“To God be the glory forever and ever." ~ Philippians
4:20
He grew up the youngest of nine
children in a broken home in Boston’s rough Dorchester section. By 13, he’d
developed a serious addiction to cocaine among other illegal substances.
At just 14 years old, he dropped out of school, joined a cold-blooded
gang, and began making his living on the streets - hustling, stealing, and
dealing drugs. With each passing day, his
rebellious, anger-riddled, and destructive lifestyle mounted.
At 15 he faced civil action for his participation in two
separate incidents of hurling rocks and racial slurs at African-American
children. He injured two of the
students.
His chaotic life finally came to a crashing halt at 16, when
he viciously attacked 2 Vietnamese men.
He sucker punched the first blinding him in one eye and beat the second
man unconscious while shouting racial insults about 'slant-eyed gooks.' For these crimes, he was charged with
attempted murder, plead guilty to assault, and was sentenced to two years in
prison.
He’d finally earned his stripes; locked up with the kind of
guys he idolized. Three of his brothers
had already done time; his sister went to prison so many times he’d lost count.
Back on the streets after only 45 days, he quickly returned
to peddling drugs. But in the shadows,
he was being watched - not by undercover cops, but by a fearless young priest. The street punk stood speechless when the Padre
got right in his face: ‘‘What the heck are you doing?”
The rest they say “is history!”
When he stood at the podium in 2007 accepting an Oscar for
his supporting role in “The Departed,” Mark Wahlberg (aka rapper Marky Mark),
fought back tears describing how the charismatic priest rescued him from a criminal
trajectory.
‘‘Where we grew up, we mostly looked for the wrong role
models in the wrong places. It took me
far too long to realize that the real heroes were there all the time. Rev. Flavin helped us realize who the real
heroes are. He’s my hero, my mentor, my
friend, my brother. I have the greatest
respect and debt to him; he married us and baptized all my children.”
Today Mark Wahlberg enjoys enormous success on both the big
and small screens as model, actor and producer.
He’s packed away the demons of old and boasts a growing family, with his
Catholic faith acting as a pivotal force in reshaping what had threatened to
become a troubled adult life.
He’s never bashful about his faith, “I never would’ve been
able to change my life and have the success and love that I have in my world
today without my faith.”
“Lord, help me be a good servant, father,
husband, son, friend, brother, uncle, neighbor, good leader to those who look
up to me and a good follower of those who aim to serve You.“ ~
Mark Wahlberg
