iPray
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Faith on Thursday, January 08, 2009 6:00 AM
On Tuesday, immediately following my date with my “Radiation Girlfriends”, I hopped in my car and drove the three hours to San Francisco to attend the first day of this year’s MacWorld Expo.
For those non-geeks out there, MacWorld is an annual tech conference highlighting the latest and greatest of all things Apple. Where most of my friends would head to the big city to help their daughters find a perfect prom dress, this particular shopping spree was of the tech variety. At MacWorld, you can find anything from the highest end digital equipment costing thousands of dollars to accessories like stickers from the back of your iPod. If you’re in the market for anything related to Apple, a trip to MacWorld for the day can be a really fun outing.
One of the mainstays of this year’s exhibition hall were smaller companies showing off their new iPhone applications. With an iPhone, you can now hold a great deal of computing power in the palm of your hand and developers are hard at work coming up with new applications every day.
If you have an iPhone, there are a few really great Catholic applications that can help you find time for prayer and contemplation by bringing spiritual tools onto your cell phone. A few of the more popular Catholic iPhone apps include:
iBreviary - a virtual version of the liturgical book containing the Liturgy of the Hours, including the office of readings, the Mass readings, and a prayer reference (.99 to purchase)
Universalis Office of Readings - the liturgy of the hours, daily Mass readings and notes on the saint or feast of the day ($32.99 to purchase)
Holy Rosary - an application distributed with the intention of promoting the Rosary, this app helps your pray the rosary and includes the mysteries for each day of the week and the litany. You can even choose your bead style! ($2.99 to purchase)
Catholic Calendar - liturgical calendar for every year until 2300, including information about the saint of the day (free download)
The question I still have about many of these applications and the iPhone in general is whether having all of this information at the tips of my fingers will actual enhance my spiritual life. For me, grabbing for my iPhone has become an instinctive reflex in too many situations when I find myself waiting longer than a minute or two. Yes, I could use that time to ready the liturgy of the hours on my iPhone or pray a decade of the Rosary, but it’s equally possible that I will get distracted and check my email. Just as I try to stow my iPhone away when I’m having a conversation with my husband or children, I think I owe God my complete attention when I’m praying. I know myself, and how easily I let my thoughts wander.
I’m learning a lot during this time of my life about building in time for quiet, meditation, and silence. I’m learning about being a better listener for that small, still voice of God. I love the fact that my iPhone contains so many great Catholic applications that can better help me inform myself about my faith, but when it comes to praying, I’m thinking about sticking with the old fashioned way for a while!
Do you have any favorite books or technical resources that help you enhance your spiritual life? What do you think about using tools such as the iPhone to help center ourselves in prayer?
Print Blog
Email a FriendPost a Comment
By submitting this form, you give Faith And Family Magazine permission to publish this comment. Comments will be published at our discretion, and may be edited for clarity and length. For best formatting, please limit your response to one paragraph and don't hit "enter" to force line breaks.
