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Top Lent Apps for 2019

Jennifer Kane

Browse our choice of best Lent apps for this year! Lent begins Wednesday, March 6, so you’ll want to spend time browsing these intelligent, Gospel-based ideas for living the season in such a way as to foster a more loving response to our neighbor and bring us closer to God. Enjoy subtle, gentle ways that help you to engage your faith and to live your Christian life more fully (even with a smile as you receive Friday no-meat reminders).  Of course, Confession apps cover that critical component of the Lenten experience, reconciliation.  So don’t forget to wonder over to that page to check our those apps. And remember, we are a world-wide community of Catholic app users, so let us know about your great finds in comments below.  Here are our recommended Lent apps for 2019:

MP3 Cardinal Newman (Free) Android | Apple 

We will soon have a new saint who already has an app devoted to his sermons! Pope Francis recently approved the canonization of Bl. John Henry Newman, a Roman Catholic cardinal, scholar, and founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England. While his canonization date has not been set (should be this year), Lent is a wonderful time to get to know this saint by spending time listening to many hours of his talks on MP3 Cardinal Newman. 

Enjoy audio recordings of almost 200 talks from this great 19th century Catholic preacher and writer who speaks to you on themes surrounding Scripture, feast days and many subjects dealing with the human experience, Church teaching and spiritual growth. You’ll enjoy the pleasant English accent of many of the readers as you listen to inspiring, clear and beautifully-written sermons. Indeed, he is known as one of the 19th century’s greatest English prose writers. These sermons are among his greatest “plain” sermons. The first recording blessedly offers an introduction to this great saint’s life and works and the source of the text of these recordings. Keep in mind that his high Victorian prose can be a bit weighty and his explanation of certain tenants of our faith may not be exactly how we would express them today. But as you listen, you will encounter fruitful gems like this one from a sermon titled, Sacred Privileges: “This is the use too of the observance of sacred seasons [when we offer sacrifices or engage in self-denials or increase our prayer]. They ween us from this world. They impress upon us the reality of the world which we see not.” 

Download the app for free to enjoy a couple sample talks in each category listing. Upgrade to the full version ($8.99) to have unlimited access to the complete library of talks. Internet connection required to access audio files. Because they’re not downloaded, your hard drive space is saved.

A red ribbon marks the last sermon you heard so you can easily find your place. The screenshot above displays the talks for Lent/Easter/Pentecost.

 

Xt3 Lent Calendar 2019 (Free)  iPhone | iPad | Android Phone | Android Tablet  Available for download starting on Ash Wednesday. If you like to follow Lent with an Advent-style calendar in which content is released for view when the day arrives, this is for you. Starting on Ash Wednesday, you will get videos, podcasts and articles to guide you toward the Christian celebration of Easter. This includes podcasts and blogs from Australian Catholics on prayer, fasting and almsgiving, a small act of penance that you may choose to add to your Lenten promises, and much more!

The Lent calendar is a Catholic resource suited for youth groups, parishes, schools or to be used for your own individual Lent journey.

If you want to access the calendar via your browser, here it is! But remember, it’s a calendar that only opens when the individual day arrives.

Here’s their Lent promo video…

 

3DCatholic (Free) Apple 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. 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

 

Pray As You Go  (Free) Apple | Android Make a digital retreat for Lent with beautifully-produced audio retreats brought to you by Jesuit Media Initiatives out of Britain. This app invites you to spend about about 11 minutes per day (not just during Lent, but all year long!) in a systematic method of prayer which you follow in an audio format; they call this form of exercise “imaginative contemplation” as you are taken on a guided mental cruise of spiritual discovery and wonder and challenge with music, Scripture and questions for reflection.

Their Lent 2019 Retreat is titled: The Way of Ignatius Loyola. According to developers, they are offering an  “audio adaptation of a brand new book by Gemma Simmonds CJ. Gemma uses the story and prayer tradition of St Ignatius of Loyola, together with the contribution of the seventeenth-century Yorkshire woman, Mary Ward.”

These specific retreats, a separate offering from their regular daily retreats, are uploaded once per week during Lent.

Pray as You Go is a valuable addition to your mobile device as a daily retreat you can engage all year long. In the regular section of Pray as You Go, a new prayer session is produced for each day of the week and one for weekends with material written by a number of Jesuits and other experts in the spirituality of St Ignatius of Loyola, according to developers. Although the content is different every day, it keeps to the same basic format of gently weaving together music, a passage of scripture and a few questions for personal reflection in a each prayer session. Developers say the framework of prayer allows you to:

You will appreciate the ability to set the time you’d like reminder notifications to pray. The wide variety of music in this app is a significant feature, as this app review noted. Music is used as a conduit to help with your meditation. You WILL enjoy some pieces so much you will want them for you collection. No problem. Go to Pray as You Go’s web site to purchase/ download any of the music you discover on the app.

 

Meditation on the Passion of our Lord is a particular devotion during the season of Lent. The Passion of Jesus app Apple ($1.39)| Apple Watch | Android ($.99) is designed to help you develop a tender daily devotion to Jesus Christ and his passion by engaging you–in real time–in the last 24 hours of Christ’s life. The events are put in sequence as found in Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Based on your local time, you are served a respective passion image, a corresponding reflection (based on the collective writings of Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri), response and suggested prayer intentions.

This passion timeline enfolds over a 24 hour period, but you can change this to other timelines to accommodate your schedule– 8 hours, 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Its developers note:

“The primary goal of this reflection is to engage believers to ponder and reflect on each aspect of the Passion by allowing time and eternity to intersect, by allowing the power of the cross to pour into our daily lives, no matter where we are or what we are doing….for a few moments, to pause and cast a glance at our Lord and permit this awesome, life-changing reality to bear fruit, to illumine, to set free & to save.”

Also included with this app are

 

Take a look at how the app works.

Magnificat Lenten Companion 2019 You can get the e-book version of this popular devotional booklet for Apple  ($2.99) Android ($2.99)
Kindle, ($2.99) Nook, ($2.99) Kobo ($2.93). This is the popular devotion presented in a day-by-day format.

Includes daily liturgy (Mass readings), Stations of the Cross, meditations, penance service, devotional prayers and much more. We are proponents of bringing your mobile device into church to use as your Missal because it is a terrific aid in being present at liturgy. This may be a good time to start because this app or e-book version is at your fingertips. Of course the convenience of having this resource is valuable for down times like waiting for your children at team practice or quiet times when you just want to steal a few minutes to meditate.

    

Catholic Meditations for Lent by St. Thomas Aquinas–Apple Lite version is free and offers meditations every other day. Full Version is $2.99 and offers each day’s meditation beginning on Septuagesima Sunday–three Sundays before Ash Wednesday–through Holy Saturday. If you are looking for daily in-depth, scholarly meditations from the great Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, this is your app. You will be impressed by the myriad of topics diving into Scripture passages each day right up through the passion, death and resurrection of Our Lord. Feast on his famous “points” to each meditation which draw you deeper into the theological perspectives the great saint shares. You will enjoy the ability to share meditations on social media, email or just copy into your notes. Cool 3-D touch shortcuts take you to the day’s mediations.

Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl (Free) Apple| Android |Apple Spanish Version. Bring Lent to life through daily meditation and sacrifices. This app takes a unique twist on alms giving by putting a price on various items you may give up for Lent. With values in dollars, you can donate that amount to CRS through the app or make a pledge. That direct dollar value connection to giving is a real motivator because it puts your little sacrifices into concrete action to help others in the world who are in need. Available in English and Spanish.

 

LentBuddy (.99 cents) Apple This little app operates as a simple reminder of what the Church requires of you on a particular day in Lent and what your expectations are for yourself. It also offers daily Mass readings from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ web site (requiring internet connection). Upon opening the app for the first time, you are asked to set a time of day you would like your daily reminders to appear. This is useful, particularly if you need that early Friday morning reminder not to eat meat that day. You are also asked to list those elements of Lent you wish to focus upon–what you intend to give up or particular devotions or practices or disciplines you wish to engage each day. So, both reminders–Church and personal–are served to your device screen at the time you request. This app hasn’t been updated for 2019 as of this posting.

An essential component of your spiritual journey is engaging the Word of God. How about making a commitment to reading the entire New Testament or all four Gospels during Lent? You can EASILY do that with…

Truth & Life Dramatized audio Bible New Testament (Free text of entire Bible with in-app purchase to unlock audio of New Testament; Gospel of Mark audio free) RSV-Catholic Edition translation  Apple | Android | Windows PC |Kindle Fire | Nook

Imagine a reading plan that will serve the text to you on your mobile device AND read it to you! This is not your ordinary audio book. We’re talking a world-class production of the Bible read by more than 70 actors (many celebrities) with movie studio sound effects and an original music score!

On a long road trip? Stuck in traffic? Fire up this app and enjoy having the Gospels read to you while you listen to the oars of Peter’s boat slapping the water on the Sea of Galilee or the crowds gasp in amazement on witnessing a miracle from Jesus. You’ll enjoy the original background music that dramatically enhances the readings.

From Developers: “More than 70 actors help bring the scriptures to life in this 22-hour audio production, complete with this award-winning audio New Testament … endorsed with an Imprimatur from the Vatican and including a foreword by Pope Benedict XVI.”

The 40-Day reading plans cover your choice of the New Testament or just the Gospels. As an added bonus, you get the audio version of the Gospel of Mark with this free version with the ability to upgrade (a mere $20) to the full New Testament audio at any time. So while the complete Bible text is free and the Gospel of Mark audio is free, the rest of the New Testament audio is available for purchase. And it’s worth it in spades.

While you can download it directly from your app store, our preferred way to get this Bible app is to go through the free EWTN app. This Catholic multi-media app provides a seamless portal to the Truth and Life Audio Bible while at the same time offering you all their great programing which you should have anyway.

Individual audio books of the New Testament are $1.99 ea; the complete new Testament is $19.99 and the entire package audio and separate Ignatius study bible is $29.99.

In addition to exhilarating audio, the app features:

   

Check out the video promotion for this app:

Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross is a devotion that invites us to literally walk with Jesus during his Passion and Death, stopping at key moments to meditate and pray. At each of the 14 blessed stations we reflect on the event that went on in that time and place. Special graces are attached to walking the Stations in a Catholic church. Yes, you may bring your mobile device with you to read the prayers and meditations as you walk the Stations on your own. While a church is an ideal setting to pray this devotion, praying these stations on your own outside of a church setting can still be of great spiritual aid for you, of course. These apps certainly help to enrich your prayer experience with beautiful imagery, meditations and even audio in some cases. 

Via Dolorosa ($2.99) Apple | Android If ever there was a blessing of an app, it is this one. Imagine walking in the footsteps of Jesus on his Way of the Cross in the designated locations as they appear today. This very journey that pilgrims take in the Holy Land is offered to you in a virtual setting supplied by this lovely app. Enjoy beautiful photographs of each station blended in a video format with serene background music as you listen to the description, reflection and prayer. The narration, delivered in a soothing voice, gently walks you through the scene as described by Scripture and tradition. You get a sense of what went on in those specific places you see before you.

Like an actual pilgrim in Jerusalem, you are supplied with an interactive map which denotes the actual place of each station on the Via Dolorosa. These stations were officially designated in the 19th century, but generally follow the route of pilgrims centuries earlier. While nine of the stations are based on Gospel accounts, the rest are based on tradition (Jesus’ three falls, his meeting with his Mother, and Veronica wiping his face).  If you can’t get to a Catholic church to walk the stations (complete with the graces that come with that effort), this is an inspirational substitute. Yes, these follow the designated stations in a Catholic church. The audio portion of the app alone is worth the price. Listen to this on your way to or from work, or while you’re out for a walk. It is a beautiful way to end your day before going to bed.

Via Dolorosa App is developed by the World Evangelical Alliance, one of the world’s largest alliances of Christian churches. So while the descriptions and photos show you key art and architecture of each station (many of them in Catholic churches/chapels), you won’t see the Fourth Station’s magnificent Eucharistic Adoration chapel, for example.

 

Way of the Cross Android ($1.99). Traditional stations with scripture passages and Reflections from Pope Benedict XVI’S Good Friday Way of the Cross public prayer 2006-2011. From Developer: “In the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John Paul II directed an annual public prayer of the Stations of the Cross at the Roman Colosseum on Good Friday. Originally, the Pope himself carried the cross from station to station, but in his last years when age and infirmity limited his strength, John Paul presided over the celebration from a stage on the Palatine Hill, while others carried the cross… Each year a different person is invited to write the meditation texts for the Stations.”. Choose the version (year) you wish to use. This app would be greatly enhancedwith reflections composed by Joseph Card. Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, for the 2005 Good Friday observance at the Colosseum in Rome. This app allows for landscape viewing in addition to portrait. You can enlarge both the text (for easy reading!) and photos. English & Spanish.

iStations ($1.99) Android | Apple. Traditional images of stations and the popular St. Alphonsus Liguori devotional text. For most people, that’s all they ask for. But you get more–There is an audio version imbedded. In that case, bring your ear buds if you’re in church.  If you are not in church, the app helps to simulate the experience by providing beautiful traditional art depicting the stations for you to use in your private prayer. Two traditional methods, including a Franciscan method. Also, text of traditional prayers in English and Latin.

 

Via Crucis: Catholic Meditations on the Way of the Cross by St. Francis of Assisi ($2.99) Apple Why shell out three bucks for this app? Because you don’t often find one based on “Meditations on the Way of the Cross” by St. Francis of Assisi. In addition, the classic artwork offered is just gorgeous on your device. This art includes timeless masterworks in painting and stained glass. Touch the picture and it opens to a larger format via 3-D touch which you can pinch/zoom to fill the screen.

St. Francis’ meditations bring us into Christ’s sufferings, challenging us to consider our part in each station. They are brief and to the point. This is the type of app is fine to use while you’re in church walking the Stations on your own or outside of church using the beautiful artwork to aid your meditation.

We appreciate the option to change the font size for easier reading. Offered in 4 languages: English, Italian, French, and Portuguese.

 

 

All Catholic Music… All the Time!

Lent is a great time to explore new ways of focusing our attention on spiritual matters. One way to do that is to change the music we listen to. “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom and teaching…with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16) For this reason, we offer two solid apps that offer nothing but streaming Catholic music 24/7 on your mobile device.

iCatholic Music (Free) Apple | Android   The #1 Catholic Radio App in the world, iCatholic Radio, offers this separate app dedicated to streaming contemporary music by top Catholic artists on weekdays and Saturdays. Sunday mornings switch to several hours of sacred Gregorian chant, offering perfect background music as you prepare for Mass. With this app you not only get spiritually-enriching Catholic music 24/7 (no matter where you are in the world, and no matter what time you’re listening), but you get valuable on-demand features:

 

Great Catholic Music (Free) Apple   A Catholic media company out of Ohio, Living Bread Radio, offers a stand-alone app to fill the need for those just looking for well, great Catholic music. Their selection includes hymns that you’d hear in church as well as Catholic contemporary music. This is a basic click and play app. They don’t offer any other resources–just their commercial-free music. What you’ll particularly enjoy is the professional rendition of so much of the music you hear at Mass. The hymns sound like entirely new compositions (particularly if your parish’s music ministry isn’t exactly ready for prime time). Hear our hymns at full throttle, capturing your imagination and touching your soul.

Dive into a new app or two to open yourself up for graces. Make this a Lent that will transform your life!

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