It’s hard to imagine there’s much of a public appetite for campaign commercials right now. We’re five months removed from the last Election Day, and we’re 19 months from the next one. For that matter, we’re eight months from the Iowa caucuses and five months from the first debate. It’s way too early for TV ads, right?

Apparently not. The fact that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) ran campaign ads over the weekend is itself a noteworthy development for the cycle, given that these are the first spots of the year, but even more striking is who the Texas Republican is targeting and how. Here’s the script of Cruz’s new ad, named “Blessing.”

“Were it not for the transformative love of Jesus Christ, I would have been raised by a single mom without my father in the household. God’s blessing has been on America, from the very beginning of this nation. Over and over again, when we faced impossible odds, the American people rose to the challenge. This is our fight, and that is why I’m running for president of the United States.”

Three seconds into the spot, viewers see the Cruz family praying. Twelve seconds into the ad, viewers see some other children praying. Twenty seconds in, viewers see yet another person praying.