iPray

It’s very crucial to have a good prayer life, but it can be no easy task.  As a college student and an RA, I am constantly on the go.  However, that’s no excuse for prayer, because I have resources for prayer at my fingertips on my iPhone!  For anybody that has a smartphone or a tablet, you too have instant access to great prayer resources!

I have many apps on my devices that I use for prayer.  The first, which I use the most, is iBreviary.  iBreviary is an app that essentially has the Breviary in it – the Liturgy of the Hours – which I pray five times a day.  When I have a brief break between classes, I am able to find a quiet place to pray without needing a physical book to pray out of.

The app, Rosary Guide, is also a great app.  By simply tapping a button, you can go from bead to bead.  It also includes the Mysteries and the full text in case you forget the prayers.  I have the USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) Website bookmarked on my phone’s home screen—there you can see the readings for each day, as well as a Liturgical Calendar.  It’s a great way to meditate on the readings between classes or before Daily Mass begins.

A new, fantastic app that I recently added is Echo Prayer Manager.  It’s easy to say to people that you will pray for them/their intentions, but quite frankly, it’s also quite easy to forget to pray for them…sadly!  Echo reminds you to pray for a particular intention via a push notification or by viewing the checklist inside of the app itself.

These are just some of the great prayer apps out there; be sure to check them out on the App Store or Google Play!  Perhaps these apps can help your prayer life or even start it.  I know many people who utilize these apps while sipping their morning coffee.  When going to Adoration, I always bring my iPad with me, so that I have access to great resources like these.  More often I am seeing people praying using their devices.  I guess it is a sign of the times—at least, that’s how iPray.

Chris Hughes