Catholic Apps for iPhone and Android – by Randy Henderson and Tessa Schealler

Catholic formation on your phone?

Our Lady of the Immaculate Heart’s Randy Henderson came across the following information on Catholic Apps for your Droid or iPhone from Roman Catholic Cop Blog and has shared it with colleagues.  Tessa Schealler from the St. Thomas More Center also shared two additional Catholic Apps.  These are awesome resources not only for YOUR phone, but also to pass on to your parents, young adults and teens.  Apps for one’s phone or tablet is a great way to extend Catholic formation past the Sunday celebration of Mass or the weekly formational opportunity.  Enjoy!

Confession

Confession: A Roman Catholic App – Designed to be used in the confessional, this app is the perfect aid for every penitent.  With a personalized examination of conscience for each user, password protected profiles, and step-by-step guide to the sacrament, this app invites Catholics to prayerfully prepare for and participate in the Rite of Penance.  Individuals who have been away from the sacrament for some time will find Confession: A Roman Catholic App to be a useful and inviting tool.  This app has a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur.  It is $1.99 for iPhone users.

iBreviary

iBreviary by Pro Terra Sancta – This app brings traditional Catholic prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours onto your iPhone, iPad or Droid device.  It also includes the readings and prayers for daily Eucharist, a rich section on saints and many other prayers.  There is a fee for this app.

The Catholic Directory

Catholic Mass Times – The Catholic Directory App will help you quickly find the nearest Churches, Mass and Confession times, Web sites, maps, directions, staff, bulletins and other important information.  This app is free.

The Better Part

The Better Part: A Christ Centered Resource for Personal Prayer – Father John Bartunek, LC, has created an extensive resource to serve as a daily meditation companion.  The Better Part enables us to read, meditate, absorb and apply the Gospels to our lives. Each Gospel passage includes four commentaries: Christ as Lord, Christ as Teacher, Christ as Friend, and Christ in my Life. It also precedes each gospel passage with a correlating quote from one of the saints.  Questions for small group discussion or personal reflection are also included.  You can choose to have your daily gospel passage go through all four Gospels sequentially or to match the daily mass readings. There is also a topical index of all four gospels, and a search option to look up a specific gospel passage by name/chapter/verse.  The fee is .99 for this app.

The Family Rosary

The Family Rosary’s Mobile Rosary – I like it because I can listen to the audio of the rosary as I’m in my car, if i don’t have my rosary beads on me, etc.  What is really cool, however, is that you can type in a specific intention at the beginning and then when you complete the rosary, you can share it on twitter, your Facebook page, a friend’s Facebook page, a Facebook group, etc.  So you can share specifically with who your prayed for to give them comfort, or share your intention generally with the world as an evangelistic tool.  This is a free app.

What about you?  Do you have any apps that you like?  Leave a comment below and we will publish these apps on a later post.

 

Father Barron Comments on Lent and the Practices of Lent

During Lent, the baptized are called to renew their baptismal commitment as others prepare to be baptized through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, a period of learning and discernment for individuals who have declared their desire to become Catholics.

Father Robert Barron, in the first video, presents Church teaching on Lent as the spiritual work of taking time in the desert to battle temptation (sensual pleasure, glory, and power).  When we can rise above these three temptations, we are ready to do God’s work in the world.

The second video provides his insight on three practices of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. He offers practical advice to enact these three pillars in your own life. In addition, Father Barron comments on the traditional practice of receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday.

“The key to fruitful observance of these practices is to recognize their link to baptismal renewal. We are called not just to abstain from sin during Lent, but to true conversion of our hearts and minds as followers of Christ. We recall those waters in which we were baptized into Christ’s death, died to sin and evil, and began new life in Christ.” (USCCB Website)

 

 

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday: First Sunday of Lent

Life Teen Podcast for the First Sunday of Lent is attached.  Readings for the First Sunday of Lent: Gn 9:8-15; Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Pt 3:18-22; Mk 1:12-15.

“Repent and believe in the Gospel!  The kingdom of God is being built today and is coming again.  Take stock of your life and your faith walk with God.  Where am I weak Lord?  Where do I need to improve Lord?  Remember you are in a covenant relationship with God.  Lent is about internal and external activities of the interior posture of your heart.  The sacrifices we make in Lent are an exterior expression in which we help our interior posture.  These exterior disciplines help us draw closer to God: to become more intimate with God.  This activity within the spiritual life begins today…not tomorrow or a week from Tuesday.  Point others to Christ by pointing yourself to him first.”  (Mark Hart)

This podcast is an excellent foundation for a weekly Bible study focused on the readings throughout the liturgical year.  These Bible studies can be at the parish, at a coffee shop or even on-line.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday Podcast – 1st Sunday of Lent

 

Care for God’s Creation Lenten Activities – Madagascar

To help resource Lent this year, we will use the Catholic Relief Services outreach to six countries to highlight a different key principle of Catholic Social Teaching.  Today we will focus on the Catholic Social Teaching Principle: Care of God’s Creation.  Today’s post will provide you with a CRS video about their work in Madagascar, two spotlights on how Operation Rice Bowl has helped people, a native recipe from Madagascar you can try with your family, and a lesson plan.

Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for God by our stewardship of creation. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions which cannot be ignored.  CRS’ agriculture programs in Madagascar and around the world help farmers in the poorest communities improve their harvests using environmentally sensitive techniques that help preserve the land for future generations.

Meet Mr. Robin from Madagascar

My name is Mr. Robin and I’m a farmer in Madagascar. I live in a very dry region where we often have droughts. But thanks to CRS, the farms in our community are thriving. Before CRS came to our village, farmers spent many hours carrying water buckets to the crops. We were only able to grow a few types of lettuce. We had to walk three hours to the market to buy any other vegetables we needed. Most farmers had to work several extra jobs to make ends meet.

CRS gave the famers in our village a treadle pump, and now we can water three times as much land in half the time it took with a bucket. We also received drought resistant seeds and training on new planting techniques. Now I grow corn, lettuce, sorghum, cucumbers, pumpkins, and orange trees on my farm. CRS also taught us new ways to keep the soil fertile, like placing squash plants in between rows of corn. My farm is so successful that I had to hire two people to work for me. I sell my vegetables right here in the village for half the price that is charged at the market. I’m also the president of our local farmers’ association, and I let other farmers use part of my land to test new crops and growing methods. With the help of CRS, we have really improved the quality of life in our village.

Meet Suzy from Madagascar

My name is Suzy Razafindrafara and I am a farmer in Madagascar. A few years ago, CRS and its partner Caritas Antsirabe came to our village and told us about a new way to plant rice called the System for Rice Intensification. When I heard it, the idea sounded a little crazy. How could using less water and fewer seeds bring a larger harvest? My neighbors laughed at me for trying it. But when my fields yielded one and a half times more rice than theirs, no one laughed anymore. Instead, people in the village asked me to teach them the new method too.

This new way of planting requires more work. We used to flood our fields to get rid of the weeds, but we learned that this damages the roots of the rice plants. Now we weed by hand, a task that takes four people two whole days to complete. The extra work is worth it. Before CRS came to our village, my family was only able to grow enough rice to feed ourselves for about ten months. Now our rice crop lasts the whole year. We often have extra rice to sell, which helps us pay for our children’s school fees. Sometimes we even have enough money to buy little luxuries, like a battery powered television set. Now every farmer in my village is using this new planting method, and we are all enjoying better harvests.

Lenten Family Recipe of the Week from Madagascar

The Catholic Toolbox Lesson Plan on Creation

 

Lenten Activities for Children, Youth and Adults

Ash Wednesday begins today and as in the past, I have delayed actually being intentional about my goals for Lent 2012.  Lent always brings surprises, but what am I willing to bring to this holy season?  Today’s post includes a variety of items for all ages including:

• Pope Benedict XVI giving a brief meditation on the significance of Ash Wednesday and Lent,
• Joe Paprocki, from Loyola Press, providing 40 daily activities for Lent 2012 that are primarily at-home activities but that could be a component in the formation sessions too,
• Center for Ministry Development lesson plan for Middle School youth regarding temptation and how we respond to temptation,
• Mark Hart explains why Catholics put ashes on their heads on Ash Wednesday
• Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur provides a Station of the Cross for women

40 Lenten Ideas for 40 Days, by Joe Paprocki

Lead Us Not into Temptation Lesson Plan by Susan Searle (Center for Ministry Development)

Mark Hart (the Bible Geek) explains why Catholics put ashes on their heads today

Stations of the Cross for Women

 

Operation Rice Bowl – Global Solidarity in Action

CRS’ Operation Rice Bowl is Catholic Relief Services’ Lenten program that began in 1975 in the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania as an ecumenical response to the drought in the African Sahel. For more than 35 years, CRS’ Operation Rice Bowl has offered Catholics in the United States a way to connect with our brothers and sisters in need around the world through the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Nearly 13,000 faith communities across the United States participate in the program each Lent to demonstrate solidarity with the poor around the world.

Seventy-five percent of CRS’ Operation Rice Bowl donations come to Catholic Relief Services to help fund development programs designed to increase food security around the world. These projects focus on initiatives that bring clean water, small enterprise development, agricultural expertise, educational opportunities, and HIV/AIDS and mother/child health programs to the poor in more than 40 countries. Twenty-five percent of CRS’ Operation Rice Bowl donations support hunger and poverty alleviation efforts in dioceses within the United States.

By praying with our families and faith communities; fasting in solidarity with those who hunger; learning more about the challenges of poverty overseas; and giving sacrificial contributions to support those in need, we can make a difference in our world.

For more information go to the Catholic Relief Services website at Operation Rice Bowl.

 

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Life Teen Podcast for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time is attached.  Readings for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25; Ps 41:2-3, 4-5, 13-14; 2 Cor 1:18-22; Mk 2:1-12.

“The living Word of God is Jesus Christ.  When God speaks things happen.  We get so caught in our past sins that we have not reconciled or we have not forgiven ourselves for.  It is important that we know that God will wipe out our sins for our sake.  When God speaks things happen.  Jesus is the living Word of God so when he forgives our sins in the sacramental priesthood things happen: sin IS forgiven.  We need to believe and proclaim the Word of God with our words and actions.  Will we walk our friends and those we serve to Jesus?  The living Word is waiting to relieve us and reconcile our sins.  Will we let God?”  (Mark Hart)

This podcast is an excellent foundation for a weekly Bible study focused on the readings throughout the liturgical year.  These Bible studies can be at the parish, at a coffee shop or even on-line.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday Podcast – 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Take the Food Stamp Challenge this Lent – Family Faith Formation Opportunity

Could you live on food stamps for just one week?

Did you know that each month 373,856 Iowans utilize food stamps as their main source of food?  That is equivalent to the populations of Des Moines, Urbandale, Clive, Ankeny and West Des Moines combined!

Thankfully, most of us reading this have no idea what it is like to use food stamps. We have been blessed with enough resources that enable us and our families to go to the grocery store and purchase what we need. And even stuff we don’t need.

But if we don’t really know what it is like to have to rely on a stipend or an allotment for our food, how can we effectively advocate for our brothers and sisters, neighbors and co-workers and friends and family who are in need of essential assistance?

2012 Food Stamp Challenge Flyer

Please join Catholic Charities for one week (or even just a few days) this Lenten season in taking part in the Food Stamp Challenge.  The Challenge is something the entire family can take part in.  Taking this challenge will help those who participate understand that those on food stamps are not living the life of luxury that stereotypes might suggest and that our friends and neighbors are seeking assistance for a reason.

Here is how it works:

1. Each person receiving food stamps has a monthly allotment of $133.79. That translates to $4.50 per day or $1.50 per meal. This is your food budget for all the food your eat during the week. (can’t do a week– shoot for just a couple of days!)
2. All food purchased and eaten during the Challenge week, including fast food and dining out must be included in the total spending.
3. During the Challenge, eat only food that you purchase for the project. Do not eat food that you already own.
4. Share your experience of how it is going at your faith formation session, school class room, youth ministry evening, parents group meeting, Bible study meeting and with Catholic Charities by joining the on-line conversation at facebook.com/CatholicCharitiesDM.

At the end of the week:

• You will gain empathy for those not as fortunate as you,
• You will use prayer to get you through the week,
• You will better understand basic food needs,
• You will probably be hungry.

You and your group are also invited to donate the money you save on food to St. Mary Family Center, Catholic Charities food pantry and free clothing closet. St. Mary’s is one of a many pantry sites that helps supplement food needs when food stamps are just not enough.  For those participating in other areas of the diocese, please consider finding a local food pantry and outreach center to support.

Donations can be sent to:
Catholic Charities – Lenten Food Stamp Challenge
601 Grand Ave. Des Moines, IA 50309

For more information or ideas on how to get your group or program to participate, contact Ken Bresnan at 515-237-5089 or by e-mail at kbresnan@dmdiocese.org.

The Food Stamp Challenge is being held as part of Catholic Charities Special Collection in parishes during Lent. Please consider participating in this important collection that funds services offered through Catholic Charities.

 

Do You Have 3 Minutes? You Have Time For A Retreat!

When do you pray?  Is your prayer time interrupted by the busyness of life?  Do you find time within your day for prayer or is it too hectic? Most people I know place prayer at the top of their things to do list…until that project is due…until the kids need to be someplace ten minutes ago…until dinner is late because work went late once again…and the list goes on.  I certainly know that this is the struggle in my life.

For those of us who work in the Church, we know that our service in the parish community is Christ’s ministry.  However, the tensions, the anxieties, and the busyness of the day can affect our decision to make time to be in relationship with Christ through prayer.  And yet, it is important to remember that Christ himself, stepped away from those he served in order to be in communion with his Father in prayer: and he is the second person of the Most Holy Trinity.  As Dr. Cheryl Fournier proposed recently at the 2012 CLADD Retreat, “Retreat is not running away from someone or something, retreat is about treating again.”  Since Lent begins next week, I thought it might be helpful to provide a few resources that you could consider intentionally inserting into your daily schedule.  By the end of Lent, you and I will have established a new habit.

Grace on the God: 101 Quick Ways to Pray (Moreland Press) is a book by Barbara Bartocci.  Amazon.com writes this about the book, “These days, everyone seems to race through the day multi-tasking at breakneck speed – with no time for quiet prayer. Author Barbara Bartocci was frustrated by this fact – until she realized an important truth: every single task is potentially holy if we do it with a holy intent. And that’s the premise of “Grace on the Go”. This book offers quick, imaginative ways to help busy people make prayer an integral part of their days. Part One contains short reflections from real life, designed to lead the reader into a few minutes of quiet meditative prayer, offering a brief “step of holy action” to incorporate into an ordinary day. Part Two offers ways to turn a single minute – from drive time to lunch time – into a prayerful encounter with God.”

Some suggestions from the book include:

1. An Alarm Clock Alleluia – When your alarm goes off in the morning, open your eyes and repeat this line from the Psalms: “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad.”  Commit to living in gratitude for the day, and you’ll soon notice how much happier your days can become.
2. Practice Driveway Meditation – This one is especially for those who commute to work. Turn your time behind the wheel into time for prayer. Before starting the engine, place your hands lightly on the steering wheel and breathe deeply several times. Ask the Holy Spirit to steer you through your day. Back out of your driveway slowly, and remain aware of the slowness.  As you drive, think about your ‘to-be’ list. Let words like compassionate, serene and diligent percolate through your mind. Let grace-filled thoughts carry you in a loving manner through the day.
3. Try Prayerful Single Tasking – We all feel too busy. It has become a workplace axiom that multi-tasking is a good thing, but a growing body of research shows that it actually erodes productivity.  Instead of dividing our concentration among many tasks, do one thing at a time-prayerfully. Offer your work as a prayerful gift to God. Ask for the grace to do it meaningfully, and without anxiety.
4. Touch the Earth – Native Americans have this saying: “Never let a day go by without touching the earth with your foot.” If only a couple of times each week, take a five or ten minute break to walk in a meditative way. Give up your usual energized stride to pay attention to the movement of lifting your leg, bending your knee, and placing your foot. Observe your breathing and your body. Look around. Notice the squirrels, the trees, and the sounds of nature. Nature tunes us into God’s presence.
5. Cook up a Memory – Next time you cook, pay attention to the memories that are sparked by the dishes you make. Perhaps you have old recipes lying around that you have forgotten about. Bless all those who sweeten your recollections, thanking God for the spiritual nourishment these people have brought to your life.

Another wonderful resources is the 3-Minute Retreat from Loyola Press.  3-Minute Retreats invite you to take a short prayer break right at your computer. It gives you the opportunity to spend some quiet time reflecting on a Scripture passage chosen specifically for that day.  Knowing that not everyone prays at the same pace, you have control over the pace of the retreat. After each screen, a Continue button will appear. Click it when you are ready to move on. If you are new to online prayer, the basic timing of the screens will guide you through the experience.

Loyola Press 3-Minute Retreats On-line

Finally, the Irish Jesuits have developed one of the first, and best, on-line resources for a quick prayer throughout the day in their Sacred Space website.  Each day they have selected scripture passages along with reflective meditations to guide you through a shortened, yet fruitful, form of the Liturgy of the Hours.

Sacred Space Website

 

 

Dating God: Live & Love in the Way of St. Francis with Brother Dan Horan

It may seem shocking to compare our relationship with God with the notion of “dating.” But this book does. With fresh insight and a deep personal spirituality, Brother Dan Horan points out that the desire, uncertainty, and love we experience in relationship with God resembles our earthly relationships: We set aside time for the people who are most important to us. Brother Horan reminds us that St. Francis of Assisi understood and even described his relationship with God in a similar way. Drawing from the Franciscan tradition, Dating God encourages us to see St. Francis’s spirituality, challenging us to reexamine our own spirituality, prayer, and relationships, and inviting us into a more intimate relationship with God.  Below you will find a series of six short YouTube videos that are themed.  These are great for a variety of purposes from learning more about St. Francis or helping young adults to engage their faith.

DANIEL P. HORAN, O.F.M., a Franciscan friar of Holy Name Province, has published numerous articles on Franciscan spirituality, Thomas Merton, and contemporary systematic theology. He has taught in the department of religious studies at Siena College, led retreats for groups of young adults, and has lectured around the United States and in Europe. He currently serves on the board of directors of the International Thomas Merton Society and writes the Dating God Blog.