Top 5 Catholic Apps

I normally write about Catholic technology and social media as part of my Tuesday Tech Talk series. Today is the first of several theme writing days for the WordCount Blogathon so I am giving snapshot reviews on the Top 5 Catholic Apps I use the most often.

St. Josemaria - So I will tell you up front that this app is priced at $14.99, but is worth every penny. For those of you who participate in the formation activities of Opus Dei, the application contains a reminder for Daily Norms with links to various prayers and devotions. The app also includes EVERY book written by St. Josemaria (worth far more than $15 if bought separately) and the New Testament. It also includes a built ability to add your own prayers or ebooks as PDF's. The app also includes information about Opus Dei and St. Josemaria.

iBreviary- this app is available for FREE on iTunes. iBreviary was developed by an Italian priest, Father +Paolo Padrini who is known to follow Joe Catholic on occasion and is a consultant to the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The application essentially has three components: Liturgy of the Hours, the Daily Missal and the Catholic Prayers/Rituals. The application is available in five languages and several operating system platforms including Android, Blackberry and iOs (Apple). I most often use The Liturgy of the Hours also known as the Divine Office or Breviary. This is the "official prayer of the Church" (EWTN).  You have to sync the app daily or weekly to update the prayers.

iMissal - this app is the closest electronic version of the Roman Missal I have been able to find. It has all the Eucharistic Prayers, the Order of the Mass and all the readings. It lacks the ability to switch over to optional Feast Days, but often does provide choices for Holy Days of Obligation and Solemnities. The app has a Catholic news feed that links to Catholic News Agency. The designers of the app have added more prayers and an email subscription to get information about new developments in the app. Additionally, they have included the ability to purchase the Saint a Day app within iMissal.

Saint of the Day - this application was developed by American Catholic/St. Anthony Messenger. The material is derived from the book of the same name authored by Father Leonard Foley, OFM. The application is straight forward and allows you to search saints by name, cause and date. Additionally, the application has a short audio file link for each saint entry. There are also other features that connect the app to the American Catholic web with snippets.

 iPieta – Some of you may be familiar with the Pieta blue book that you see many people carrying with them, especially those who attend daily Mass. Like the paper version, iPieta contains a collection of traditional Catholic prayers, but this has much more than that. The application is organized into four categories: Bible, Calendar, Prayers and Veritas. I have written a more detailed review entitled iPieta: The Little Blue Book & More on Your Phone.

What are your favorite Catholic apps? Please write your answers in the Comments of Google+.

10 Apps for Lent

(Note: These are NOT the apps in the video)

Normally I would save this type of post for Tuesday Tech Talk, but since we are already in the second week of Lent, I thought I would post it today. Technology, properly ordered, can be a useful tool that can help you enhance your Lenten season. Here is a video from Catholic@pps highlighting 10 apps that can aid you this Lenten season. (They review each of these apps in greater detail on their site.) Maybe you just haven't been able to find a way to get into the swing of things this Lent. Here is my list of resources from last year.

Here is a listing of the apps as they appear in the video:

• My Year of Faith
• Catholic Sermon
• The Pope App
• Steubenville
• Fighter Verse
• Mea Culpa
• Catholic Meditations for Lent by Thomas Aquinas
• John Paul II (eVotions)
• Lighthouse Catholic Media Bible (Promo Code: 102318)
• Magnificat Lent Companion

Tuesday Tech Talk: The Mary App

Traditionally the month of May has been recognized as the Month of Mary. Therefore, it's only fitting to kick off this month's first Tuesday Tech Talk with a review of the Marians' Mary App. This is the same group that has developed the Divine Mercy App that I reviewed last month. The Mary App is free and structured in much the same way as the Divine Mercy App. The app is available in both Apple and Android platforms. The app consists of three chapters or pages: Doctrine, Devotion, and Mary Plus. You are able to navigate to each one by tapping icon buttons at the bottom of the screen you are viewing.

DOCTRINE
The Doctrine chapter includes six sub-categories organized into two columns and represented by images. Like the navigation for the pages, you simply tap one of the icons to go to each. The six topics include an introduction to the app, a timeline of events in the history of the Church related to Mary, Marian Dogmas, titles of Mary, FAQ's and a link to additional resources. Each sub-category will take you to a list of articles on that particular topic or in the case of the resources, link you to an online store for Marian books and sacramentals.

DEVOTION
The Devotion chapter contains a wealth of information and prayers to help you develop a devotion, a relationship with our Blessed Mother. This chapter is also organized into six sub-categories identified by images depicting the topic. Two features of this page that make the overall app a huge bargain are the interactive Rosary and Chaplets. Like other Rosary apps you can scroll down the beads as you follow the guided prayers. The settings permit you to select all four sets of Mysteries and to activate the Audio Rosary. The page also includes a collection of several traditional, Marian prayers. This section also includes a list of Marian Feasts and an explanation on consecration to Mary and a review of popular Marian sacramentals.

MARY PLUS
The Mary Plus section covers a variety of subjects not easily categorized into one title. Like the other pages it is organized into six sub-topics. These include a collection of beautiful images of Mary and a list of apparitions with articles explaining their status as authentic or not. The page also in Luke's a comprehensive list of Marian pilgrimage sites. This is not only organized by continent, but also by regions within individual countries. This is the most extensive list of this kind I have ever seen collected in one place. The last three sections contain information about the Marians, the Marian Helpers and a link to the online Divine Mercy and Mary stores.

RECOMMENDATION
The Mary App could have easily been sold as several excellent apps. Instead the Marians have compiled a one-stop app for all things Marian. This is an app that must be added to your Catholic Toolbox.

Tuesday Tech Talk: Lenten App

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and marks the beginning of Lent. Today, I am recommending Magnificat's Lenten Companion available to download at iTunes for 99 cents.

The Magnificat Lenten Companion application is built to work on iPad and iPhone. The application is organized in a day-to-day format. Modeling the Liturgy of the Hours the app includes opportunities to pray morning, evening and night. It also contains the daily readings and prayers. Additionally, it contains a number of other Lenten practices, including the Stations of the Cross.

Download it now so you can have it ready for tomorrow.

Tuesday Tech Talk: Evernote

Evernote is a multi-purpose application that allows you to access, create and save various "notes" across multiple platforms (PC, Mac, iPhone, Android, etc.). I use it to take notes when I attend an evening of recollection, Catholic men's conference or when I am presenting at Joe Catholic or RCIA. You can capture audio or even file photos. I like that you can tag your notes with key words which facilitates easy access later on. You can also create folders to organize notes into projects or categories. One other key attribute is the ability to share files with others who have the app.

You can watch a brief video overview of this application.

Tuesday Tech Talk: Basic Catholic Tech Tools

This last Tuesday Tech Talk I thought I would list out the basic tech tools every Catholic techie should have in his toolbox.

Bible - The mobile app created by Olive Tree is the still the best functional way to read and access the Bible when on the go. They have a New American Bible Catholic version available for $20. I wish they would make an RSVE edition; the Kindle version is difficult to maneuver.

Blog - There a number of great Catholic blogs from which to choose. If you are just starting to read Catholic blogs, I recommend adding Father Z's Blog written by Father John Zuhlsdorf. He consistently writes insightful and witty posts. While he is easy to read, he writes frankly and does not water down the truth.

Catechesis - Catholic Answers provides a great deal of accessable resources for learning, sharing and defending the faith. 

Catholic Calendar - The best way to keep track of feast days and holy day of obligation is the Universalis Roman Catholic calendar app. When you have Internet access you can also download the Liturgy of the Hours and Daily Readings for that day, the previous and the following.  It is free.

Daily Missal - Although the iBreviary (reviewed here) provides a decent missal app for free, I believe the iMissal app is simpler to use. I recently reviewed the iMissal for Tuesday Tech Talk.

e-Book - Recently the number of authentic, Catholic e-books available has increased. The release of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in e-book format makes it the hands down winner. The price is set at $18.99, but you need to view that as an investment.

Liturgy of the Hours - The iBreviary app will provide the most affordable and efficient way to pray the "official prayer of the Church." 

Lives of the Saints - Saint of the Day narrowly edges out Saint a Day because it has an audio component and a cleaner look. It also has a social media link which allows you to share with friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Mass Times - If you travel quite a lot or need to find a church, the Mass Times app is must. The app not only provides you with a list of the nearest parishes to your location, but it is integrated with Maps so you can get directions. In addition to mass times, it provides times for the sacrament of Reconciliation.

Media Library - EWTN maintains a large library archive of audio and document files. Additionally, the site streams live shows. If it's on EWTN you know it's going to be doctrinally sound.

Prayer Book - There are a number of prayer apps available but none as comprehensive as the iPieta app. This is the mobile app version of the little blue book you see daily mass attendees carrying with them. This app is more than a prayer book; it also contains a vast library of writings from saints, church fathers and the popes.

Rosary - I debated including a Rosary app, but in the end I had to go with the free CD's provided by CatholiCity. I copied my Rosary CD to my iPhone and use it to pray the rosary on my commute to or from work.

Tuesday Tech Talk: Last Minute, Low Cost Christmas Gift Ideas

For this final Tuesday Tech Talk entry before Christmas, I thought I would share my last minute low cost, gift ideas to give your Catholic techie.  Most of the items I recommend are priced under $20 and can be downloaded instantly or picked up at a local office supply or electronics store.

Amazon Gift Card - We love gift cards in our family because you can buy what you want, when you want. We often wait for after-Christmas sales to use our gift cards. The Amazon gift card provides the techie with a number of flexible options. He can purchase apps, media content or even electronic hardware. By the way, Amazon has a large number of Catholic eBooks, including the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I recommend using this link with a discerning eye as not all the content is guaranteed to be loyal to the Church magisterium.

iTunes Gift Card - OK, I promise this will not turn this into a list of gift cards, but this time of year you can often find deals to purchase iTunes cards at reduced rates. That means FREE money. The iTunes store has the largest app library and lots of media content too, including the iMissal app.

Surge Protector - I think it's crazy that we will invest a large sum on a quality laptop or other electronic device and skimp on a surge protector (if we even get one). I recommend doing some research for the appropriate surge protector for your needs.

Screen Cleaners - I like to use the iKlear products for cleaning my iDevices and laptop screens.  The cloths that come with the kit are good to carry in a laptop bag to clean up before a meeting.  The larger cloths are great to keep in your desk.

Catholic e-Books - I mentioned above that Amazon carries a number of Catholic e-Books.  If you don't want to worry about the fidelity of the content, I recommend purchasing your e-Books at Aquinas and More. Wherever you choose to make your purchase, I recommend  Be a Man! by Father Larry Richards and The Church and New Media by Brandon Vogt.

Tuesday Tech Talk: Advent App

What better way to reflect on this Advent Season then by using a Magnificat published app?  The Magnificat Advent Companion application is available for download at iTunes for 99¢ and is built to work on iPad and iPhone.  The application is organized in a day-to-day format. Modeling the Liturgy of the Hours the app includes opportunities to pray morning, evening and night.  It also contains the daily readings and prayers.

It includes a number of extras: meditations, essays, Advent Penance Service, art work (that can be used for meditation) and Advent Stations.

Tuesday Tech Talk: iMissal Update

iMissal has issued a number of updates just in time for the new translation of the Roman Missal. Most notable of these updates, is the recent inclusion of the Blackberry platform.  The new Blackberry version is $6.99.

iMissal has added some few new features since I last reviewed it. First, the settings tab now also includes the option to switch to the new translation. The app now has a Catholic news feed that links to Catholic News Agency. The designers of the app have added more prayers and an email subscription to get information about new develops in the app. Additionally, they have included the ability to purchase the Saint a Day app within iMissal. Interestingly, the app does not recognize the Saint a Day app within its menu if you have previously purchased it separately.

At $4.99, iMissal remains one of the more expensive Catholic apps, but I still think it is worth it. I actually prefer using the iMissal to iBreviary (still the best value for praying the Liturgy of the Hours) because I do not have to worry about syncing it before mass and the font is easier to read.

Tuesday Tech Talk: Ignio

Thanks to my cousin Lupe, I discovered this new Catholic app. The best way I can describe Ignio is that is a hybrid scripture and prayer app with a social media twist. Ignio means ignite in Latin, and your virtual candle gets bigger as you share your prayers with friends (up to only 11 others) who also have the app. In some ways, it has the potential to be an accountability tool with prayer partners or in a small faith sharing group. Ignio opens with a daily scripture for reflection (and memorization if you like) and it also has the daily readings. You can also post your prayers on a wall to share.

The app is available for free download on the Apple App store. Bishop Kevin Ferrell, the shepherd of the Dallas Diocese, blessed the launch of the app.

Tuesday Tech Talk: Saint of the Day App

As we approach All Saints Day (which IS a Holy Day of obligation) I thought I'd focus Tuesday Tech Talk on another tool to help us reflect on the lives of the saints.

The Saint of the Day iPhone application was developed by American Catholic/St. Anthony Messenger. The material is derived from the book of the same name authored by Father Leonard Foley, OFM. The application is straight forward and allows you to search saints by name, cause and date. Additionally, the application has a short audio file link for each saint entry.  There are also other features that connect the app to the American Catholic web with snippets.  The app costs $2.99 and is available on iTunes.

Here is a brief video demonstration of the app:

Tuesday Tech Talk: Catholic Mass Times

If you travel quite a bit or find yourself away from your local parish, the Catholic Directory's Mass Times application is a must. The app is FREE!

Using your "current location" or typing in a zip code, this app will find a list of nearby parishes along with their mass times and confession schedules.  This is a wonderful tool for helping you fulfill your obligation to attend mass on Sunday (or the Saturday vigil), which is one of the precepts of the Church.

This app is NOT associated with MassTimes.org, which has its own app, but it is not nearly as good as this one.  The website is still a great site to go to if you are at home or have wifi in your hotel.

Tuesday Tech Talk: The Better Part

Today's Tuesday Tech Talk is a review of a Catholic iPhone app - The Better Part. The app is based on the book by the same name. The app and the book are written by Father John Bartunek, L.C., who is also a primary contributor to the Catholic Spiritual Direction blog.

The application is a vehicle to transmit portions of the book on a daily basis to it user. What this means is that the app becomes a tool for daily prayer and scripture study. Father Bartunek organizes the reflection by gospel readings. You have the choice of reading through a gospel or following the gospel reading of the daily liturgy.

Father Bartunek frames the daily prayer and reflections into four categories. First, is Christ is Lord. These sections tend to focus on the context of the gospel reading while focusing specifically at the totality of Christ's life as our savior.

The second section is entitled, Christ the Teacher. This focuses on the underlying message and teaching Christ is sharing in the passage. The third section is Christ the Friend. In this section, Father Bartunek focuses on the personal relationship Christ is developing with us through the story of his life with his disciples. The fourth section is entitled Chris is My Life and generally consist of prayers drawing us into the scripture and asking our Lord for guidance in understanding what we have just read.

Father Bartunek concludes the reflection with a series of questions that can be used for private meditation or part of a small faith group sharing. Throughout the app, you are provided with a "+" sign which pulls up an outline of prompts to help you meditate on the reading. The Meditation Guide includes the 4 C's: Concentrate, Consider, Converse and Commit. Each of these has a few sentences to help you move deeper into your meditative journey, towards Christ.

I actually prefer the app to the book because I can carry this around when I travel. Furthermore, the type is easier to read than the one in the book. I recommend you add this to your Catholic Toolbox.

Need a Missal? There's an App for That!

Pope Benedict XVI & The New Evangelization
If  you have been watching the news recently, you may have heard or seen a story about Pope Benedict XVI sending out a tweet on his iPad. The secular press made a big deal out of this, but if you have been following his papacy, you know that Pope Benedict has been very supportive of using new media as part of the new evangelization. The Holy Father has already published a Vatican YouTube channel and an iPhone app. On the eve of the beatification of John Paul the Great, the Vatican even invited 150 Catholic bloggers to Rome for a special conference.


Tuesday Tech Talks
In that light, today I will begin a series of Tuesday Tech Talks dealing with the world of technology and its implications or application in our Catholic faith. Today I will review a Catholic smart phone application that works on the Android, Blackberry and iPhone/iPod/iPad. It's called the iBreviary and has been sanctioned by the Vatican. Several priests and even bishops use the application. Our own Bishop Kevin Vann of the Fort Worth diocese uses it when he travels.

There's an App for That!
The iBreviary application was developed by an Italian priest, Father Paolo Padrini, who according to USAToday is a consultant to the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The application essentially has three components: Liturgy of the Hours, the Daily Missal and the Catholic Prayers/Rituals. The application is available in five languages (English, Latin, Italian, French and Spanish) which you can change on the application settings.

The Liturgy of the Hours
The Liturgy of the Hours is also known as the Divine Office or Breviary and is the "official prayer of the Church" (EWTN). It appears on the app menu as Breviary and contains a collection of prayers, psalms and readings used for allotted times of the day. As official representatives of the Church, clergy and religious are required to pray the Divine Office throughout each day. Laity, though not required, are encouraged to pray the "prayer of the Church." In fact many parishioners who attend daily mass will join their parish priests in praying the morning prayers. I know of at least one parishioner in our parish who uses iBreviary to join our pastor in morning prayer. You can join in the prayers anywhere you pray.

The Daily Missal
This portion of the application is listed on the menu as Missal and contains The Order of the Mass, Readings and Prayers, Preface and Eucharistic Prayer(s). This acts like the St. Joseph Missal or MTF missal to which you may be accustomed. Instead of using ribbons to mark your places, you simply update the app daily and use the button tabs on the application to advance to the next part of the mass. I personally use this for mass all the time. At first, I was concerned people were going to think I was texting during mass, but I got over that. I've had a few people ask me about using my phone in mass, but they were all curious if I had the readings on it; this gave me an opportunity to share the app with them.

Catholic Prayers/Rituals
This portion of the application contains a number of traditional Catholic prayers. Additionally, it contains supplemental prayers for the Breviary to cover special occasion like the Office for the Dead.

Recommendation
I recommend downloading the iBreviary app. First of all, it's a great value - it's free! Secondly, it's an especially useful tool if you are traveling. I like that you can change the font sizes on the screen to make it easier to read. It does have a few areas where it can improve. Using your network connection, you have to sync the app daily by tapping the Today tab. This can sometimes take a while. I have gotten into the habit of syncing it while I am getting ready for mass. I've also had a few occasions when the mass readings did not match up with those read at mass. Again, overall it's worth having on your smart phone.

Tuesday Tech Talk: Mobile EWTN Streaming

EWTN audio and video programming are now available for live streaming on iPhone and other mobile devices.

EWTN on iPhone Instructions