Wounded Rep. Scalise returns to Capitol Hill, speaking of faith, miracles and the power of prayer

You can watch the moving video above.

From The Washington Post: 

For the past 15 weeks, every gathering of House Republican leaders has had one thing in common: an empty chair, marking the absence of Majority Whip Steve Scalise.

It was a sign of respect for the boisterous Louisianian and a reminder of the quiet anguish that has beset Capitol Hill since a lone gunman, targeting GOP lawmakers practicing in Virginia for a charity baseball game, wounded Scalise and four others on June 14.

That heartache evaporated Thursday in the great roar that greeted Scalise as he made a surprise return to a packed House chamber and addressed his colleagues for the first time since the shooting.

“I’m definitely a living example that miracles really do happen,” Scalise said.

The rifle rounds fired by James T. Hodgkinson, a 66-year-old unemployed Illinois home inspector who opposed President Trump, did grievous damage to Scalise. As he played second base, one bullet entered his hip and traveled across his body, tearing apart muscle and bone and causing so much blood loss that doctors would later describe Scalise as being at “imminent risk of death” when he arrived in their care.

Several surgeries, at least one serious infection and weeks of grueling inpatient recovery followed, prompting frequent speculation in the hallways of the Capitol about when — or perhaps if — Scalise would return to the demanding job of chief GOP vote-counter.

Read on. 

The New York Times noted: 

A man of deep Christian faith, Mr. Scalise repeatedly thanked God for his recovery, and he spoke of how he prayed during the chaotic, terrifying moments after the gunman had wounded him.

“When I was laying on the ground one of the things I prayed for was that David and Crystal would be successful in carrying out their duties,” Mr. Scalise said, adding, “When I was laying there not long after the first shots were fired, I could hear a different-caliber weapon. And that told me that they had immediately engaged the shooter.”

And there was this, on the power of prayer:

“When I was laying out on that ball field, the first thing I did once I was down and I couldn’t do anything anymore, I just started to pray,” the congressman said. “I prayed for very specific things, and I will tell you pretty much every one of those prayers was answered — and they were some pretty challenging prayers.”

God “really did deliver for me and my family, and it just gives you that renewed faith in understanding that the power of prayer is just something that you cannot underestimate,” Scalise declared, to thunderous applause.

Scalise, you’ll recall, was prayed for at his home parish, St. Catherine of Siena, in Metairie, LA in the days following the shooting. Now they can offer prayers of thanksgiving, along with fervent petitions for his continued healing.