Just a Few Thoughts

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits [Mt 7:15-16].

Portland “Protesters” 

In Portland a man who apparently supported the president was murdered by an unknown assailant. Afterwards, the crowd of so-called protesters, made up largely of Black Lives Matter and Antifa Marxists radicals, were told by one of their leaders with a megaphone that, "I just got word, the person who died was a Patriot Prayer person...He was a f***ing Nazi. Our community held its own and took out the trash. I'm not going to shed any tears over a Nazi." The crown of Biden voters cheered. Really, do you think they’ll vote for the president?

These words, of course, were spoken by a woman who has no idea what the Nazis -- the National Socialist German Workers Party -- believed. Indeed, it's unlikely she even knows what she, as a Marxist, is supposed to believe. Her comments were echoed the following day in a video by one of the leaders of Black Lives Matter who told his followers: "I'm at a point where I'm ready to put the police in the f***ing grave! I'm at the point where I want to burn the White House down! I want to take it to the senators! I want to take it to the Congress!"

If you've been one of those passive supporters of BLM and Antifa, assuming they're simply peaceful protesters, I trust you've been disabused of that notion. There's a sad irony here. The rioters are ignorant, rootless young people, and as Russell Kirk wrote years ago, "The rootless are always violent, and the lonely and bored find riot a welcome diversion." 

Eventually, though, and this always happens in this country, the sanest of a nation's citizenry will refuse to accept the continued violence and destruction, and demand a response. Such a response, designed to stop senseless violence, will likely involve an acceptable level of directed, defensive violence. Violence always begets violence.

Far Left Democrats and Jews.

I'd call them anti-Semites, but I doubt if that label would bother too many of them, just as some seem to take pride in being called anti-Israel. It's really been an amazing transformation, watching the Democrat Party move so quickly from supporter of Israel and friend of the Jews to the party of the anti-Israel far left. Like the Islamists of al-Qaeda and Isis, many members of the far left wing of the party simply hate Jews. Sadly, these views seem to be moving to the party's so-called mainstream.

It's really quite disturbing, even for someone like me who has no ties to Israel. It's disturbing because it should be obvious whom we should support in the Middle East. The Muslim nations surrounding Israel are either authoritarian theocracies or just corrupt dictatorships; and most despise the United States. With only a few exceptions, they also teach their children anti-Jewish hatred, revenge, and extreme violence.

Do you support these nations, or do you support Israel, the only true representative democracy in the Middle East? Surrounded by its enemies, Israel must defend itself constantly from an insane degree of aggression. It's the kind of aggression that celebrates when Islamist terrorists murder a young Israeli family, stabbing them to death as they sleep. It's the kind of aggression that sends unguided rockets to strike random targets in Israeli cities and towns. Yes, Israel responds. Israel always responds. The nation must respond because its survival demands it and its sane citizens demand it. Just last week, Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon fired on Israeli troops on the border. This prompted Israel to send attack helicopters and other aircraft to strike Hezbollah targets. This was the first raid of its kind by Israel since the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Violence begets violence.

Black Lives Matter and Slavery.

Black Lives Matter protesters claim to be concerned about racial injustice and the legacy of slavery in the United States. But have you ever heard them protest the slavery that still exists in Africa today? Of course not. BLM, you see, really has little interest in the lives of black people, whether Americans or Africans. As a Marxist movement, it is concerned only with rewriting the history of the United States, undermining the nuclear family and religious values, and destroying our form of representative government. Injustice against blacks, which certainly exists but is far from "systemic," simply provides a handy excuse to take to the streets so they can continue their destructive work.

Slavery does exist today, and in some nations on a rather large scale. In the West African nation of Mauritania, for example, it is estimated that 20% of the population is enslaved; that is, they are "owned" by others who can do with them as they please. In fact, ownership of slaves in that country often passes from father to son. Given the Qur'an's rather explicit support for slavery, it's no wonder there's no Islamic abolitionist movement. And the left, Including Black Lives Matter, does not dare to criticize Islam. Christianity and Judaism are far safer targets.

Kamala Harris and Religion.

Senator Harris has made a career of attacking the religious values of her political opponents and others she hopes to  destroy in the public square. Her attacks on Catholics have been especially virulent. Two years ago she tried to block the nomination of a federal judge, Brian Buescher, because he was a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal and charitable organization. Such an attack, of course, violates the Constitution's prohibition of religious tests:

"...no religious test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." [Article VI, Clause 3]

The senator also smeared current Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh, a Catholic, during his confirmation hearings.

Interestingly, though, when Joe Biden was accused of sexual assault last year, Senator Harris said this of Biden's accusers: "I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it." And now, although she never retracted those comments, she's Joe's running mate. Do you get the feeling she might be a complete opportunist, lacking any moral or philosophical foundation?

Harris has repeatedly attacked pro-life advocates and led the fight to keep abortion legal right up to the time of birth. As the Attorney General of California, she tried to inflict pregnancy centers with regulations really designed to close their doors. Taken to court, she lost her case thanks to the U. S. Supreme Court. She also co-sponsored the so-called "Equality Act" that would not allow Catholic hospitals to be Catholic by destroying rights of conscience and free speech, and even the freedom to follow one’s religious values. Her support for Planned Parenthood, gay marriage, and transgendered rights, plus her denial of school choice, especially for the poor, has put the Catholic Church in her cross-hairs. 

Nancy Pelosi on Children.

Every so often -- and these days it's far too often -- I read something that makes me want to scream nasty words. Fortunately, Diane's presence softens me and (usually) forces me to think twice before letting the neighbors know how I feel. The words of Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), inexplicably the current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative, are the most recent cause of my loss of verbal control. Here's what she said:

"My whole purpose in politics, the three most important issues facing the Congress: our children, our children, our children...that's the hill I fight on."

Yes, hearing these words from Nancy Pelosi is truly scream-inducing. She cares so much for "the children" that during her 33 years in Congress she has overseen the slaughter of tens of millions of unborn children. I'm sorry, Nancy, but the hill you fight on is indeed a huge hill, one made up of the dismembered bodies of more than 60 million American children. The hypocrisy of this woman, who constantly claims to be a "devout Catholic," is beyond comprehension.

How wonderful that this week Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the president of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy for Life, demanded that Catholic politicians "must stop promoting anti-life laws." He went on to say that "it is a great error" for Catholic legislators "to promote legislation favoring abortion or euthanasia." Encouraging the Catholic faithful to correct their errant political leaders, he said, "The Church has a great responsibility to help its members, first of all, to convert to the Gospel of life, to the beauty of life. It is important that we avoid the dirty work of death and carry out the beautiful work of life."

One can only pray and hope that our Catholic politicians, including Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, will listen and convert.

So You Wanna Be A Socialist?

A few years ago, while speaking with a young person who was entering her senior year at a large state university, I suggested that the average high-school graduate from say, 1920 to 1960, was far better educated than the average college graduate today. She responded by saying that, in effect, I was insane: "That's crazy! You really can't believe that..." And so I asked this person a few seemingly simple questions, the kind that a high-school graduate should be able to answer. I began with a series of questions on US history, very basic questions, nothing complex:

• In what year was the Declaration of Independence written? Who was its primary author? From what nation did its signers seek independence? Who was the leader of that nation? What war resulted?
• Who were the first three presidents of the United States?
• The War of 1812 was between the United States and what other nation? 
• During what years did our nation engage in the Civil War? Who was president during those years? Name two leading generals, one from each side?
• In what war did the United States engage in 1898? 
• When did the first World War take place? Name at least two nations on each side. Did the United States take part? Who was our president during this war?
• Name two nations that were among the enemies of the United States during World War Two. What event led to our active involvement in this conflict? 

By this time it became apparent that our soon-to-be college graduate -- a psychology major -- was at an embarrassing loss because her only correct answer was the naming of Abraham Lincoln as president during the Civil War. Interestingly, she could not tell me when the Civil War took place. Her guess? "Around 1900." I won't continue the embarrassment by repeating some of her other answers. I suspect she knew even less about world history.

As her historical ignorance became apparent she objected that my questions all demanded knowledge of meaningless facts, "You know, dates, names, stuff like that...Not really important things like concepts or ideas."

I responded by saying that she was right about the importance of ideas and concepts. But I also suggested that to understand those concepts and ideas we must be able to place them in their proper context, the context of time and place, and to connect them to the people who originated and embraced them. After all, that's what history is. If we are unable to do this, to understand the sources and the results of ideas, how can we evaluate their efficacy? Quite simply, if we don't understand history we will quite likely continue to repeat the mistakes of the past. Of course, George Santayana, a man as complex as the times in which he lived, stated this famously when he wrote: 

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." 

This encounter, admittedly with a single representative of her generation and, I suppose, anecdotal in the extreme, came to mind when I read that 7 in 10 millennials would vote for a socialist. To anyone who understands the nature of socialism, this might seem unbelievable. But not to me. I can think of only two reasons to be a socialist: a desire for power or invincible ignorance.

For the ideologue, socialism becomes a means to achieve power over others, over many others. And to ignorant snowflakes, who rely more on emotion than intellect, socialism sure sounds good, especially if its history can be ignored. That is, of course, the problem. When we examine the history of socialism we find it inevitably leads to massive corruption, slavery, and death. Socialism always rejects freedom.

During the past 100 years our world has come face to face with socialism in its two forms: the national socialism of Hitler's Germany and the international socialism of communism as manifested by Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Castro, and a host of others. Although often considered opposites, at the extremes of right and left, there's really little difference between the two.

Jesus actually warned us of these evils and provided a key to recognizing them when, in His "Sermon on the Mount," he said:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them" [Mt 7:15-16].

And the fruits of Nazis and communists are remarkably similar: the murder of tens of millions of innocents and the enslavement of hundreds of millions more. Socialism in all its forms places the good of the state -- perhaps, more accurately, the good of those who wield the power of the state -- above all else. Those pesky values we hold dear -- freedom, truth, faith, justice, family, civilization, etc. -- become expendable, sacrificial victims offered to the false gods of socialism.

Socialism is hostile to life and faith. It simply cannot accept Almighty God, the Word, as the supreme good and will always make individual life subservient to the state. Just consider the leftists running for president today. All appear to be farther to the left than President Obama, and none are pro-life.

Our God clearly places the decision before us:

"See, I have set before you life and good, death and evil...Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, obeying His voice, and holding fast to Him" [Dt 30:15,19-20].

How to educate a millennial, and whatever a member of the next generation is called? I haven't a clue. They certainly won't receive a proper education at a public high school or by attending one of our colleges or universities. Most of these institutions abandoned education decades ago in favor of indoctrination and job or professional training. I'd suggest  encouraging your favorite millennial to read books such as Anthony Esolen's The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization, but in these days of 140-character tweets, reading a book might be asking too much.

Maybe we're simply doomed as a civilization, and some future generation will have to pick up the pieces and begin anew, assuming our merciful God, the Lord of History, doesn't end it all before then.

We certainly live in interesting times. All we can do is preach the Word, follow and live the Way, pray for civilizational healing, and keep the Faith.

Persecution of Christians: Some Links

After posting my earlier comments on the rise of chaos in the world, I thought my readers might find a few related articles of interest. Here are the links:

US Enables Christian Persecution

Islamist - Nazi Connection

Christianity Finished in Iraq

Pope Francis: Trust in God Overcomes Worldly Fears

...all are interesting and relevant reads.

And here's a world map showing the nations in which the persecution of Christians is greatest:

For more information go to: Open Doors

God's peace.

Blessed Titus Brandsma, Martyr at Dachau

Blessed Titus Brandsma at Dachau

On several previous occasions I have mentioned the visit I made to the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau as a child, just a few years after World War II. That visit had a tremendous impact on me and played a significant role in the formation of my worldview. Although Catholic priests and nuns were imprisoned and killed in all of the Nazi camps, I'm pretty sure Dachau held the largest contingent. Today the Church celebrates one of these, Blessed Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Catholic priest of the Carmelite Order, who was murdered at Dachau in 1942. Considered a martyr by the Church, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Today, July 27, is his feast day.

Fr. Brandsma was a remarkable man, a professor of philosophy, one of the founders of a major Catholic university in the Netherlands, a journalist, and a staunch and outspoken enemy of the Nazis. Perhaps his most courageous act, and likely the one that resulted in his arrest and subsequent death, was his authorship of a pastoral letter by the Dutch bishops which was read in every parish in the country. In this letter, he condemned the vicious anti-Jewish actions of the Nazi occupiers, especially the first deportation of Jews to camps throughout Europe. He also made it clear to Dutch Catholics that the Nazi ideology was completely incompatible with the Catholic faith and the teachings of the Church. As a result he was arrested and ultimately sent to his death at Dachau. Interestingly, the first 3,000 Dutch Jews deported by the Nazis were all converts to Catholicism. And while the Nazis likely considered this a strong message to Dutch Catholics, it ended up having an effect opposite to that intended.

Fr. Brandsma spent very little time in Dachau. He arrived in June 1942 and was given a lethal injection by an SS doctor on July 26 of that same year. He was 61 years old. With Christlike forgiveness, Father Brandsma gave this doctor a rosary.

The following is a letter written by Fr. Brandsma (Inmate #30492) from Dachau on June 12, 1942.

Dear Brother-in-law and Sister,

If until now I wrote to the Prior of Nijmegen, now it is better to write to you. You forward the letter to the Prior. He will take care for further expedition and also for the answer in your name. The answer must be written in German. No abbreviations that are not easily understandable. If not, the letter is not passed on. I have been allowed to read the letter the Prior sent to Kleve but not to keep it, as it was in Dutch.

Many thanks for all the kind words, from yourselves, the Prior and all the others. I am all right. One has to adapt oneself once more to new circumstances and with the help of God, I'll succeed here also. Our dear Lord will also continue helping. I may write once a month only. This is now for me the first occasion. Best greetings to all. I was pleased to receive information about the number of new novices, the new priests, the results of Oss and Oldenzaal, the health of Hubert, Cyprian, Vitalis and the other patients. Best wishes for a good recovery of Fr. Subprior. If one wishes, one can send me each month 40 Marks. The Prior will gladly look after that. As Henry wrote, Kaeter the pastor has been transferred to Ribergen. Congratulate him for me. Have any other pastors whom I know been transferred? I'm still waiting for news from Akke Kramer regarding his brother John.

Many greetings to the parish priest and curates at Bolsward, to Father Provincial and all the Confreres. Let us remain united, under the protection of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Not too much worrying about me.

In Christ yours

His humility is evident as is his concern for others who are obviously living in much better conditions than he. We can only hope and pray that we will also possess such courage and humility should we be placed in a similar position...and believe me, brothers and sisters, this is not beyond the realm of possibility.

Pax et bonum...

The Trial, Entertainment, Abortion

I like to think of those who read this blog as a select group, not representative of the population as a whole. And it is through this medium that I can reinforce their sense of superiority, causing them to feel even more highfalutin as they mutter, "I'm sure glad I'm not as dumb as the guy who writes this blog." Of course, as I've discovered, all kinds of people stop by and read the occasional post and many, based on their comments to me, will likely find this particular post insulting. But that's okay. If they drop any nasty comments on me, I'll just follow my usual protocol and delete them.

You see, I can keep quiet no longer. What's got me all riled up is the never-ending media show called the Casey Anthony murder trial, a show taking place in nearby Orlando, Florida. 

Let me begin by saying I have not watched even a single minute of the trial and so I have absolutely no opinion regarding this woman's guilt or innocence. Of course I'm not a very big TV viewer to begin with and, outside of college football season, about all I watch are a few news shows, Mystery and Antiques Roadshow on PBS, and some of the military and "historical" documentaries that air on that collection of look-alike cable networks. I also secretly watch American Pickers but thanks to the DVR I can keep this embarrassing fact from dear Diane.

The idea of gluing myself to the TV screen and spending my days, this precious gift of time, watching some trial in which I have absolutely no interest...well, I simply cannot imagine doing so. But apparently millions of Americans think otherwise. Here in Florida, the Orlando stations have preempted much of their regular daytime programming so they can air the trial in full, Monday through Saturday. (And I just heard on the news, the court will be in session tomorrow, Sunday, for closing arguments.) These stations wouldn't do this unless they believed it would attract a larger audience than their usual inane daytime fare. I have no idea how much airtime the trial receives elsewhere, but down here large numbers of people have become addicted to it. I find it very disturbing that so many are completely absorbed by this exposition of the obviously gruesome and prurient facts and opinions surrounding the death of this little girl. There's something wrong here. No, there's something more than wrong here; there's something disturbingly evil about it all.

If you're one of those people, and you believe I have insulted you, don't expect an apology because you won't get one. I really don't care what you think. As one woman asked me when I expressed disinterest in the case, "Don't you care about this woman receiving justice for murdering her little girl?" My response: "If she's found guilty by the jury, she'll receive man's justice, but her true guilt or innocence will be judged later. And I don't believe you and others who watch this trial do so out of an overriding concern for justice. That's not a reason; that's an excuse. Your watching will have no effect on its outcome. You watch it for the same reason you watch soap operas or Law and Order or Wheel of Fortune...to be entertained, to be titillated." (I suspect our relationship might have suffered a bit as a result of my comments.)

The millions of trial watchers are driven by the same desire that drives the people who gather outside the courthouse early every morning, hoping to grab one of the few seats available to the public. As you might expect there have even been physical altercations as people jockey for position in line. Yes, I'm sure they're all consumed by a desire to witness justice being served.

Interestingly, many of these same folks who could relate every detail about the trial don't have a clue about what's happening in the Middle East, in Libya, in Mexico, or even in Washington, D.C., events that will ultimately have a far greater impact on their lives than this one murder trial in Florida. Like the so-called "reality" shows that now dominate almost every network's schedule, this trial is just another example of today's version of "bread and circuses" by which the people are distracted from the true reality of what's happening in our nation and our world.

But even more worrisome, such distractions lead people away from the Way, the Truth and the Life. We have so little time on this earth as we struggle along the path to salvation we must be careful about how we spend it. I'm certainly aware that life is not all struggle and hardship and that there are many worthwhile and enjoyable things on which we can devote our increasingly rare leisure time. But why would any believing Christian waste so much of that time being titillated by the trial of a young mother accused of murdering her little girl? This is not something that should monopolize our attention. 

Like everyone, I am saddened by this child's senseless death, but let's put it into perspective. I am far more saddened by the 50 million American babies who have been slaughtered by abortion since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. If you are truly concerned about justice, why don't you do something about that?

As long as I'm on this subject, let me express my amazement at some of the attitudes I encounter whenever I express my pro-life beliefs. I am especially amazed that so many Jews have no problem with abortion. Given the history of abortion in the 20th century, if I were a Jew I'd be fanatically pro-life. I've included below a few paragraphs on the anti-Semitic origins of abortion in pre-war Germany. The following is excerpted from a paper by Professor John Hunt, PhD, delivered at the June 2001 annual meeting of the Association for Interdisciplinary Research in Values and Social Change:

Hence, in 1933, in their first year of power, the Nazis passed a law forbidding abortion to Germans, increasing the penalties as they had been before Weimar liberalization. The Nazis wanted to increase the birthrate so as to have soldiers for their military. In March 1934, however, the Hereditary Health Court in Hamburg rendered a judgment which stated that abortion on grounds of racial health was not an offense. In its decision, it referred to a Supreme Court decision during the Weimar democracy seven years earlier, allowing the procedure for "medical necessities." In June 1935 the sterilization law was also amended to allow abortions on eugenic grounds and these abortions had to be followed by sterilizations, dependent -- technically -- on the woman's consent. Thus, sterilization, eugenics and abortion all come together.

For the first time in German history, abortion was legal. But one cannot ignore the roots reaching back almost fifteen years to the beginning of the Weimar democracy, during which time arguments had been made that unborn life was not that important so was therefore expendable. Despite the racial theories behind this decision there were some non-Nazis who approved because of the allowing of choice. In 1938 the government announced that Jews could have abortions at any time, since this could only benefit the German people. The Jews, as well as "unfit" Germans, had a "choice" most Germans did not. This meant that the Nazis saw abortion as a very useful weapon against undesirables; e.g. as an act of elimination.

During World War II the Nazis used sterilizations and abortions (also birth control and even the promotion of homosexuality) extensively in eastern Europe to carry out their eugenics policies. The specific aim was to keep eastern females available for slave labor while at the same time weakening eastern nations by hampering the reproduction of Slavic peoples. Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, a chief architect of the Holocaust, and personal friend of Adolf Hitler, once stated that the tragedy of abortion for German women was that afterwards women often could not have children. Not in the loss of an "individual life," as he put it. The Nazis used the word "parent" to describe pregnant women and the fathers of the unborn and the word "child" to describe the unborn themselves. Nazis forbade abortion in order to preserve German unborn but allowed, even encouraged, the destruction of non-German unborn.

You can read Dr. Hunt's paper here: "The Abortion and Eugenics Policies of Nazi Germany"

Hitler opposed abortion only for "pure blood" Aryan women, while he allowed and even encouraged it for others, those the Nazis considered undesirables. In an order to the SS, SD, and police on June 9, 1943, Reichskommisar Kaltenbrunner directed: "In the case of eastern female workers, pregnancy may be interrupted if desired." They first performed a kind of "racial exam" and then, "If a racially valuable result is to be expected, the abortion is to be denied . . . if not valuable, the abortion is to be granted."

Not many people realize that after the war, the War Crimes Tribunal indicted ten Nazi leaders for "encouraging and compelling abortion," which it considered a "crime against humanity." An interesting modern wrinkle on all this relates to IG Farben, the huge German manufacturer that during the war produced the poison gas, Zyklon-B, the gas used in the Nazi extermination camps. On July 29, 1948, sentences for mass murder and slavery were handed down at the Nuremberg trials to twelve Farben executives. The longest sentence, for seven years, was given to Dr. Fritz ter Meer, a top executive and scientist on the Farben managing board. After the war, IG Farben was divided up into a number of smaller companies. A French subsidiary of Hoechst AG, one of these spin-offs, is the manufacturer of the so-called "morning after" abortion pill, RU-486. So glad the family business continues to thrive. Plus ca change...  

Zyklon-B canisters at the Majdanek Nazi concentration camp near Lublin, Poland

Of course, I am equally amazed when I encounter an African-American who supports abortion. Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was an unapologetic believer in eugenics and worked hard to encourage abortion, contraception and sterilization among the "unfit" races, a plan she believed would lead to the "salvation of American civilization." Several of her colleagues and fellow board members of the American Birth Control League described the eugenic practices of the Third Reich as "scientific" and "humanitarian." And Dr. Harry Laughlin, another Sanger associate and board member for her group, spoke of purifying America's human "breeding stock" and purging America's "bad strains." 

Sanger's writings, speeches and correspondence are littered with her overtly racist eugenics agenda. In a letter to a supporter, Dr. Clarence J. Gamble, of Proctor and Gamble, she discusses the tactics of securing the involvement of African American ministers in her "Negro Project"...

"The minister's work is also important and he should be trained, perhaps by the Federation as to our ideals and the goal that we hope to reach. We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members."

Of course the fact that Planned Parenthood "clinics" tend to be located in the inner city is just a coincidence. Yes, it's a coincidence that has led to abortion becoming the leading cause of death today among African Americans. Did you know that a black baby is many times more likely to be aborted than a white baby? Don't believe it? Check out the statistics (government statistics) provided here: National Black Catholic Congress.

In the words of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.” Legality and morality are two quite different things, and the more a nation separates itself from its core religious roots, the greater the difference becomes.

As I've already said, I'm truly saddened by little Caylee Anthony's tragic death, but other things sadden me even more.

Take a moment today to thank God for the gift of your life, a life like no other...

You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew; my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth. Your eyes foresaw my actions; in your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be. How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them! [Psalm 139:13-17]

God gives us a choice: "I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live..." [Deut 30:19]

L’Chiam!