As much as I hate to admit it, one of the constant battles I face in my life as a Catholic is with the ever present sirens (think beautiful ocean girls singing men to their doom, not police and fire trucks) of materialism. I recently gave in to the call of the sirens and purchased an ipod touch from Apple. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the ipod touch, it is device that plays music and movies. It can also connect to the internet, allow you to check your email, and run programs called “apps” which is short for applications. There is only one button, everything else involves a touch screen interface. I think it was the shiny touch screen that really sucked me in and dashed me against the rocks of consumerism. Anyway, after acquiring my ipod touch, I discovered that it could, if fact, enhance certain aspects of my spiritual life. There are several of the “apps” which are specifically Catholic and designed to help us keep our faith with us on the go in the modern, busy world. For example, iPieta contains the entire Catholic Bible (in English and Latin), a liturgical calendar (so you will always know who's feast day we are celebrating), a plethora of prayers, novenas, and devotionals (some of which even I had never heard of), The entire Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, most of the writings of the last 12 Holy Father's, as well as writings by many of the Church's most well known Saints, mystics, doctors, and fathers. All for less then the cost of a latte (and it doesn't have to be a large latte either). Another app that has come in handy to me over the last couple of days is called A4C, which stands for Answers for Catholics. It is an apologetics resource that helps you quickly locate the biblical basis for many Catholic teachings like confession, the Eucharist, prayer to the Saints, etc. The app, however, that has gotten the most use from me so far is called iBreviary. I have to update it each day, but that usually only takes about 20 seconds in the morning. It gives me the complete Liturgy of the Hours, including the Divine Office. It also gives me the the Mass readings for the day in case I am too lazy to make it to morning Mass, which usually I am. In case you are worried about how much all this will cost you let me put your mind at ease. A4C and iBreviary are both FREE (at least they were when I downloaded them), so if you have an ipod touch you have no excuse not to have these excellent resources. A couple of other free apps I picked up because I am a giant nerd are: The Confessions of Saint Augustine, The Complete Works of Shakespeare, The Stations of the Cross, and several works of Plato and Aristotle. I can honestly say that I practically carry a library of some of my favorite books in my pocket. I even found 101 classic novels for $0.99 (for the whole bundle) and have started in on the original Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now granted, the ipod touch is not my favorite way to pray or read a book, but I must admit that it is one of the most convenient resources for the faith that I have ever encountered, especially when it all fits into my pocket.
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