
security, their coming to know and love God. For all of this,
they look to us with trust, hope and expectation. But often,
father and mother are so busy they have no time for their
children, or perhaps they are not even married or have given
up on their marriage. So the children go to the streets and
get involved in drugs and other things. We are talking of
love of the child, which is where love and peace must begin--
there, in our own family.
But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is
abortion, because Jesus said, ``If you receive a little
child, you receive me.'' So every abortion is the denial of
receiving Jesus, the neglect of receiving Jesus. (Applause.)
It is really a war against the child, and I hate killing of
the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we
accept that the mother can kill even her own child, how can
we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we
persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must
persuade her with love. And we remind ourselves that love
needs to be willing to give until it hurts.
Jesus gave even his live to love us, so the mother who is
thinking of abortion should be helped to love--that is, to
give until it hurts, her plans, her free time, to respect the
life of a child, for the child is the greatest gift of God to
the family, because it has been created to love and to be
loved.
The father of that child, however, must also give until it
hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but
kills even her own child to solve her problem. And by
abortion, the father is taught that he does not have to take
any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into
that world. So that father is likely to put other women into
the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion.
Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its
people to love one another but to use any violence to get
what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love
and peace is abortion. (Applause.)
The beautiful gift God has given our congregation is to
fight abortion by adoption. We have given--(applause)--we
have given already from one house in Calcutta over 3,000
children in adoption, and I can't tell you what joy, what
love, what peace those children have brought into those
families. It has been a real gift of God for them and for us.
I remember one of the little ones got very sick, so I sent
for the father and the mother, and I asked them, ``Please,
give me back the sick child; I will give you a healthy one.''
And the father looked at me and said, ``Mother Teresa, take
my life first, then take the child.'' So beautiful to see so
much love, so much joy that little one has brought into that
family.
So pray for us that we continue this beautiful gift. And
also I offer you--our sisters who are here. Anybody who
doesn't want a child, please give it to me. I want the child
(Applause.)
I will tell you something beautiful. As I have already told
you, by adoption, by care of the mother and adoption for her
baby, we have saved thousands of lives. we have sent word to
the clinics, to the hospitals and police stations, ``Please
don't destroy the child; we will take the child.'' So we
always have someone tell the mothers in trouble, ``Come, we
will take care of you; we will get a home for your child.''
And we have a tremendous demand from couples who cannot have
a child, but I never give a child to a couple who have done
something not to have a child. Jesus said, ``Anyone who
received a child in my name, receives me.'' By adopting a
child, these couples receive Jesus. By aborting a child, a
couple refuses to receive Jesus.
Please don't kill the child. I want the child. Please give
me the child. I'm willing to accept any child who would be
aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will
love the child and be loved by the child.
I know that couples have to plan their family, and for that
there is natural family planning. The way to plan the family
is natural family planning, not contraception. In destroying
the power of giving life or loving through contraception, a
husband or wife is doing something to self. This turns the
attention to self, and so it destroys the gift of love in him
and her. In loving, the husband and wife must turn the
attention to each other as happens in natural family
planning, and not to self as happens in contraception. Once
that living love is destroyed by contraception, abortion
follows very easily. That's why I never give a child to a
family that has used contraception, because if the mother has
destroyed the power of loving, how will she love my child?
I also know that there are great problems in the world,
that many spouses do not love each other enough to practice
natural family planning. We cannot solve he problems in the
world, but let us never be involved in the worst problem of
all--to destroy love, to destroy life.
The poor are very great people. They can teach us so many
things. Once one of them came to thank us for teaching her
natural family planning and said, ``You people who have
practiced chastity--you are the best people to teach us
natural family planning, because it is nothing more than self
control of the love for each other.'' And what this poor
person said is very true. These poor people maybe have
nothing to eat. Maybe they have not a home to live in. but
they can still be great people when they are especially rich
in loving one another as God loves each one of them.
When I pick up a person from the streets hungry, I give him
a plate of rice, a piece of bread. But a person who is shut
out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person who
has been thrown out of society, that spiritual poverty is
much harder to be overcome. And abortion, which often follows
from contraception, causes the people to be spiritually poor,
and that is the worst poverty and the most difficult to
overcome.I21Those who are materially poor can be very
wonderful people. One evening we went out and we picked up
four people from the street, and one of them was in a most
terrible condition. I told the sisters, ``You take care of
the other three; I will take care of the one who looks
worse.'' So I did for her all that my love can do. I put her
in bed. And there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She
took hold of my hand, and she said one thing only: Thank you.
And she died. I couldn't help but examine my conscience
before her, and I asked what would I say if I were in her
place? And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to
draw a little attention to myself. I would have said: ``I'm
hungry. I'm dying. I'm cold. I'm in pain.'' But she gave me
much more. She gave me her grateful love. She died with a big
smile on her face.
Then there was the man we picked up from the drain half
eaten with worms, and after we had brought him to the home,
he only said, ``I've lived like an animal in the street, but
I'm going to die as an angel, loved and cared for.'' Then,
after we had removed all the worms from his body, all he said
with a big smile was, ``Sister, I'm going home to God,'' and
he died. It was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man
who could speak like that without blaming anybody, without
comparing anything, like an angel. This is the greatness of
people who are spiritually rich even when they are materially
poor.
We are not social workers. We may be doing social work in
the eyes of some people, but we must be contemplatives in the
heart of the world, for we must bring that presence of God
into your family, for the family that prays together stays
together. There is so much hatred, so much misery, and we
with our prayer, with our sacrifice, are beginning at home.
Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do, but how
much love we put into what we do.
If we are contemplatives in the heart of the world with all
these problems, these problems can never be discouraging. We
must always remember that God tells us in Scripture even if
the mother could forget the child in her womb--something
impossible--but even if she could forget, I will never forget
you. As so, here I'm talking with you. I want you to find the
poor here, right in your own home first, and begin to love
there. Be the good news to your own people first and find out
about your next door neighbor. Do you know who they are?
I had a most extraordinary experience of love of neighbor
with a Hindu family. A gentleman came to our house and said,
``Mother Teresa, there is a family who have not eaten for so
long. Do something.'' So I took some rice and went there
immediately. And I saw the children--their eyes shining with
hunger. I don't know if you have every seen hunger. But I
have seen it very often. And the mother of the family took
the rice I gave her and went out. When she came back, I asked
her, ``Where did you go? What did you do?'' And she gave me a
very simple answer, ``They are hungry also.'' What struck me
was that she knew--and who are they? A Muslim family--and she
knew. I didn't bring any more rice that evening because I
wanted them, Hindus and Muslims, to enjoy the joy of sharing.
But there were those children, radiating joy, sharing the joy
and peace with their mother because she had the love to give
until it hurts. You see, this is where love begins--at home
in the family.
So, as the example of this family shows, God will never
forget us, and there is something you and I can always do. We
can keep the joy of loving Jesus in our heart and share that
joy with all we come in contact with. Let us make that one
point, that no child will be unwanted, unloved, uncared for
or killed and thrown away. And give until it hurts--with a
smile.
As you know, we have a number of homes here in the United
States where people need tender love and care. This is the
joy of sharing. Come and share. We have the young people
suffering with AIDS. They need that tender love and care. But
such beautiful smiles--I've never yet seen a young man or
anybody die displeased or angry or frightened. They're merely
going home to God. Such a beautiful smile always. So let us
pray that we'll have the gift of sharing the joy with others
and loving until it hurts.
Also I talk so much about giving with a smile that once a
professor from the United States asked me, ``Are you
married?'' And I said yes. And I find it sometimes very
difficult to smile at my spouse, Jesus, because he can be
very demanding sometimes. (Laughter.) This is really
something true, and there is where love comes, when it is
demanding and yet we can give it with joy. One of the most
demanding things for me is traveling everywhere and
publicity. I have said to Jesus that, if I don't go to heaven
for anything else, I will be going to heaven for all the
traveling, with all the publicity, because it has purified me
and sacrificed me and made me really ready to go home to God.
(Laughter.)
If we remember that God loves us and that we can love
others as he loves us, then America can become the sign of
peace for the whole world, the sign of joy from where a sign
of care for the weakest and the weak, the unborn child, must
go out to the world. If you become a burning light of justice
and peace in the world, then really you will be true to what
the founders of this country stood for. This is to love one
another as God loves each one of us. And where does this love
begin? In our own home. How does it begin? By praying
together.
Pray for us that we continue God's work with great love.
The sisters, the brothers, and the fathers, lay missionaries
of charity and co-workers, we are all one heart full of love,
that we may bring a joy of loving everywhere we go.
And my prayer for you is to love one anther, for this peace
and joy in the family, that you may grow in holiness.
Holiness is not the luxury of the few. It is a simple duty
for you and for me. Because Jesus has very clearly said, ``Be
ye holy as the Father in heaven is holy.'' So let us pray for
each other that we grow in love for each other and through
this love become holy as Jesus wants us to be, for he died
out of love for us.
One day I met a lady who was dying of cancer in a most
terrible condition, and I told her--I said, ``You know, this
terrible pain is only the kiss of Jesus, a sign that have you
come so close to Jesus on the cross that he can kiss you.''
And she joined her hands together and said, ``Mother Teresa,
please tell Jesus to stop kissing me.'' (Laughter.)
So pray for us that we continue God's work with great love,
and I will pray for you, for all your families. And also I
want to thank the families who have been so generous in
giving their daughters to us to consecrate their life to
Jesus by the vow of poverty, chastity, obedience, and by
giving wholeheartedly through service to the poorest of the
poor. This is our fourth vow in our congregation, and we have
a novitiate in San Francisco where we have many beautiful
novices who are wanting to give their whole life to Jesus in
the service of the poorest of the poor.
So once more I thank you for giving your children to God.
And pray for us that we continue God's work with great love.
God bless you all. (Applause.)
Sen. Heflin. Amen. Mother Teresa, you are truly a pencil in
God's hand.
Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the co-chairman of the
Senate Breakfast Group, will now introduce the President.
Senator Steven. (Applause.)
Sen. Ted Stevens. Mr. President, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Vice
President, Mrs. Gore, and those who have come to be united in
prayer. You know, when the Senate breakfast comes to a close,
we stand around tables, and they're just like yours now, and
hold the hand of the Senator on either side of us, and we are
truly united in prayer. You need that. Why don't you stand
up? And we will do the same thing right now. Let us join
together in silent prayer not only for the President and the
Vice President and their families and Mother Teresa, but all
who have worked so hard to make this international prayer
breakfast such a success this year. Let's just have a silent
prayer for a few moments.
(Pause for silent prayer.)
And now it is my great privilege and high honor to
introduce to you William Jefferson Clinton, the President of
the United States. (Applause.)
President Clinton. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Senator Stevens. Ladies and gentlemen,
you have to forgive me. My voice has not quite returned.
The Vice President said earlier that being on the same
program with Mother Teresa reminded him of the basketball
player who scored one point in a game where Michael Jordan
scored 68, and then he said for the rest of his life, ``Well,
we scored 69 points together.'' I feel like the guy who comes
in with five seconds lefts to go, where the team's gotten a
40-point lead and all I have to do is hold the ball until the
buzzer sounds. (Laughter, applause.)
First of all, I thank you, Mother Teresa, for your moving
words and, more importantly, for the lifetime of commitment,
for you have truly lived by what you say, something we would
all do well to emulate, and I thank you for that. (Applause.)
Like all of you, I was so moved by the profession of faith
and the experiences of Mother Teresa that almost anything
that any of us could say would be anti-climactic. However, I
would like to make these points as briefly as I can, for we
come here to pray for those in authority, authority given by
the people of the United States under our Constitution and
laws, for those with the responsibility and the opportunity
of making decisions every day which affect all of us.
First I say that this prayer breakfast is an important time
to reaffirm that in this nation where we have freedom of
religion, we need not seek freedom from religion. The genius
of the book which I have--(applause)--the genius of the book
which I have promoted almost shamelessly for the last several
months, ``The Culture of Disbelief,'' by Professor Stephen
Carter, is that very point, that we should all seek to know
and to do God's will, even when we differ.
Second, if we really seek to do that, it requires certain
personal characteristics that very frankly all of us in this
room who have ever been elected to anything have abandoned
from time to time, including me. It requires, first, that we
be humble, that we know that even as we seek to do God's
will, we remember what President Lincoln said, ``The Almighty
has his own purposes, and we are not capable of fully knowing
them.''
It requires, second, that we be honest and that we be fair.
Sometimes I think the commandment we most like to overlook in
this city is thou shalt not bear false witness.
Third, it requires that we give our bitterness and our
resentments up. I was thinking of this when Mother Teresa
told the story of the person who died in her arms, saying
simply, ``Thank you''--not ``I'm cold, I'm hungry,'' a simple
thank you--someone with more cause to be resentful, more
cause to be bitter, more cause to be angry than anyone in
this room could ever be bitter or angry or resentful because
of what one of us has said or done to the other and still
dying with a simple ``thank you.''
Somehow we all have to give up our resentments. We have to
find the courage and the faith to forgive ourselves and to
forgive our foes. And if we cannot, we will surely fail.
And finally, that which will permit us to do what Mother
Teresa has done: to focus every day on other people. If
Christ said we would all be judged by how we treated the
least of these--the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the
strangers, the imprisoned--how can we meet that test in a
town where we all spend so much time obsessed with ourselves
and how we stand on the totem pole and how we look in the
morning paper? Five years from now it will be nothing. Five
hundred years from now the papers will be dust. And all that
will endure is the strength and the integrity and the beauty
of what we felt and what we did.
Today, this headline is in our paper: ``Nineteen Children
Found Amid Squalor in Chicago Apartment''. Not in Calcutta,
but in Chicago. Nineteen children living amid human waste and
cockroaches, fighting a dog for food. I say to you, we will
always have our differences, we will never know the whole
truth, of course that this true. But hopefully we have
learned today again that we must seek to know the will of God
and live by it, that to do it we have to give up our
bitterness and resentment, that we have to learn to forgive
ourselves and one another and that we have to fight, as hard
as it is, to be honest and fair. And if we can be focused on
others and not ourselves, realizing that we did not one whit
of power from the Constitution and laws from the framers to
do anything for ourselves. It all comes from the purpose of
helping others. Then perhaps we can do honor to the faiths
and to the God who brought us all here today.
Thank you, and God bless you. (Applause.)
Sen. Heflin. Amen, amen, amen. This has been a great
experience. It's one of the most wonderful prayer breakfasts
that we've ever had. And now, Wintley Phipps will sing one of
our favorite hymns: ``How Great Thou Art.'' A Grammy award
nominee and accomplished gospel singer, Wintley Phipps writes
music and sings as a way of doing something beautiful for
God. He once said, ``I hope when people listen to my music,
they sense a life that is committed. The purpose of music is
to glorify God. After all, he is the one who gives us the
song.''
After the first verse of How Great Thou Art, the Tuskagee
choir will sing the second verse, and then we will have
audience participation. We ask you on the third verse to
stand and join in singing the third verse. And I hope that
the rafters of this hotel will be moved. You will find the
words of How Great Thou Art printed in your program.
Mr. Wintley Phipps. The greatness of a nation is it's
voluntary faith. God is great. Amen? God is great.
[Mr. Phipps sang ``How Great Thou Art'' with the choir and
audience participation.] (Applause.)
Sen. Heflin. Hallelujah! One of the most exciting things to
happen over the last four years has been the quiet, behind-
the-scenes partnership between college student leaders and
political, business, and community leaders to mobilize the
spiritual resources of our nation's youth. My colleague,
Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico, along with former Vice
President Dan Quayle, has led this movement by hosting a
National Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values and
Leadership. This past year Vice President and Mrs. Gore has
joined Senator Domenici and many of my colleagues to continue
this fruitful time of interaction with young people.
To bring our closing prayer, I'm pleased to introduce
Midshipman Anthony Bilotti of California, who is in his
second year at the United States Naval Academy.
Mr. Bilotti. (Applause.)
Midshipman Anthony Bilotti. President Clinton, Mother
Teresa, thank you very much for your inspirational words
which I'm sure have touched us all.
On behalf of thousands of students across America, I'd like
to thank the Vice President, Members of Congress and other
national leaders for demonstrating a way to come together to
learn about the precepts of Christ and about caring for
others. After accepting an invitation for a gathering such as
this one here this morning and hearing the Vice President and
others discuss issues that count most in life, I along with
many other young people across America are making significant
changes in our priorities.
At this time I ask you to please join me in prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to live in a
country where the leaders are willing and able to discuss
spiritual as well as material values. Lord, we thank you for
bringing us here today on such a great occasion. We pray that
you give our national leaders the strength, courage and
wisdom to make the difficult decisions that face our
turbulent society on the domestic scale as well as in the
world wide arena. Help us, dear God, to practice what we have
heard here this morning. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Sen. Heflin. Please, continue to stand at your table while
the President and Vice President leave with the heads of
state.
This concludes our program this morning, but I'd like to
leave you with a quote from Philip Brooks, who once said,
``Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger people. Do
not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers
equal to your tasks.'' As we leave this morning, may we leave
stronger, with a sense of renewed energy and spirituality to
perform the tasks that await us and to face the problems that
lie ahead.
God bless each and every one of you.
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