By Judie Brown
Heroic pro-life leader Jim Sedlak came to mind this past weekend when I heard the reading from Matthew 10. Christ’s teaching set His apostles on the path of courage even in the face of extreme obstacles, including martyrdom. Those words became the platform on which Sedlak taught pro-life Americans the reasons why Planned Parenthood had to be opposed at every turn.
Sedlak spent hours teaching people how to employ these principles contained in Matthew 10:7-14:
And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those suffering from virulent skin-diseases, drive out devils. You received without charge, give without charge. Provide yourselves with no gold or silver, not even with coppers for your purses, with no haversack for the journey or spare tunic or footwear or a staff, for the labourer deserves his keep. ‘Whatever town or village you go into, seek out someone worthy and stay with him until you leave. As you enter his house, salute it, and if the house deserves it, may your peace come upon it; if it does not, may your peace come back to you. And if anyone does not welcome you or listen to what you have to say, as you walk out of the house or town shake the dust from your feet.
These words encapsulate the Sedlak strategy for defeating Planned Parenthood, a goal to which he dedicated his entire life.
In addition, Sedlak was totally devoted to the Blessed Mother, and in one of his articles he assured readers, “Mary is already being brought to many PP locations nationwide through the recitation of the rosary.” As always, he not only wrote about it, but he witnessed to his love of Mary. He further encouraged readers to follow his lead in action, saying, “Every time you go to PP, bring an image of the Blessed Mother. This could be a statue or a picture. . . . We live in a visual society, so bring an image of Mary and see how your efforts will increase in fruitfulness.”
Jim’s words come from his devotion to the Blessed Mother. He explained that because of the sin of Eve, who fell prey to the conniving of the snake in Genesis, God said: “Because you have done this, Accursed be you of all animals wild and tame! On your belly you will go and on dust you will feed as long as you live. I shall put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; it will bruise your head and you will strike its heel.”
Thus, Our Lady is often shown standing on an asp, illustrating that she can never be overcome by evil.
While Saturday’s Gospel reading reminded me of all that Sedlak did to educate each of us on the best way to defeat Planned Parenthood, he also reminded us of a fact that we too often fail to remember—that every day that we struggle against the evils of abortion and its proponents in our nation, we also realize that placing our work in the hands of God relieves us of the pressure to win at any cost.
Jim Sedlak was always aware of this, and he had a special interest in helping young people see truth. He once wrote:
As long as our society continually portrays babies as burdens and advertises ways to be “free” of them, we have a long road ahead of us. Yet, not all of our youth are convinced that children are a totally bad thing. With education and a good example, these young people can come to the understanding that a child is never a burden and that they should always remain open to the beauty of life. But, we must set the example. To do this, we must first change the mindset. We must show these young people that all human beings are made in the image and likeness of God. We must cherish all human beings. And we must start being vocal champions for large families.
These words ring as true today as they did in 2015 when he wrote them.
We pro-life people set that example by doing everything for the Lord and relying on His guidance in our work, knowing that the victory is His and our task is simply to do our best and never back away from the truth.
Cherish life, read Matthew 10 often, and say a prayer for Jim Sedlak. To this day we miss him and are grateful for his wisdom.