Actor Mark Wahlberg Talks Visiting Church Twice on Sundays, Importance of Family
Actor Mark Wahlberg recently opened up about his faith, as he always does unabashedly, saying that his belief in God sustains him while offering a glimpse into the typical Sunday at his Los Angeles residence, which entails going to church.
"[Faith] is the most important part of my life. I don't try to push it on anybody and I don't try to hide it… If the kids are good, I'll have doughnuts for them at 6:30 in the morning [on Sundays], and I'll say, 'You guys gotta let Mommy sleep in!' I'll go to church at 7:30 and everybody will be eating breakfast when I come home," said Wahlberg in an interview with Parade. "Then we'll go to church again at 10:30, if things aren't too hectic. Or if one of the kids has a game we'll watch them play. It's a nice family day."
In the past, Wahlberg has said that he starts his day by going to church each morning to pray because it creates a sense of clarity for him. He also credits his time with God as a reminder to remain grateful and to remember what he needs to focus on and what he needs to stay away from.
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The actor also said that he considers his entourage to be his wife and four children, along with their nanny when he is not filming a new project. However, the Catholic Boston native has come a long way from his rebellious teenage days to finally realize the importance of family.
At 16, Wahlberg found God after meeting a priest in jail while serving time for robbing a pharmacy, assaulting one man, leaving another one blind in one eye and attacking a security guard – a crime that led him to be charged with attempted murder. After being raised in a non-practicing Catholic family and realizing that he needed to change, Wahlberg returned to God and has been vocal about his faith ever since.
"It was a matter of saying, 'ok, do I wanna now get in jail, start getting high, doing that whole thing or am I just gonna you know, focus, start going to church, get out of here and never look back,'" said Wahlberg in an interview with Piers Morgan on CNN last year. He also added that the only reason he would ever go back to prison is if he had to protect his family in a manner that would leave him with no other choice.
During his Parade interview, the actor also spoke about earning his high school diploma earlier this year for the sake of his children, after dropping out in ninth grade.
"I didn't want my kids saying, 'you didn't finish school, why do we need to?'" said the actor.
These days, aside from going to church, Wahlberg remains busy by gearing up to release his latest action movie based on a Navy SEAL mission, "Lone Survivor," set to hit theaters on Christmas Day.
