Year of Mercy apps package

The Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy is here! You will want to browse a variety of mobile apps out there that target specific arenas of mercy which we are called to let permeate into our spiritual journey. Check back to this site for updates throughout the year as we discover more app gems out there related to this grace-filled year. We look forward to seeing your mobile app recommendations in the comments section below.

The official Year of Mercy is December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016

We start with the obvious choice, an app specifically developed for this Jubilee Year, 365 Days to Mercy  (Free) Apple and Android. Our Sunday Visitor has developed this app to help you in your journey through this special jubilee year designated by Pope Francis. You will receive daily inspiration, stories, and news along with:

• An explanation of the Year of Mercy, Indulgences for the Year of Mercy and the significance of Holy Doors
• Daily Mercy reflections
• Everyday Scripture reflections
• A Calendar of Jubilee Year events
• Year of Mercy resources
• Daily Pope tweets
• Year of Mercy news stories
• Chaplet of Divine Mercy
• Articles teaching about Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy

Our complete overview of this app is here.

Misericors (Free) Apple, Android — It is not enough to talk about mercy; we must live it. That is the straightforward aim with this app: getting users to do works of mercy in their daily lives. For this reason, Misericors is one of our featured Year of Mercy apps worthy of your attention. Here’s how it works:

After signing in, we are immediately hit with a listing of Spiritual Works of Mercy and Corporal Works of Mercy. Several examples are revealed under each work. That way we learn what the Church teaches about these types of service of love to others. We are then encouraged to choose an act of mercy and commit to doing it. Conscious of the youthful audience, the app offers a means of social engagement whereby users post specific acts of mercy they performed. This is a wall populated by a world-wide audience and another audience in the user’s language. On this wall, for example, a user may post under clothe the naked...”I sorted my clothes and donated a bunch to the thrift store.” Under comfort the afflicted...”I comforted someone whose dog is dying.” What a creative way to share fresh ideas and encourage one another!

The app keeps track of your deeds so you can see your personal progress in developing a habit of conscientiously looking for opportunities to perform works of mercy.

Considering that the popular 20th century devotion to Divine Mercy is rooted in Poland (with the revelation to St. Faustina), the combination of this Year of Mercy app specially designed to work in conjunction with World Youth Day in Poland is irresistible. Although it is Polish-based, Misericors automatically opened up in English after a United States download. Available in English, Polish, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian.

3D Catholic (Free) iOS and Android Developed by University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Church Life 3D Catholic app is designed to promote three traditional Catholic practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving (works of mercy)–practices traditionally connected to the season of Lent. and perfect for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. But the developers hope users go beyond a one-shot attempt, so they programed in unique features designed to help the user develop a daily habit of engaging these practices cultivating a life-long practice. This is achieved by joining a community connected through this app and by setting daily reminders for prayer, fasting and almsgiving (including works of mercy).

From Developers: “Join other Catholics in your area praying the Angelus every day at noon, abstaining from meat on Fridays throughout the year and performing least one corporal work of mercy weekly. View the real-time map to see where others are practicing the 3 devotions. Upload prayers to the prayer intention stream and take other users’ petitions into prayer while you are engaged in the practices of the 3D Catholic community.” Check out this detailed look at the movement behind this app.

We like the fact that it is a simple, yet serious attempt to help users cultivate a life-long habit of prayer, fasting and engaging in works of mercy. Just as with quality health/exercise apps, this app is integral to the process of engaging in fundamental spiritual exercises which can radically transform us in our spiritual journey.
Features
– Set daily reminders for Praying the Angelus at noon and Fasting on Fridays
– Find opportunities in your area to volunteer; add reminders to your personal calendar
– Prayer Intention stream generated from the app community
– Anonymously share prayers with people around you
– Track your progress on Prayer, Fasting, and Works of Mercy

Sacrament of Reconciliation – Confession

“How much wrong we do to God and his grace when we speak of sins being punished by his judgment before we speak of their being forgiven by his mercy.” Pope Francis – Homily, Opening of Year of Mercy

Catholics are called to the sacrament of reconciliation as the ultimate experience of God’s abundant mercy. Pope Francis said this sacrament will enable people to “touch the grandeur of God’s mercy with their own hands. For every penitent, it will be a source of true interior peace.”

The sacrament of Reconciliation is a necessary component of receiving a plenary indulgence available during this Jubilee year. Check out our selection of apps that help walk you through the sacrament of reconciliation on our Confession Apps page.

As Pope Francis wrote in his formal Letter outlining the Jubilee Year of Mercy Indulgence, “It is important that this moment [of walking through a Jubilee Holy Door] be linked, first and foremost, to the Sacrament of Reconciliation [Confession] and to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with a reflection on mercy.

Divine Mercy

The most popular devotion centered on the theme of the Mercy of Our Lord is the Divine Mercy Chaplet and related devotions.  And the free Divine Mercy app is the best in this category for Android or Apple mobile devices. The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, who have promoted the authentic message of Divine Mercy since 1941, developed this OFFICIAL Divine Mercy App which covers the entire mystery of Divine Mercy–origin of the devotion, detailed information on messages surrounding the devotion and much more. Easy to navigate in a beautiful display format, you get:

• Interactive Chaplet of Divine Mercy with an audio option
• Detailed explanation of the three ways to observe the Hour of Great Mercy
• Stations of the Cross, complete with images and the text of St. Faustina’s Way of the Cross
• Images of Divine Mercy
• Explanation of the Feast of Divine Mercy, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday, complete with answers to frequently asked questions
• Novena to Divine Mercy and other popular Divine Mercy prayers…and more!

Catholic Social Teaching

It is not enough to receive mercy. We must also be merciful and develop a merciful heart full of compassion.
Catholic Social Teaching app (Free) iOS Don’t let the low-tech icon fool you into thinking this is a cheesy app. Produced by the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC, this app offers rich content for users to explore Catholic social teaching, a central and essential element of our faith. This app neatly segments study of the topic into four parts: commentary, Church documents, authors and cross-reference search. You’ll likely head straight to the commentary segment which is filled with links to published articles on topics relevant to today’s social justice issues. Kudos to the app developers for providing links to the original source of the articles with brief summaries. Further kudos for choosing an impressive list of Catholic authors representing a broad spectrum of thought including popes, bishops, theologians, canon lawyers, scholars, pundits and, of course, a Jesuit or two. But do not expect to find commentary leaning wildly left or right as most articles are gleaned from publications which make no apologies for adhering to the teaching magisterium of the Church. Principle ecclesial documents key to understanding social teaching in light of the Catholic faith are all included from Rerum Novarum (1891) to Evangeli Gaudium (2013). These are primary, indispensable sources articulating our modern faith tradition in this arena. The built-in search cross-references commentaries and Church documents, but the search terms do not typically bear much fruit. Eight languages: English, German, Polish, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese.

Magnificat Year of Mercy Companion ($4.99) e-book iTunes, Kindle, Kobo — The publishers of the popular Magnificat devotional booklets have created an e-book version of their special Year of Mercy Companion.  The goal is to offer a daily means of helping you to encounter and share the Father’s mercy. Each day during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year the publisher notes you will be treated to:
– Poetry that helps you contemplate the miracle of mercy (Sundays)
– Meditations from saints and spiritual masters who share their profound insights into this divine gift (Mondays)
– Profiles of saints whose lives exemplify extraordinary witness to mercy (Tuesdays)
– Teachings of the Catholic Church that explain and highlight this virtue (Wednesdays)
– Stories and testimonies of people who have chosen the path of mercy, including non-canonized faithful, literary figures, and victims of tragedy (Thursdays)
– Reflections on essential Scripture passages that reveal God’s merciful nature (Fridays)
– Devotions and prayers that draw us closer to God’s merciful heart (Saturdays)

“The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history.” –Pope Francis– homily, Opening of the Year of Mercy