Senate Chaplain Barry Black opened up the chamber on Monday afternoon with a powerful prayer about Sen. John McCain.

With Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, standing beside him before she presided over the Senate, Black thanked God for McCain and mentioned his favorite book, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

The prayer:

Eternal Lord God, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations, providing us with every good and splendid gift.

Today, we thank you for the gift of Senator John Sidney McCain. We are grateful for his sacrificial willingness to take the road less traveled, to rise above partisanship, to provide a profile in courage, and to give his life in service to you and country.

[Special Coverage: Sen. John McCain, 1936-2018]

Lord, we praise you for his awareness that humanity is wrapped in a blanket of mutuality so we should not ask for Whom the Bell Tolls.

Comfort his beloved Cindy and all his loved ones. Bring solace to the multitudes who mourn his death. May his consequential patriotic and heroic legacy challenge us all to leave the world better than we found it.

We pray in your sovereign name, Amen.

Watch: ‘In Memoriam’ McCain Photo Hung at National Portrait Gallery