![]() Another neat feature: by tapping on a globe icon you see a map showing where other people are using the app around the world. Ideal for quiet time on a train or bus or even over your car audio system during your commute. The feature that sets it apart is that it will also download audio files of the prayers of the hours so that you can listen to a group of people praying, and pray with them. My second quibble is a priest-centric one: I wish the app also provided the parts of the Mass.ĭivine Office ($14.99): This app has all the functions of the apps above, automatically figuring out the date and bringing up the readings for the time of day. The app replaces both a lectionary and a breviary (not to mention being much easier to carry) so the price tag shouldn’t be a sticking point, in my opinion. In a world of 99 cent apps, $25 will give some people pause, but this is clearly a case of getting what you pay for. Two caveats about the app: First, the price. ![]() Exceptionally well organized and easy to navigate, this is best of the daily reading and Office apps I reviewed. Universalis ($24.99): This is from the super-useful Universalis software house, whose goal is to “harness computer technology to help enrich the spiritual lives of Christians.” The app contains all the readings within the app itself, so it doesn’t matter if you are on top of Mount Everest (although I read recently they have 3G coverage there now), you can get your daily readings and pray the Office with out a wireless connection. If our chapel had been a signal dead spot, I would have been sunk. Plus, all the readings update automatically when you turn the app on-in five different languages, no less! The only downside is that it requires a data connection. It includes the Office readings for the day and, as a bonus, all the parts of the Mass for a presider. I calmly fished under my alb, pulled out my iPhone, fired up the app and had the Gospel ready by the time I made it to the lectern. “I forgot to put the Gospel in the binder!” She whispered during the Psalm. Last year my campus minister, seated next to me at a student Mass, whipped her head around and turned white as a sheet. IBreviaryPro (Free): This app, which I’ve been using for over a year, can be a life saver. ![]() I focused exclusively on iPhone apps because of its userbase and because I don’t have access to an Android-based phone. ![]() My other criterion was one I alluded to above, namely, I wanted to find apps that were applicable to the non-techno person who was looking to use their device to add to their faith life. Most rosary apps had free versions so you could try them before you invest your 99 cents. I am not opposed to rosary apps I have one actually, but trying to separate the sheep from the goats in this particular instance proved to be a little too bandwidth intensive. So I began combing through Apple’s App Store in order to find the best Catholic apps I could.įrom the beginning, I left a few things off of my list, most notably digital rosaries. In the great Jesuit fashion, my confrere asked me to prove it. During a recent discussion with a brother Jesuit about the inherent goodness or badness (I believe the terms ‘Luddite’ and ‘Borg’ were trotted out during the conversation) of smart phones, I asserted that there were plenty of Catholic-centric uses for such devices.
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