Ever since I switched to this new Android phone, I’ve been trying to look for some good Catholic apps that resemble what my Apple-loving friends have on their devices. I must say the Android App Market is rather disappointing when compared to the iTunes App Store. But thanks to the recent upgrade on the AppBrain app/site, I discovered quite a handful of cool Catholic apps that can be downloaded and installed directly from my web browser. Let me  review a couple of them here.

iBreviary

One of the most popular Catholic apps on iTunes App Store has finally arrived on the Android App Market. The iBreviary is developed by an Italian priest, Father Paolo Padrini. The app has sections for the Breviary, Reading of the Day and Prayers, and is wonderful for Catholics to be able to keep up with their daily devotions while on the go.

Evangelizo – Daily Gospel

This app is developed by the folks behind evangelizo.org, and reflects the corresponding Gospel and Readings sections on dailygospel.org. There’s also a Saints section and an additional Prayers section hidden in the menu. You can also choose between the Ordinary Roman, Extaordinary Roman, Maronite, Melkite and Armenian Liturgical Calendars.

Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina stands for Divine Reading in Latin. The Lectio Divina app for Android consults the Catholic liturgical texts (readings, psalms, gospel) taken from universalis.org, and the lives of saints for each day or a date chosen.

Sincere Prayer

The Sincere Prayer app contains 4 major sections: Prayers and Verses, Prayer Journal, Daily Readings, Mobile Rosary. Worth mentioning is the Daily Readings section which contains links to various websites and podcasts where you can get your daily readings.

Mobile Prayerbook

This app offers a collection of Catholic prayers for you to take on the go. There’s also a Catechism section, which is great for folks who want the Catechism at their finger tips.  The user interface on this app is rather simple when compared to the others mentioned here, but still, it gets the job done. There are also separate apps available for Mobile Litanies and Mobile Rosary.

Catholic Mass Daily Readings

I had an earlier version of this app installed on my phone, where there were only daily mass readings and a prayer section. The latest update now has Liturgy of the Hours (Lauds and Vespers) as well as a Rosary section. Sadly I had problems updating to the new version, after I uninstalled the older version. So now I’m between a rock and a hard place. I tried contacting the developer directly via email, but he wasn’t very helpful, and has since stopped responding to my email. I’ve yet to see the latest version for myself, but the print screens and description from the developer’s blog look promising. At least for the short time that I had the earlier version on my phone, I had quite enjoyed it. I do hope to be able to install this on my phone once again.

All the apps mentioned are available free on AppBrain. Some of these apps are location specific, so you may not see it on the Android App Market. There are also some paid apps such as the iMissal that I’m not able to review here since I do not have access to paid apps here in Singapore. If you know of some good Catholic apps for Android, please let me know!

Tags: android, Catholic, devotions, prayers, Resources, Reviews, technology

We are currently in the midst of  “the week that changed the world”. Yes! It is Holy Week, most definitely the busiest week on the Church’s calendar.  And as we meditate on Christ’s suffering and crucifixion for our salvation, the Stations of the Cross proves to be a powerful tool in our contemplation Christ’s Passion.

Here are a couple of Stations of the Cross recordings I’ve come across while listening to some of my favorite podcasts:

• Catholic Music Express
  Jim O’Meara does a moving rendition of the Stations of the Cross as composed by St Alphonsus Ligouri, complete with beautiful contemporary Catholic music.
• iPadre
  A presentation of the Stations of the Cross, based on Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich by Father Jay Finelli.
• The Catholics Next Door
  Greg and Jennifer Willits does an audio version of the Stations of the Cross based on those celebrated by Pope John Paul II on Good Friday 1991.
• Divine Mercy Podcast
  Greg Keuter also has a recording of the Stations of the Cross on his site.
• What Does The Prayer Really Say?
  The great Father Z has a couple of these
  • 1st Passion Sunday
  • Palm Sunday – Passion of St. Matthew (sung)
  • Stations of the Cross – St. Alphonsus Liguori
  • Passion of St. John (Good Friday – 1962 Missale Romanum)
  • Stations of the Cross – Joseph Ratzinger (Good Friday – 2005)
• Pray-As-You-Go
  A series of 10 scripture-based meditations in the tradition of the Stations of the Cross.

Hope you’ll find the resources above inspiring and helpful in your Lenten meditation.

Tags: Catholic, devotions, Inspirational, prayers, scripture

Just when you thought cats only eat, sleep and scratch

Tags: cats, Humor, prayers, videos, youtube

There are plenty of podcasts devoted to Catholic music, prayers, devotions and worship. I’ll like to highlight a few here that I listen to on a regular basis.

The Catholic Music Express is a podcast is hosted by Jim O’Meara. It is a 1-hour radio show featuring the best contemporary Catholic music, Catholic news and upcoming events, and moments of inspiration. It also carries GrapeVine News Minute, a 10-15 minute podcast with the latest weekly news from the world of Catholic music, produced by GrapeVine Online and hosted by Susan Bailey.

Both Catholic Music Express and GrapeVine News Minute are featured on CatholicJukebox.com, an online hub for contemporary Catholic music, providing musicians with a presence on the web. The creator of CatholicJukebox.com, George Leite, also produces Catholic Rockers, featuring interviews with the best Catholic rock, hard rock, modern, alternative, rap and jam bands and solo artists today and their music, as well as Catholic Praise Cast, a podcast devoted to praising our Lord in song. Both Catholic Rockers and Catholic Praise Cast are part of the Star Quest Production Network (SQPN).

The ChantCast is produced by Father Jay A. Finelli from the Diocese of Providence. This podcast presents Latin Mass parts and other simple Gregorian chants. Fr. Jay also produces the iPadre Catholic podcast, iPadre Catholic videocast, as well as the Voice of Mary podcast.

Another podcast from Providence is Christus Vincit ANYWHERE!, produced by Brian Michael Page, Organist and Music Director at Holy Ghost Church in Tiverton, Rhode Island. “Christus Vincit” is Latin for “Christ Wins” and is also the name of a hymn. Christus Vincit ANYWHERE! combines liturgy, music and fun, which you can take anywhere. Also checkout the Christus Vincit blog as well as the Christus Vincit Network!

If prayer is your cup of tea, you’ll surely enjoy the pray-as-you-go podcast. This is a daily prayer session, designed for use on portable MP3 players, to help you pray while you’re on the go, hence the name “pray-as-you-go”. A new prayer session is produced everyday, each lasting between 10-13 minutes. Each session combines music, scripture and some questions for reflection. Pray-as-you-go is produced by Jesuit Media Initiatives, with material written by a number of British Jesuits and other experts in the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola. If you prefer praying in front of your computer, check out Sacred Space, produced by the Jesuit Communication Centre. While you’re at your computer, do take a look at:

• FindingGod.org – Catholic faith formation and spirituality resources from the Loyola Press in Chicago.
• Universalis – The complete text of the daily Divine Office online.
• The Daily Gospel – Get today’s readings online or emailed to you everyday.

Another podcast dedicated to bringing prayer to your player is the Praystation Portable, a member of SQPN. Praystation Portable aims to inject a bit of spirituality into your busy day-to-day life. When you subscribe, you’ll have a set of morning and evening prayers for every day of the week automatically downloaded to your aggregator.

SQPN also carries Verbum Domini, a podcast produced by Brian Noe. “Verbum Domini” is Latin for “Word of God”. The Verbum Domini podcast brings you the daily scripture readings, read by different lectors (or groups of lectors) every week.

If you happen to be really into praying the Liturgy of the Hours, you’ll probably also enjoy Liturgy of the Hours podcast series by Catholic Classes. The series is divided into 3 parts to be downloaded separately:

• Office of Readings
• Morning Prayer
• Evening Prayer

Catholic Classes also produces the Catechumenate podcast series, which corresponds with the Catechumenate program for this liturgical year derived from St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Holladay, Utah, as well as the PACE podcast series. PACE is Italian for “peace”, and in this case it’s also the acronym for Parish Adult Continuing Education, in which parishioners register for and receive print material focused on each module. The dialogue presented intends to stimulate real world behavior towards the peace of the Lord.

The Rosary is a popular form of Catholic prayer and devotion. If you find that you have trouble praying at alone, or if you just prefer being able to listen to the Rosary being read aloud, along with announcement of the Mysteries, the Rosary Cast – The Gospel as a Meditation podcast may be just what you need. the Rosary Cast is produced by Greg and Jennifer Willits from the Rosary Army, a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading devotion to the Rosary by making them, praying them and giving them away. Greg and Jennifer are also the COO and CFO of SQPN respectively, and they’ve produced other popular podcasts such as the Rosary Army Catholic podcast, Rosary Army Catholic Video podcast, Total Consecration podcast and That Catholic Show. The wiki link provided also contains many links to many other websites devoted to praying and spreading the Rosary.

Another popular form of Catholic prayer and devotion is praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. This devotion is based on the visions of St. Faustina Kowalska, also known as the “Apostle of Mercy”. In her vision, Christ tells St. Faustina to encourage souls to say the Chaplet, and promises that “whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death”. When the Chaplet is said in the presence of the dying, He will intercede with the Father for the dying person. Christ also promises that “even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace” from His infinite mercy. The Chaplet can be prayed on ordinary Rosary beads as a counter. The Divine Mercy podcast, produced by Greg Keuter, is dedicated to spreading the devotion to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Greg also produces the Divine Mercy Novena podcast, which is a Novena to be prayed preceding the Feast of the Divine Mercy, beginning on Good Friday. Christ gave St Faustina an intention to pray on each day of the Novena, saving for the last day the most difficult intention of all, the lukewarm and indifferent of whom He said: “These souls cause Me more suffering than any others; it was from such souls that My soul felt the most revulsion in the Garden of Olives. It was on their account that I said: ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass Me by.’ The last hope of salvation for them is to flee to My Mercy.”

These are just some of the podcasts and resources which I have personally come across in the course of my faith journey. There are still many out there waiting to be discovered. I hope the information shared here will be useful to all of whom are trying to discover the beauty of the Catholic church and its music, prayers, devotions and worship, as well as those who are trying to enhance their faith experience.

Tags: Catholic, devotions, divine mercy, gregorian chants, music, Podcasts, prayers, Reviews, rosary