Mark Wahlberg has always tried to keep it real – in Hollywood, with his family, and with his fans. Anyone who knows the A-lister knows that he’s a devout Catholic. And he was recently on quite a few interviews with a sooty cross on his forehead. Why? It was Ash Wednesday, and that’s the mark that every Catholic walks around with.
Only, he’s found that being a religious man in Hollywood isn’t exactly celebrated.
It’s not surprising. Just look at what’s happening in liberal cities all over the country. Drag queens are celebrated while wearing a t-shirt that says “Jesus Loves Me” can get you tossed out of a shopping mall.
Wahlberg appeared on the Today Show on Ash Wednesday and said that “he doesn’t want to jam [his religion] down anybody’s throat.” However, he has said that Catholicism has allowed him to be a “better version of himself.”
Although most people in Hollywood don’t discuss religion, Wahlberg feels that it’s necessary to achieve balance. He doesn’t want to deny his faith – and that sets him apart from quite a few celebrities.
Now, Wahlberg hasn’t always been quite the devout Catholic. While it’s how he was raised, he did get into quite a few fights when he was growing up in the 1980s. And he had a civil action filed against him in 1986. And in 1992, he got into a fight that left a neighbor with a fractured jaw.
Wahlberg has repented and moved on – and with a successful career that he credits to God and to his faith.
The Boston native wasn’t the only one with the ash cross on his forehead in Hollywood, though. Melissa Joan Hart is another who was sporting the sign and had a similar message for her fans about her faith.
If only more celebrities would focus on celebrating their faith, we might actually get the country back on track.
