I looked up from my work to see a text from one of my son’s schoolmates: “Hi Mrs. Seeley, a couple of us have decided to go to the clinic and pray today just because of recent events …”
I love our little Catholic classical school for its pro-life heart. That heart manifests itself as weekly prayer in front of our local Planned Parenthood, diaper drives and fundraising for local pregnancy centers, and an annual pilgrimage that sees virtually the entire high school drive six hours to attend the West Coast Walk for Life.
Our students know that praying on the sidewalk is not merely a feel-good exercise. The mere presence of someone praying peacefully in front of an abortion facility can cause the no-show rate for abortion appointments to go as high as 75 percent, former abortion workers report.
Nonetheless, my reaction to the text was a wave of concern over its timing, coming one day after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was gunned down at Utah Valley University. Our students in their Catholic school uniforms, holding Rosaries or waving “Pray to end abortion” signs, were sure to draw more attention than usual. Would they be in harm’s way? Should I discourage them?
Despite my packed day, I knew I had to be there. I pushed back my worries with the thought that on this Thursday afternoon full of extracurriculars, there would likely be just one or two students in front of the abortion clinic with me.
But as I pulled up in front of Planned Parenthood, I forgot my fear in delight as not two, but almost two dozen students piled out of vans and cars.
For the better part of an hour, our St. Augustine Academy students prayed, waved signs, and cheerfully greeted both honks of support and raised middle fingers—both of which were more plentiful than usual. They prayed prayers for the dying. They prayed for Charlie Kirk and his family. Afterwards, there were hugs and shining eyes, and it was clear they didn’t want to leave.
Keep in mind that this was not a school function; it was entirely student-led.
Just a few months ago, I had watched these same students jubilantly wave yellow and white flags and a giant “Habemus papam” banner on a bustling street as they celebrated a new pope. Today, with the same emotional intensity, they grieved.
Like thousands of others who came together at vigils and memorials around the country, they were mourning the young dad who had begun his rise to national prominence when he himself was barely out of high school.
But this mid-afternoon gathering on the sidewalk in front of a busy abortion clinic was more than a memorial. It was a spontaneous response to the legacy of a pro-life hero who said, “I want to be remembered for courage for my faith.”
A huge part of that courageous witness was Charlie Kirk’s unwavering commitment to the unborn.
“His advocacy extended far beyond words,” Students for Life said in a tribute to Kirk. “He brought the fight for Life into the public sphere, using his platform and voice to reach millions. He stood tall in the belief that authentic freedom and justice for all begin with protecting the right to Life for every human being.”
Students for Life called Kirk’s influence “pivotal in shifting the national conversation about abortion.” The fearless reaction of these students to the news of his death speaks powerfully to that influence.
Erika Kirk, speaking publicly for the first time two days after her husband’s death, said, “All of you already know what Charlie would want you to do.” These young men and women, with full hearts, knew. And they did it, instinctively channeling their grief into standing up for the weakest among us.
A few hours earlier, at school drop-off, I had noted the look of grave sadness on our headmaster’s face. “I’m just worried about our country,” he told me.
I share his concern about the future of a nation in which such a tragedy can happen. Certainly, Kirk’s murder, following close on the shooting of Catholic grade schoolers at Mass in Minnesota and the death of a young Ukrainian girl whom bystanders left to bleed out on a train, raises urgent questions about the state of our society.
But there’s a lesson to be gained from a bunch of school kids who, learning of their hero’s death, took to the sidewalk to pray for an end to abortion.
Their actions show an understanding of a profound truth.
Mother Teresa’s oft-quoted words deserve another hearing. “If a mother can kill her own child, what is left—for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.”
Every abortion takes our nation further down that path, and every baby saved takes it a step in the right direction.
How typical of kids to get right to the heart of things! They give me hope that, as Erika Kirk said, her husband’s voice “will remain and it will ring out louder and more clearly than ever.”
I have hope that Charlie Kirk’s death will help galvanize the pro-life movement in this country. My prayer is that his voice will be amplified by the voices of countless young people who are compelled by his death to stand up and speak out.
If that’s the Charlie Kirk effect, his death will not be in vain.
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While hosting of the Charlie Kirk program after CK assassination, Vice President Vance cited polls showing that
24% OF SELF DESCRIBED VERY LIBERAL BELIEVE IT IS ACCEPTABLE TO BE HAPPY ABOUT THE DEATH OF A POLITICAL OPPONENT, WHILE ONLY 3% OF SELF DESCRIBED VERY CONSERVATIVES AGREE, 26% OF YOUNG POLITICAL LIBERALS AGREE THAT POLITICAL VIOLENCE IS SOMETIMES JUSTIFIED, ONLY 7% OF YOUNG CONSERVATIVES SAY SAME. As my courageous priest pointed out in his homily Sunday, for someone who thinks that killing the baby in the mother’s womb is sometimes justified, assassinating someone for the “right reasons” is also justified. SEE min. 1:55:00 FF
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1OwGWegpplDxQ
Hypocrisy much?
Y’all were cheering the hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband. Y’all mocked Breonna Taylor in death. Y’all dehumanize the Palestinians and cheer for their deaths. Y’all celebrated when Joe Biden announced his cancer diagnoses. Y’all exuded a disturbing level of giddiness when RGB passed. Y’all react with the most disgusting level of exuberant glee when bad things happen to people you don’t like.
Y’all?
No, “we all” weren’t doing any of those things. Can you provide any source material to backup these accusations? It’s not good form to be an accuser of the brethren.
Oscar: what were the polls that were cited?
God bless the students of St. Augustine Academy!
Beautifully written!
Pro-life means womb to tomb—not just birth to voting booth.
Some claim to be “pro-life” yet only defend the unborn—until birth. But true Catholic teaching affirms life from conception to natural death. To champion only the unborn while demanding the death penalty is not pro-life; it’s pro-birth or worse—selectively pro-life. It is a tragic irony that some mourning Charlie Kirk now call for his killer’s execution while citing Catholic teaching. You can’t invoke the seamless garment while tearing it apart.
Yes, abortion is a grave evil. But so is vengeance dressed up as justice. The Church calls us to mercy, not mob justice. Kirk’s pro-life legacy deserves better than being weaponized for a pro-death cause. His death should not be used to distort what he died believing in. The consistent ethic of life is hard—but it’s holy.
To truly honor life, we must protect it everywhere: from the womb, in prison, and on the sidewalk.
“Pro-life means womb to tomb—not just birth to voting booth.”
It means no such thing.
Deacon Don: right on! 👍
Up lifting story. Pro Life movement would gain some steam if Bishops got up and would do what these students did. As I see it, the problem with the pro life movement is that the Catholic Bishops priest etc. are really not engaged in it. If they did what the students did, including given sermons on the evil of abortion, then you would have something. It is amazing that untold millions of babies die and nothing is said in Catholic churches.
Maybe instead of praying outside of Planned Parenthood Centers, pray outside of Rectories that the Church leader grow a spine.
“Let the children come to Me.”
May Charlie Kirk rest in The Peace that only Christ can bring. Prayers for Charlie, his family and friends🙏✝️
Beautiful story. Thanks for sharing this with us! God bless all those students and God bless the teachers at St. Augustine’s for instilling the love of the Lord in them! Their teachers and parents must be so proud of them. I pray for Charlie and his family. I pray to God that a lot of good will come from this awful tragedy. It looks to me like that goodness has already begun. Thanks again for sharing!! God bless.
The “pro-life community” has largely settled for the Father of IVF, who made sure to remove the pro-life plank from the GOP platform and has criticizes states for being too “rigidly” pro-life. Who cares if such a community is united? If the salt have lost his savour, is anything gained by gathering all the useless salt into the same shaker?
To me it comes down to this – By this action they have gone one step too far and they have awakened a sleeping giant, hopefully a gentle giant. Their language is violence, their patron saint is saul alinsky
And if we resort to violence – they win
Charlie Kirk was MURDERED or ASSASSINATED. It should always be discussed as such. He didn’t die of a disease or an accident.
A great way to celebrate Charlie’s life would be to abolish abortion, in time for created equals 250th birthday.