Into the Quiet

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Apps and links for praying the daily Mass readings and the examen

PAT GOHN

The ubiquitous use of smartphones and tablets around the world can prove challenging for the Christian who is called to develop a life of prayer, a life in relationship with God. Conversations with my fellow Catholics suggest that we all need to seek more time for prayer. Allow me to suggest some apps and websites to help us slow down, nourish our faith, and call us into the quiet. All suggestions are available in IOS and Android platforms.

For prayer with Scripture

1. My go-to rising prayers include Morning Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) and praying with the Mass readings of the day. I love my leather-bound breviary, but when I’m traveling, it’s clunky to pack. Then I turn to iBreviary with both the Office and the prayers and readings for Mass. Parish and school webmasters take note: iBrievary also has a widget available to embed its resource into websites.
iBreviary.org

2. Lectio divina devotees will appreciate the simplicity of the Living with Christ app that offers the daily readings, a variety of prayers, and saintly quotes for your day.
LivingWithChrist.us/store

3. Bookmarking the daily readings pages at USCCB.org is another way to pray with the Scriptures from Mass via your phone, tablet, or desktop. Besides the written Word, you can also find short audio podcasts and videos with preached reflections on the readings. Use the link provided for daily readings, and from there find the other links for audio or video.
USCCB.org/bible/readings/

For focused prayer time

The daily examen is a time-honored prayer for quiet reflection of the day’s events and to help discern God’s direction. It is based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Here is one app that will help you make this prayer a habit — and another that will help you develop the habit of a short daily prayer session.

1. Reimagining Examen is one of my favorites for its sheer diversity of invitations to prayer. From a traditional examen, to the examen of the day, to one of the many themed examens, this simple-to-use app captures many moods in prayer. It is based on the book Reimagining the Ignatian Examen: Fresh Ways to Pray From Your Day by Fr. Mark E. Thibodeaux, SJ.
ReimaginingExamen.IgnatianSpirituality.com

2. Pray as You Go goes with you wherever you are — perfect for a commute or whenever you can take a prayer break. Its website describes it: “It is not a ‘Thought for the Day,’ a sermon or a Bible study, but rather a framework for your own prayer. Lasting between 10 and 13 minutes, it combines music, Scripture, and some questions for reflection. … The style of prayer is based on Ignatian Spirituality. It is produced by Jesuit Media Initiatives.”
Pray-as-you-go.org

For both — a “combo” app

If the above were tasty single dishes, then Laudete is truly the combo platter. Around for years, this comprehensive app, available in multiple languages, links to Daily Mass Readings with read-along texts and meditations, the Order of the Mass, the Liturgy of Hours, New American Bible, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Latin Mass prayers, the Rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and many more prayers. It also links to the Pray as You Go podcast and others. Enjoy podcasts for the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, and more. CATmag.us/2wDpMkx

 

Pat Gohn is the editor of Living Faith.

This article was originally published in Catechist magazine, January 2020.

Photo by Enrique Jiménez on Unsplash

 

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