Father Stu, starring Mark Wahlberg, will appear in theaters on Wednesday, April 13, just in time for Easter. If you haven't seen the trailer for this inspiring true story about a boxer turned priest, you won't want to miss it. Wahlberg plays a Catholic priest who, at the beginning of his faith journey, finds himself in church for all the wrong reasons. I can relate because I, too, floated in and out of the Church over the course of 40 years, at my convenience, for all the wrong reasons. During that time, I could have been described as any one of the following types of Catholics:
a la carte
backsliding
bored again
cafeteria
convenient
Creaster (one who attends church only on Christmas and Easter)
disengaged
lapsed
loose hanging
lukewarm
nominal
roaming
Swiss cheese
If someone had asked me years ago if I'd like to see a movie about a priest, I would have laughed out loud, rolled my eyes, and answered with an emphatic "No!" And while I may have attended Easter Mass as a Creaster, I was there in body only. My heart was a million miles away. Once I recoiled from the Mass; now I cherish it. Once I saw church attendance as an endurance test; now I embrace it as a sacred time, a holy and beautiful mystery. Once I used my time in church to plan my week; now, I listen for the voice of God. I'll never be the same, thank God.
Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed Holy Week, along with an opportunity to experience Easter Mass and be inspired by Father Stu!