“Here I was in prison again. I’m twenty-two years old, no education, no hopes, staring at a six- to nine-year prison sentence.
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“If I messed up here and had to serve the whole sentence, I’d be thirty-one when I got out. I’d be a relic with one foot in the grave... So what was I going to do?”
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Jim Wahlberg knew that if he was going to get out of his second prison sentence before his thirties, he needed to hustle. So he decided to pretend to change for the better. And what better way to “change for the better” than pretend to befriend the prison’s priest? What Jim didn’t realize, though, was that the Catholic priest he tried to hustle was actually hustling him.
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In his book The Big Hustle: A Boston Street Kid's Story of Addiction and Redemption, Jim Wahlberg—brother of the famous actor Mark Wahlberg—shares his astonishing journey. |
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Jim Wahlberg and Mark Wahlberg |
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This is the real and raw story of a Boston kid who got on the wrong path, met the right people, and was led back to God. And it involves a saintly visitor, Mother Teresa, who visited the prison where Jim was being held. Jim writes: “The priest told me we had a very special visitor coming to the prison. And I said, ‘Oh, that’s great. Who is it, Father?’ And he said ‘Mother Teresa.’ I said, ‘Father, that’s great! Who is Mother Teresa?’ |
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“She came to the prison for Mass and I didn’t know who she was, but I knew instantly when I was in her presence that I was in the presence of holiness. For the first time in my life, I saw what true humility was…That changed my life.” He got clean—got out of prison—and got the girl he loved. He dedicated his new life to helping addicts and spreading the word that recovery is possible. |
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This is a story of redemption, and of a family’s healing. It proves that God brings hope to those in the darkest places... ...and shows the power of a saint! If you know anything about St. Teresa of Calcutta, it should come as no surprise that she touched the life of a prisoner, even one here in America. Mother Teresa had a special love for those who lived in spiritual poverty. Indeed, she once wrote, “If I ever become a saint—I will surely be one of ‘darkness.’” What would make her say such a thing? The dark night of the soul. |
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Like Jim Walhberg, St. Teresa of Calcutta experienced great seasons of desolation and spiritual dryness, but continued to hold onto her faith to the very end. |
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In his book, I Loved Jesus in the Night, Father Paul Murray, an Irish Dominican, shares his compelling account of meeting St. Teresa of Calcutta.
Despite the dark seasons of desolation, St. Teresa of Calcutta never lost hope in God and His mercy through His Son Jesus Christ. Discover the hope and redemption that Christ brings even in the midst of darkness. This set is on sale for a limited time! |
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