“What took place during the 60s was a moral tsunami,” the musician said between songs. “Please allow me to explain. The name of this moral tsunami was contraception. The world laughed at Pope Paul VI when he warned us about the dangers of the pill, but he was right. Contraception was followed by abortion during the 70s, no-fault divorce during the 80s and the homosexual agenda during the 90s. Today, it has culminated in the re-definition of marriage into something it is not.”

The audience was stunned. The musician’s candor surprised even the most committed right-to-life activist who had come to the concert. But this was no ordinary musician. Rather, Mark Mallett and his wife, Lea, live the culture of life. Fourteen years of marriage and seven children – one still in the womb – speak just as strongly to this commitment as Mallett’s words. “Make sure you tell your readers seven,” he shared with The Interim prior to the concert. “Lea and I start counting as soon as we know we’re expecting. After all, God has blessed us with a new life.”

Mallett’s interest in music began at an early age. “I started playing guitar when I was nine,” he recalls. “From that point on, I had such a passion for music and it just came for me very quickly.” He spent six years as a television reporter with CTV Edmonton. It was not until he was laid off a second time that he answered the call to become a full-time musician. “My goal was to be on the radio and write music that was uplifting, that would be building up people,” he shared. “Music is the door to evangelization.”

The culture of life features prominently in Mallett’s music. “The culture of life is positive and uplifting,” he explained during the interview. “On the other hand, the culture of death is ugly. It twists human sexuality, as well as the truth and the dignity of the human person. This is not uplifting. Art should reflect some form of beauty, of the human spirit and of creation.

“I like to use the analogy of a flower when discussing music,” he adds. “A flower is something beautiful. It is not always a religious symbol, but it is something beautiful that God created. While some of my music is religious, I also write music that tries to reflect the beauty of life in general. The beauty of living life and even of suffering.” During his concert, Mallett would use Pope John Paul II as an example of an individual who embraced the beauty of suffering, rather than the ugliness of euthanasia.

Mark credits John Paul II – often referred to within the right-to-life movement as “the Apostle of Life” – with having strongly influenced his music. “My ministry and my concerts aren’t just music,” he explains. “There is also a message with the music. Pope John Paul II has been a guiding light for me for a number of years. His writings were sometimes the only theological reading I would do. The words that came from him as the pope and his words just guided me. They guided my spirituality in a special way.” Mallett’s most recent CD, Song for Karol, is a tribute to the late leader of the Roman Catholic church. “I would not be an evangelist for the culture of life had it not been for Pope John Paul II.”

Mallett feels that Canada is ripe for the gospel of life. “I’m 37 years old,” he shares. “As I continue to tour the country and the schools, I notice that the vast majority of youth do not go to church anymore. Yet, I think young people are hungering for the truth. Unfortunately, the culture of death has inundated these young people with many negative messages. So young Canadians – like young people everywhere – need to taste and see the truth in the example of others who authentically live the culture of life.”

To hear samples from Mark Mallett’s five CDs, or to find out more about his music and how to book him for a concert, please visit his website at www.MarkMallett.com.