In order to celebrate the beginning of Lent, Wahlberg wears an ash cross on his forehead and is outspoken about his Catholic faith, but he maintains his personal relationship with God a secret.
To co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, the 51-year-old responded, “It’s a balance,” in reference to his propensity for discussing religion.
“I don’t want to push others into accepting my beliefs, therefore I don’t. This is a more serious sin. Despite the fact that it’s unpopular in my line of work, I can’t hide my opinions. I believe it is essential to share this knowledge with others. However, it’s important to respect and value them as well because I have friends from a variety of cultures and religions.
Wahlberg highlighted that he still maintains the same “share but don’t push” mindset with regard to the four children he has with his wife Rhea Durham.
I don’t push it on them,” he continued. But they know that Dad can’t start his day without praying, reading my Bible, or going to Mass. And ideally, rather than having something forced upon them, kids will naturally gravitate toward it thinking, “Well, if it works for Dad, maybe it will work for us.”
“I don’t want to push others into accepting my beliefs, therefore I don’t. The greatest sin is that.
Wahlberg went into further detail on what functions for him as a guest narrator and paid ambassador for the Catholic prayer app Hallow when he sat down with Savannah to talk about the Lenten season and the fasting times that are a part of it.
Wahlberg claims that there are many different aspects to fasting. “I think it’s important to understand that there are other factors to take into account if you have eating difficulties, first of all. God is aware of the things you ought to keep away from.
Everyone is aware of the actions that make us feel guilty and less than our best selves. In order to focus on healthy behaviors rather than bad ones, one must be able to stand back from them. There are disadvantages to fasting, like the fact that I won’t be eating any meat today. I’ll only eat one meal today and every Friday till Good Friday.
As part of the Pray40 Lent Challenge on the Hallow app, Wahlberg will also lead listeners through illuminating teachings on the discipline of fasting.
He claims that the self-control required to endure the hardships of Lent “makes people better versions of themselves.”
At least, that is what he has personally noticed.
“Discipline has always been important to me in life,” he said. As I started getting into movies and made the jump from music, I realized I needed a lot more discipline in my life, and that discipline has given me so many other things. I’ve been so handsomely rewarded for it, and I want to give it to others, whether that be through fasting, more exercise, withdrawal from other pursuits, or just more time spent in prayer or introspective thought. These issues are important.
When asked to briefly describe his religious beliefs, Wahlberg said, “Oh, it’s everything.”
It’s given me so many opportunities, he continued. Clearly, God did not come to save the pious. To deliver the guilty, he arrived. As we all strive to accomplish, concentrating on my faith has given me the chance to become a better version of myself.
