Mark Wahlberg had a troubled youth that involved criminal activities and gang involvement. At age 17, he was charged with attempted murder for an attack that permanently blinded one of the victims. His life changed after this encounter when he met a Catholic priest who helped steer him away from crime. Now Wahlberg is a devout Catholic who attends daily mass and sees his faith as an important part of his life and focus. He will be hosting an event for Pope Francis due to his high profile celebrity status and open pursuit of faith.

1. J O T H A M A L L W E I NAJ
B L O G W R I T I N G P O R T F O L I O

2. Mark Wahlberg dropped out of school at the age of 15 to join a gang, was in trouble with the law over a
dozen times for drug-related crimes, and claims to have been addicted to cocaine during this time.
3 5 , 4 4 0 V I E W S
W H Y I S M A R K WA H L B E R G
E M C E E I N G F O R T H E P O P E ?
At age 17, Wahlberg’s life drastically changed after being charged with attempted murder, which was later
reduced to a criminal contempt charge. He spent 45 days locked up in a correctional facility for attacking two
men with a stick, permanently blinding one of them.
You may be thinking,“Of all the people to emcee a conference for Pope Francis, why
would America pick a former criminal, Calvin Klein model, and best friend to a teddy
bear in the raunchy comedy“Ted”?
AJ
Wahlberg’s Encounter with a Catholic Priest
In an interview Wahlberg explains,“It was around 2 a.m. in one of Boston’s toughest neighborhoods.
Protected by darkness, [we] were selling drugs on a street corner. But that night we were being watched –
not by undercover cops, but by a fearless, young priest.”
Wahlberg’s gang was surprised when Father Flavin marched up and demanded to know:‘‘What the
heck are you doing?’’Wahlberg was one of the gang’s hell-raising kids the priest dedicated himself to saving.
Nearly 20 years later, Wahlberg gives credit to Father Flavin for placing in his heart a fire to love Christ and the
Church.
Trying to hold back tears, Wahlberg describes the importance to finding true role models:‘‘It took me far too
long to realize that the real heroes are there all the time. Where we grew up, we had a tendency to look for
the wrong role models in the wrong places. But he helped us realize who the real heroes are. He is my hero,
my mentor, my friend, my brother.”
Wahlberg’s Daily Prayer Life
In an interview with Piers Morgan, Wahlberg is asked,“I’ve read that you go to Catholic
Mass every day. Is that right?”
Wahlberg:“I try to go to Mass every day, but I definitely go to the church everyday.
That’s how I start my day off. I get in there for about 15-20 minutes and say my prayers.”
Morgan:“What does it bring you?”
Wahlberg:“A very clear focus on what’s important. Expressing my gratitude of what has been bestowed upon
me, and a reminder everyday of what I need to do and what I need to stay away from.”
Morgan:“When you pray, what do you pray for?”
Wahlberg:“I pray to be a good servant to God, a father, a husband, a good leader of those that look up to me,
and a good follower to those people who are serving God, doing the right thing, and people that I can look
up to an try to emulate.”
Pope Francis, with his constant message of mercy and forgiveness, is one of those people who Wahlberg is
trying to emulate. Wahlberg has a story no different than the millions of other people who have received the
mercy and forgiveness of God, and are simply asking for the graces necessary to keep striving for holiness.
So why is Mark Wahlberg emceeing for the Pope?
People in America live and breathe the lives of celebrities, and Wahlberg is one of the
few big name celebrities who is actively pursuing a relationship with Christ.
Too many people are deciding how they will live their lives according to what the bigname celebrities are
doing on fake reality shows. I’m not saying Mark Wahlberg is doing everything perfect, but at least he is
trying to live out an authentic“reality”and a real relationship with Jesus Christ.
Most Sundays Mark attends Mass twice. He says,
“If [my] kids are good I will have donuts for them at 6:30am in the morning, and I’ll say,
‘You guys got to let mommy sleep in.’I’ll return from church at 7:30am and everybody
will be eating breakfast when I come home. Then I will go to church again at 10:30am
with the family.”
Mark says that when he is not working, he is spending all of his time with his family. It’s beautiful to see how
Wahlberg’s love for God has spread directly into his love for family.
Mark Wahlberg will be hosting the activities for the festival of families conference in Philadelphia with Pope
Francis on September 26.

3. TA K E M E T O C H U R C H
1 6 , 2 3 8 V I E W S
AJ
If you haven’t heard it, you will: the song“Take Me to Church”is storming the radio and rising to the top of
the charts. You might think,“Great, a song about going to church; why wouldn’t we want that?”
If you take a closer look at what is really being said, you will realize this song is about quite the opposite.
“My lover’s got humor, She’s the giggle at a funeral, Knows everybody’s disapproval,
I should’ve worshiped her sooner”and“My church offers no absolutes, She tells me
‘worship in the bedroom’, The only heaven I’ll be sent to, Is when I’m alone with you.”
Are just some of the lyrics in the opening verse that point to the opinion that the artist, Hozier, is trying to
express.
In an interview with Hozier, he explained that the song is a metaphor, comparing his
lover to religion. He says:
“At the core of it, the song is about sex. It’s about re-electing someone in the place of something that was
previously theological or theoretical, and re-electing that as something that is tangible, something that is
worth worshiping.” (Grammy Pro Interview)
Hozier also said,“The second verse, if somewhat jokingly, is about sacking the Vatican.”(RTE
interview)
Yikes! A song about replacing Almighty God for sex, as a focus of worship, is the top
song on the radio right now?
A common problem we face with music today is that we come across a catchy song that has crude or
inappropriate lyrics and are faced with the question,“Should I be listening to this?”
But when we turn on the radio, do we ever take the time to really listen to what we are hearing? Or do we
make excuses saying,“I only like the song because of the catchy beat,”or“I don’t even listen to the lyrics.”
“The problem is, there can be poison hidden behind a catchy beat. Music affects the
human heart in a powerful way and most of the time it is subconsciously.”
It is important that we protect ourselves by filtering what we allow into our minds. Music does influence us.
We can’t control that, but we can control what we are listening to.
My challenge to you this year is to take the time to filter what you are listening to and be conscious of the
ways it changes you and prepares you to love Christ more intimately.
To allow your music, whether Christian or not, to be uplifting and positive.
I guarantee you will see the difference it makes in you, and how it will truly prepare you. When Christmas
comes around you will say, in reference to the one true God, “Take me to Church!”

4. The day before I left home to serve with NET Ministries, my sister Catharine pulled me aside to say,“
Jotham…I’m pregnant.”Now, almost 6 years later, I am writing this blog to describe the true heart of what
she felt. I asked Catharine a series of direct questions relating to her pregnancy. Below are her responses.
I was only 20. I did not believe I was pregnant after the first, second, or even third pregnancy test. I
actually made my boyfriend pee on a pregnancy stick to make sure that the pregnancy test actually worked.
The thought of abortion crossed my mind and instantly left. Adoption stayed in my mind a little longer, but
disappeared as well. To be honest, it was by the grace of God that my parents were 100% pro-life, and so I
knew the importance of choosing life. I didn’t want to kill a miracle.
I remember sitting on my bed at my dad’s house and crying because I had no friends anymore.
I quickly realized that the people whom I called“friends”were nothing more than my drinking buddies who
never held me accountable for anything. Day to day responsibilities such as going through nursing school,
living at home, working full time, helping my widowed father take care of all the kids, and assisting the family
catering company all became much harder as a pregnant woman.
I remember walking into Mass, the confessional, and even adoration and seeing the many people staring at
me with looks that silently said,“Why are you here?”What I did not realize was that the Lord was using me as
a witness.
I remember being 7 months pregnant and deciding to attend a campus party. I went to see old
friends and to be a witness. I wanted to show others that I chose life.
As I approached the house where the party was, a guy on the front porch saw me and yelled,“Why is SHE
here?”At that moment I wanted to turn around because I thought I couldn’t do it. But I realized that if I
walked away, I would have not witnessed anything to anyone.
“I needed to believe that God is so much more real and powerful than the judgment of others.”
I decided not to move in with my boyfriend, even after our baby was born.
Moving in together in one sense would have made things much easier to raise our daughter, but at the same
time I knew if we could get through this in separate houses we could definitely get through it as a married
couple living together. Deciding to not have sex anymore was hard enough, and we didn’t need more
temptation by living together.
I was one of those lucky girls whose boyfriend decided to change with me. Not every pregnant girl is
fortunate enough to end up marrying the father of her child; Christ opened our eyes to something greater
than our past lifestyles.
Ladies, if he loves you, he will wait for you. I have heard guys say,“I need to know if she’s any good before I
marry her.”My response:“Heck no. No. No.”
Once Jeff and I took our physical relations out of our relationship, it allowed us to refocus our complete
attention on one another, our relationship with Christ, and then on marriage.
Guys, it was only until my boyfriend (now husband) and I stopped our physical relations that we realized we
were meant for each other.
At the time he didn’t fully understand why we couldn’t have sex anymore because we
“had already done it.”
“But after abstaining for the three years until our wedding night, we quickly realized that sex was not
the reason why we loved each other.”
So guys, in order to get your girlfriend to heaven, pray that the Lord will help lead you
from temptation.
Young couples, you may ask,“Was it difficult to stop?”It was the hardest thing in the
whole world because I was obviously very attracted to him. At the same time it was
something I constantly prayed about, and it was how God kept us strong.
For you couples who have saved sex for marriage, I thank you for your example. Don’t
stop praying to God for continued strength and guidance.
Christ has become my everything. He has become my best friend. In the same way that I used to approach
my best friend to tell her every little bit of drama in my life, I now explain the drama to Him.
When my prayer life is where it is supposed to be, the rest of my life is where it is
supposed to be.
Through Christ, I’m constantly learning about myself and different ways to draw closer
to Him.
As a pregnant woman, how did your life change?
What was your first thought after realizing you were pregnant?
How did you approach being in public as a unmarried, 20-year-old
pregnant woman?
Did you move in with your boyfriend?
Do you have any advice for young couples?
How has your trust in Jesus Christ changed?
What does your life look like now?
Jeff and I are now married and living together in Cleveland. Our daughter Lucy is now 4 years old, and God
blessed us with our second daughter, Lilianna, 6 months ago.
I could never have predicted the amount of blessings that had come out of my one simple decision to choose
life. Now, all Jeff and I want is for our kids to be saints.
I received a second chance from a God who bestowed in my life a constant flow of unconditional,
merciful, generous, selfless, and pure love.
It is now my duty as a parent to respond with that same love.
On our wedding day, Jeff and I danced for the first time as a married couple to the song,
“After the Storm”by Mumford and Sons. I will never forget the lyrics:
“There will come a time, you’ll see, with no more tears, and love will not break your
heart, but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you find there, with grace
in your heart and flowers in your hair.”
AJ
U N P L A N N E D P A R E N T H O O D
6 , 1 3 7 V I E W S

5. AJ
2 6 Y E A R S O L D , 4 Y E A R S O F C A N C E R :
J O E H A L L S T H O U G H T S
3 , 7 8 5 V I E W S
I was 16 when my mom died of colon cancer. She was 49 years old, a mother of nine, with my youngest
brother being only six years old.
The only way I could explain the pain of my mom’s death was to describe cancer as an evil. It was only
until I met Joe Hall that my outlook of this cancerous evil changed. Joe is a boisterous, focused,
intentional, young, strong, faithful, Catholic man who fell victim to the disease.
Joe and I are similar in age and have the same values, desires, ambitions, and faith perspectives.
The main difference between Joe and me is that he has stage four DSRCT cancer and I don’t. For four years,
he has been trying to return to a normal life, and my life is normal. He has scars from maxing out on radiation
and chemotherapy. I do not. He is now living minute to minute, and I typically take my minutes for granted.
Up until he tested positive for cancer, Joe lived an ambitious life. Four years ago, at age 22, he was taking a
full load of college capstone classes, had already finished missionary work with NET Ministries, was running
a youth group, doing college ministry, working an internship, working out 6 days a week, and graduated
college in three years.
Joe says, “I was a pretty busy, pretty focused, and pretty driven individual.”
After hearing and seeing the potential that cancer stripped from Joe, it only fueled my hatred for cancer….
until I heard his perspective.
Joe’s Perspective
Regardless of how much he seemed trapped, there is an intense level of freedom and happiness bursting
from Joe’s core. Joe explained,
“It’s much easier to let go of everything and not hold onto things….taking life as it comes, taking it
one day at a time, or one moment at a time, or one second at a time, trying to live with the Lord and
simply trust Him.
“I have to believe that until God decides that I have maxed out everything I’ve done down here, then
its not my job and its not my place to say I want out.”
The suffering Joe has endured seems to have only prepared Joe for the future and I believe the pain is
readying Joe for change.
“There are days when you are just so tired, sore, in so much pain, so exhausted where you are like,
‘Whenever you want to take me, Lord, I’m good. I’d love for a break, I’d love for you to take this away.’
“And that’s the distinction – it’s not that I don’t want to be here, it’s more that I want freedom from the
pain, freedom from the suffering. And so the idea of Heaven looks pretty great.”
Don’t get me wrong – I still believe all disease really is evil. In the case of cancer, when bad cells are present
there is a lack of good cells, and any time there is a lack of good there is evil. So theologically speaking, the
Church agrees that cancer is evil.
So then why in the world would God allow this cancerous evil to exist, especially in the case with Joe?
The answer is summarized by Saint Alphonsus Maria de’Liguori when he says,
“God does all things or permits all things to happen for his greater glory and our
greater good.”
I never got the sense that Joe thought cancer was ruining his life. Instead, I felt a sense of
surrender to the fact that God is allowing cancer to be a part of his life. Joe explained:
“My prayer to God is,‘Give me Your vision, so that I can look at this appropriately.’
“What’s the one thing that you can’t imagine letting go of? Find a way to develop separation from that
thing. Take the desire for separation to prayer and say,‘Lord, help me not to take identity in any
particular thing, and help me not to place hope in anything other than You.’”
Yes, sin and diseases are still an evil, but the suffering we endure should not end as just an“experience of
evil.”Jesus plunged the depths of hell and replaced the“nothingness”of evil with hope, goodness, and love.
My thoughts on cancer are now directed away from the dark narrow alleys of my negative perceptions and
into the rich deep blue ocean of God’s perspective.
With or without cancer, each one of us are called to embrace our own crosses. Joe explained this when he said,
“I don’t embrace my cross perfectly, and even though I’ve forcibly had 99.9% percent of everything
removed from me, I still cling to things.
“If this is also your struggle, then we must respond with awareness, being aware that we are going to
try and cling and grab. We must try and set up practices, remind ourselves, have conversations, reflect
back on what the Lord has said, read scripture, and take our prayer time. We should do all these things
to keep driving at this point of not clinging to the comfort we feel entitled to. Because if we don’t keep
reminding ourselves and keep fighting every day, then its not going to happen.”
I once thought that Joe’s cancer, my mom’s colon cancer, or the millions of people suffering from this disease
have experienced a meaningless evil. I’m now convinced this is NOT true.
And we may not know the answers to“why”until we’re in heaven and can see things as God sees them. But
while we are here on earth, we must cling to what Christ promised when he says at the end of John 16,
“In this world you will have trouble, but take courage; I have conquered the world.”
Like Joe, let’s avoid throwing away the meaning of the cross, and embrace it like Joe embraces his. For
Scripture says,
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is
laking – In the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church.”
-Colossians 1:24

6. AJ
T W E N T Y O N E P I L O T S :
T R A N S F O R M I N G T H E M U S I C I N D U S T R Y
2 , 2 7 7 V I E W S
The band Twenty One Pilots is methodically gutting the mainstream music industry and refilling it’s
empty stomach with fresh, full, and abundant Christian thematic truth.
For those who don’t know, Twenty One Pilots is an alternative band who has silently moved up the music
charts and now sits among the most listened-to artists in the industry, above Bieber and Adele. Their
addictingly unpredictable rhythms and sounds have been been a catalyst for the real reason why people
listen to them-their lyrics.
Although the band is not considered Christian, they include conversations with God in almost every song
they write. Their current album Blurryface opens with an honest chorus to God saying,
“CAN YOU SAVE, CAN YOU SAVE MY, CAN YOU SAVE MY HEAVY DIRTY SOUL FOR ME?”
-Heavydirtysoul | Twenty One Pilots
The band is composed of only two people, Tyler who writes and sings, and Josh who plays drums. Growing
up in Columbus OH, Tyler was homeschooled in a strong Christian home, and Josh grew up playing drums
for his local youth group.
Relatability and authenticity are the reason why people are so attracted to this band. So many individuals are
failing to live authentic lives, which makes it easy for the millennial generation to sniff out what’s real and
what’s fake. Young people are thirsting to relate with a“what you see is what you get”type of person. It’s the
reason why the song“Stressed Out”has reached the top of the charts. In the song they sing,
“I was told when I get older all my fears would shrink, But now I’m insecure and I care what people
think.”
“Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol’days, When our momma sang us to sleep but now we’re
stressed out.”
“Out of student loans and treehouse homes we all would take the latter.”
-Stressed Out || Twenty One Pilots
They bring a message of Christian hope to a demographic of highschool and college students who more
than 50% struggle with suicidal desolation.¹ Their mission statement on Twitter and Instagram is,“Live On,”
and they explain how to do this in the song Car Radio where they sing,
“Faith is to be awake, And to be awake is for us to think, And for us to think is to be alive,
And I will try with every rhyme to come across like I am dying to let you know you need
to try to think.”-Car Radio | Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots are surrounded by artists in the billboard charts who are producing little to no meaning.
The band represents the mass of people who are tired of hearing the same old love story dressed up with a
fancy new beat, which is why they say at the end of every interview,“we are Twenty One Pilots and so are
you.”
For they sing,
“In the industry it seems to me that singles on the radio are currency, my creativity is
only free when I play in shows.”
“All these songs I’m hearing are so heartless. Don’t trust a perfect person and don’t
trust a song that’s flawless.”-Lane Boy | Twenty One Pilots
This band is fearless in their attempt to bring dignity to a culture of media that has difficulty in the simple act
of lifting its head above the surface of what is right and wrong, of what is tasteful and tasteless.
Their song“Fall Away”explains the battle to avoid sin, for they sing,
“I can feel the pull begin, Feel my conscience wearing thin, And my skin, It will start to break up and
fall apart.”“I don’t want to fall, fall away.” Fall Away || Twenty One Pilots
Lets pray that Twenty One Pilots can maintain their identity among the swarm of producers in the industry
who wouldn’t think twice about stripping their identity to increase their cash flow.
Their lyrics below represent Christ’s mission for this band in the clearest form,
“How frustrating and so degrading, His time we’re wasting, as time will fly by and the sky will cry as
light is fading, And He is waiting, oh so patiently while we repeat the same routine as we will please
comfortability.
And please don’t be afraid of what your soul is really thinking
Your soul knows good and evil, your soul knows both sides
And it’s time you pick your battle, and I promise you this is mine.”
-Isle Of Flightless Birds | Twenty One Pilots

7. 1 , 3 8 5 V I E W S
B I E B E R ’ S F E V E R F O R J E S U S
AJ
It’s clear that Justin Bieber is one of the most loved and hated celebrities of our time.
At 18 years old, Justin received a quarter of a million votes petitioning him to be kicked out of the United
States and sent back to Canada, while at the same time having five number one hits on the Billboard charts.
The last time he received an award, he couldn’t speak because half the crowd was booing and half the crowd
was cheering.
Justin Bieber is no longer the cute, 14 year old,“Baby”singing YouTube sensation that he once was. Three
years ago, Justin Bieber was accused of drag racing, attempted robbery, driving under the influence, drug use,
nightclub urination, drugging a girl’s drink, and having monkeys confiscated. Now at age 21, after a 3 year
hiatus, Justin has returned to the spotlight with a new message:
“I just wanna honestly live like Jesus.”
-Justin Bieber, Complex Magazine
Justin’s mother Pattie found herself pregnant with Justin at age 17. Before Justin was born, many people
encouraged Pattie to have an abortion. Pattie explained in an interview,“I just knew I couldn’t. I just knew I
couldn’t. I just knew I had to keep him.”
Before fame, Justin’s life was simple. He was raised in a very religious home by his single mother.
At age 6, Justin was given permission from his mom to do a couple of street performances, where he earned
over a thousand dollars. And his YouTube videos are eventually what skyrocketed him to the top of the music
industry. Justin Bieber is now arguably the most recognized celebrity throughout the world.
As a reader you might be thinking,“I could care less where Justin Bieber has come from, because he has no
control of his life.”
Before you unleash your hate toward Justin, it’s important to know that Justin’s poor decisions have resulted
from a lack of fatherly leadership in his life. And now Justin has gone back to receiving leadership from
his father – not his biological father, but his Heavenly Father.
On social media he shared the Bible verse from Psalm 43 which says,“Vindicate me, my God, and plead
my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked.”
Justin said that the people surrounding him were terrible influences, and that he’s found a new group
of friends. These people are from the Hillsong United Worship Church in New York.
First inspired by Hillsong’s incredible worship music, Justin attended a week-long Hillsong Conference, and
has formed an incredible friendship with Joel Houston, the main songwriter and worship leader for Hillsong
United. Justin is a huge fan of Hillsong’s new album titled Empire that released earlier this year, and will make
a guest appearance in the documentary titled Hillsong: Let Hope Rise.
“Jesus created a pretty awesome template of how to love people and how to be gracious and kind. We
have the greatest healer of all, and His name is Jesus Christ, and He really heals. I’m at a pointwhere
I’m not going to hold this in.”-Justin Bieber
Justin has often been criticized as a womanizer, and as someone who drifts from one girl to another.
But it’s clear that he has gained agreater perspective on relationships when he said in a radio interview
“When you are in a relationship, it’s a choice, and obviously you feel it. But
there are going to be times when you don’t feel it. That’s when you choose
this person for all their faults. And I think that’s how marriage works – I
choose you through it all, even when I don’t feel it.”
I’m not completely sold on Justin living a life on the straight and narrow, and I’m sure there will always
be something that Justin needs to change…but isn’t that the same scenario we are all faced with?
The difference between Justin’s life and ours is that his life is being watched under a magnifying glass.
His manager explained,
“He was the first kid in humanity who’s grown up the way he has, having smartphones and cameras on him
24/7. A normal kid can go out and enjoy himself, but Justin was the most Googled person on the planet for
4 years straight.”
With that amount of pressure, I’m surprised he’s even lifted his head above the water. Let’s pray that Bieber’s
fever for Jesus doesn’t go out, and that he remains close to incredible mentors who also love Christ.
Justin’s newest album titled“Purpose,”was released this past Friday. This album has ventured away from the
hollywood pop money making club scene sound that we are used to hearing from Justin. The music is honest,
clear, and truthful.
“I call out on God to help me through what I can’t do on my own. Developing
my relationship with God has been the coolest thing I’ve experienced, to
know that I’m not alone and I don’t have to live in fear.”
-Justin Bieber