As They Used to Say: There’s An App for That

AS THEY USED TO SAY:  THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

Philippians 4:8

Brothers and Sisters,

Despite inaccurate accusations from the secular world, it has always been the case that Holy Mother Church very much appreciates new technology.  It is just incorrect when the secular world says that the Church is living in yesteryear or needs to “get updated with the times.”  Here are just a few of countless examples:

• When the modern pipe organ was invented and introduced in the European continent, guess what became our favorite instrument
• When the internet became available, the Pope John Paul the Great established not merely a papal website, but just like most counties established its own top level domain:  France has .fr, the United Kingdom has .uk, and the Vatican has .va
• When social media was only just starting to take root, Pope Benedict XVI started tweeting
• When Father Jeremy wanted to get info to members of the parishes, he subscribed to FlockNote, sending instant e-mail and texts

I could go on (and on) over countless more examples of the Church using modern tech to communicate the Holy Faith to the whole world.  For now, however, I would only like to share with you some of the “apps” that I personally use to help me in the Holy Faith.  Of course I need to clarify here that this is not an endorsement nor is it in any way a demand for you to use these apps.  I am simply sharing with you some of the apps that I personally use which I find very helpful in trying to be a strong Catholic.

Catholic Calendar from Universalis:  this app shows you the feast days of the Church year plus a short summary of what the feast day celebrates or why the saint of the day was declared a saint.  You can look ahead to see when feast days are coming up (what day of the week is Saint Patrick’s Day next year?  when is Easter this year?) or simply look up the saint or saints whose feast is celebrated on your birthday.  PLUS: you can sync Universalis with your e-mail calendar so if will always be visible to you when you are checking your schedule for the day.

DivineOffice:  I have said many times that priests and deacons (bishops, cardinals, and popes) are required to pray at least seven times every day.  This app give you easy access to Morning Prayer, Midday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and much more.  The app will bring you directly to the appropriate day of the Church year whether that is simply Tuesday of the twenty-fifth week of Ordinary Time or a very special Holy Day.  You can pray the same prayers that the priests and pope are praying that very day.

Laudate:  the name means “praise.”  It is a general app with everything you need and nothing that you don’t.  Need to look something up in the Bible or the Catechism?  Do you want help going through the Rosary, Stations of the Cross or Divine Mercy Chaplet?  It’s all right there.

God be near,

Father Jeremy

Pastor