QUOTE OF THE DAY
THE PRESIDENT at Hispanic Prayer Breakfast
Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
Washington, D.C.
QUOTE
THE PRESIDENT: Gracias, y siéntese. (Laughter.) Thank you for the warm welcome. It's an honor to be here at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. Thanks for inviting me back. I understand this, like you understand this: America is founded on los valores de fe y familia. (Applause.) These are the values at the heart of the Hispanic American community. These are the values that enrich our nation. And I am grateful.
Your good works and reverence bring compassion to our country, and more importantly, honor to the Almighty. This morning we come together to pray, to pray for God's help as we serve our fellow citizens. Danny, thank you very much for the invitation and the introduction. I'm proud to be with a lot of the faith leaders from around our country. I saw my friend Luis Cortés. It's good to see you again, Luis. I want to thank John von Seggern, who is the Chairman of the Prayer Breakfast.
I want to thank the members of the Congress who are here -- Nancy Pelosi, Chris Cannon, Hilda Solis, Rahm Emanuel, Luis Fortuno. I want to thank you all for serving our country, and thank you for setting aside politics to come and honor the Almighty through prayer.
It's good to see my old buddy, former member of the Cabinet, Ridge. Tom Ridge is with us.
Many in the Hispanic community understand that by serving the least of -- nuestros hermanos y hermanas -- that we're serving a cause greater than ourselves. And by doing so, we're helping all citizens have an opportunity to realize their dreams here in America.
Finally, we see the love of neighbor in tens of thousands of Hispanics who serve America and the cause of freedom. One of these was an immigrant from Mexico named Rafael Peralta. The day after Rafael got his green card, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Think about that. While serving in Iraq, this good sergeant wrote a letter to his younger brother. He said, "Be proud of being an American. Our father came to this country, became a citizen because it was the right place for our family to be." Shortly after writing that letter, Sergeant Peralta used his own body to cover a grenade an enemy soldier had rolled into a roomful of Marines. This prayer breakfast, we remember the sacrifices of honorable and good folks like Sergeant Peralta, who have shown their love of neighbor by giving their life for freedom.
One of the most powerful aspects of being the President is to know that millions of people pray for me and Laura. People that I'll never have a chance -- (applause.) Think about a country where millions of people of all faiths, people whom I'll never have a chance to look face-to-face with and say, thank you, take time to pray. It really is the strength of America, isn't it? Through prayer we ask that our hearts be aligned with God's. Through prayer we ask that we may be given the strength to do what's right and to help those in need.
UNQUOTE
Photo of the Day
President George W. Bush delivers remarks at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Thursday, June 16, 2005. "In America, people of faith have no corner on compassion, but people of faith need compassion to be true to the call to "Ame al projimo como a sí mismo," love your neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself. That's a universal call," said the President
