One of the things we know about the actor, entrepreneur, and family man Mark Wahlberg is that he knows how to hone his physique. From carefully putting on weight to play Fr. Stuart Long, to becoming action-hero ready in Unchartered, Wahlberg knows all about dieting and exercising.
However, add to this his deep faith and his willingness to share how important it is to him, and the father-of-four is the perfect candidate to guide us in Lent on fasting.
Wahlberg himself is a fan of intermittent fasting, and sometimes goes 48 hours without food. So for him, Lenten fasting should be pretty easy. However, for most of us, the idea of going without food for a prolonged period of time can be a little daunting.
Thankfully, Wahlberg is lending his expertise and his faith to join Hallow — the prayer app that united over 250,000 faithful in daily prayer last year — in their Pray40 prayer challenge for this coming Lent.
Along with some other well-known faces, including Jonathan Roumie and Jim Caviezel, who will be providing meditations on the Imitation of Christ each Monday and Wednesday in Lent, and silent prayer on Thursdays; Wahlberg will be providing Fasting Motivation on the Fridays of Lent.
In addition to the notable actors, Fr. Mike Schmitz will give homilies on the Sundays, and Immaculée Ilibagiza, who survived the Rwandan genoicide with the help of the power of prayer, will be guiding listeners on Thursdays with Devotional Prayer. Finally, Mother Olga, whom Hallow describes as “the incredible founder and mother servant of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth,” will encourage us through weekly almsgiving and charity challenges on Saturdays.
It is wonderful to see how technology is enabling us to have much-needed support and guidance to make the most of Lent, and inspiring when celebrities are willing to share their own faith with all of us.