iPhones.....Benefits for Catholics!

At a conference over the summer I dropped my cellphone (AT&T Tilt) and the LCD screen broke. I replaced the screen on my own but the keyboard still had issues and there were some other minor issues. I was soon due for an upgrade so I started researching phones again. I really liked my Tilt but was hearing great things about the iPhone. After about a week I took the plunge for the iPhone and am really glad I did.

I can't say that I chose it because of the great applications (apps) because my original necessities were access to my email accounts and GPS software. I had that down the first day I had the phone. It's the apps that I've found since then that really make the phone a useful tool. Here's some of them:

Divine Office - visit DivineOffice.org for information about this great app. For $9.99 you get the Liturgy of the Hours daily. This is great for the car and now I can pray Morning prayer on my way to work and Evening Prayer on my way home. I use either a bluetooth headset or a cassette adapter to play it through the car stereo. I intend to get this bluetooth device that will both serve as handsfree phone in the car as well as play the iPhone apps through the car stereo.

Mass Times - visit CatholicWeb.com or do a search for "Mass Times" and you'll find a free app called "Catholic Mass Times". It is a free app. It uses the built-in GPS to locate you and then finds the nearest churches for you. Click on the churches and you get addresses and times for Masses, Confession, Adoration, etc. Also, there are buttons at the bottom of the screen, one of which links you to the Saint of the Day and Mass Readings for that day.

3 Minute Retreat - visit LoyolaPress.com or do a search in the App Store. For $0.99 you get a nice little application that gives you a mini-retreat everyday. Having a tough day at the office? Pull out your iPhone and for 3 minutes you can retreat from work and focus on what's really important.

RC Calendar - in the app store do a search for "catholic calendar" and you'll see a free app from Universalis called Catholic Calendar. This will provide the Liturgical Calendar from 1970 to 2300! Select a day and it will provide a short read about the Saint of the Day along with the Mass readings. Unfortunately they do not provide the text of the Psalm.

iConfess - a nice little app for $1.99 that is a great help when doing an Examination of Conscience in preparation for Confession. You can keep notes and then use them when you go to Confession. Also has the prayers and everything you need to make a good Confession. Have to admit, when I first came across it that maybe they actually had an app that let you go to Confession via the phone :-)

So those are the five I have so far. There are many, many others for prayers, the rosary, bibles, thoughts for the day, etc. But these 5, and especially the first three are great helps to my spiritual life