
That exhilarating feeling on Easter when you’ve just traveled a rewarding Lent. These apps can help. We only choose intelligent, Gospel-based Catholic apps designed to bring you closer to God. Browse this year’s selection of the best Lent apps out there so you’re prepared.
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 those out. And remember, we are a world-wide community of Catholic app users, so let us know about your great finds! Here are our recommended Lent apps for 2022:
First, set up your device for Lent

Hallow
Hallow Free download with access to a bunch of exquisite content. Subscription necessary to open access to full content–monthly $8.99; annually $59.99 Apple | GooglePlay
When is the last time you learned a new way of praying? Lent is a good time to turn to prayer with intention. This serene, guided meditation app is all about you and your soul entering a blissful, meditative audio environment to help you pray. The goal? To slide you into a meaningful dialogue with God so you can nurture your relationship with him. The enormous catalog of content (prayer, meditations, scripture, reflections, bedtime Bible stories, etc.), utilizes peaceful, calming audio to stir your soul–from the velvety voices reading to you, to the soothing music/sounds in a variety of genres. Step by step, you will be led into prayerful meditation like you may never have experienced in your life.
For Lent, the Hallow app offers its #Pray40 Challenge, a weekly spiritual journey through the seven last words of Christ in the final hours before his death.
On the free side of this app you get meditations on the Daily Gospel (updated every day), audio Rosary, the pandemic “Stuck at home” praylist, Spiritual Communion, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Examen (examination of conscience), Spiritual Writing, and Christian Meditation sessions. Each of these offerings comes with a choice of two voices as your guide, three length options, nine background music selections, a journal, prayer reminder options, goal setting and tracking. You also have access to all of the Guest Sessions, and Minute Meditation sessions. The free side also generously includes the Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz.
To unlock the full version of this app to access all its content, you must subscribe (monthly $8.99; annually $69.99). Before you squawk at the price (which I sure did at first!), please consider what you pay for streaming media subscriptions. Content in THIS app can help save your soul (Can you say that about Hulu or Netflix?) because it’s focused on one thing: to help get you in a mindset to talk to God. That relationship is the most important relationship in your life. And if you are a nominal Catholic routinely going through the motions of your faith, begrudgingly going to Sunday Mass when prodded or not giving God much thought, it’s time to grow up, spiritually speaking. Let’s be honest. Hallow is so jam-packed with content (packaged in tasteful, minimalist design), it takes eight full minutes to run through everything this amazing app offers (complete with celebrities), as this video demonstrates:
English/Spanish (limited).
Developed by a University of Notre Dame alumnus and guided by experts in the Catholic Church, (including his bishop!), Hallow relies on the riches of the Catholic Church’s ancient teachings on prayer and meditation/contemplation.
Special note: If you can’t quite splurge on the investment in this app, you can sign up for a free trial which runs several weeks.
If that option doesn’t work for you, please consider the free Pray-as-You-Go app listed in this post. It offers the basics of meditation/reflection (in daily Ignation retreat format) wrapped in a calming audio package with some lovely features like original music and seasonal programing, brought to you by the Jesuits.
Pray as You Go – Lent Retreat 2022
Make a digital retreat for Lent with Pray as You Go (Free) Apple | Android. Enjoy 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. Specific retreats, like their Lent retreat, are a separate offering from their regular daily retreats. They are uploaded one per week during Lent. You will not be able to access reflections ahead of time. They are only available on the date of release for the week. Their Lent Retreat for 2022, Hope and Nearness to God, is written by Sr. Teresa White FCJ, based on her recent book release of the same title. After two years of extreme global and personal challenges, developers say this retreat is designed to address our deep human need to know and experience the never-ending hope of Christ. This particular journey throughout Lent entails a weekly session of about 20 to 25 minutes of prayer time. The release schedule is as follows:
- become more aware of God’s presence in your life
- listen to and reflect on God’s word
- grow in your relationship with God


Passion of Jesus

- Way of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori
- Way of the Cross through Mary’s eyes


Magnificat Lenten Companion 2022



The Chosen
Get to know Jesus this Lent by turning off your regularly-scheduled programing and turning on The Chosen instead (Free) Apple | Android.
Imagine a television series similar to This Is Us, only it’s about Jesus as viewed by the people around him. Then imagine being able to binge watch the series as you follow engaging storylines of various characters in situations you never dreamed of. That’s what you get with THE most exciting Christian app to hit the market in a long time.
In 2018, a little film spread throughout the internet depicting Christ’s birth from the vantage point of characters who were caught up in an intriguing tale. Did you see it? Captured your heart, didn’t it? That was the pilot episode that captivated thousands of small investors to fund the series. Fast forward to today… two full seasons are completed and available to you FREE with The Chosen app. See a side of Jesus you have never experienced before.
User interface is as friendly as it gets! Simply download the app with a click of this link that automatically takes you to the App Store for your device. Once in The Chosen app, you can immediately start watching episodes on your phone or tablet. But it’s better to watch on your tv, so simply click “watch tv” button in the app, and it automatically casts to your your television system.
Revive your relationship with Jesus and the gospels as you immerse yourself in story lines right out of somebody’s fruitful imagination, unfolded in a way that gets you to see Jesus in a new light.
Venerable (soon Blessed) Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said that a saint is someone who makes Jesus lovable to others. So the producers of this special series take on the challenge to do just that–make Jesus lovable to you. And the effect it can have is really quite stunning as you sense his humanity worn as comfortably as an old shoe. These aren’t sappy, sentimental storylines. You are brought into plausible domestic scenes within the actual gospel accounts–the stories you know, but this time from another person’s vantage point, including Peter’s wife, for example.
Still hesitant to download? I get it. Targeted Christian films tend to come off as blatantly preachy and sterile. And while I cringe a bit at the anachronistic dialogue (they speak in the style of 30-year-old Americans) in faux accents, the too clean and starchy costuming, the candle props that look like they came straight from Pottery Barn, child actors not ready for prime time, candles lit during the daytime… I am drawn into these stories–so much so that they come to my mind throughout the following day as I ponder Mary Magdalene’s sweet joy at setting a Shabbat table or wonder just what’s going on with Nicodemus. And yeah, I do love this Jesus. You will too.
In the interest of transparency, while I am one of the thousands of initial investors (see credits at end of episode Four), I have no ties with the production company nor its marketing team. I just happened to have a little cash that year to throw at this because I loved the pilot so much. The series is as refreshing and enjoyable as I had hoped. Once you get the app, you can easily share your treasure with others through use of the imbedded Share button. The series is free. But do look at the “Pay It Forward” option to contribute to making this valuable piece of evangelization available to others throughout the world.
Here’s The Chosen trailer:
Exodus





Catholic Meditations for Lent


Truth and Life Audio Bible with 40-Day Reading Plan
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…


- Complete text of RSV-CE synchronized with audio [text highlights move with the audio reading- very cool]
- Go directly to any verse and hear and see the Bible text instantly [very cool!]
- Use the built in playlist [built-in reading plan] to hear/read the New Testament in 40 days or in Chronological order
- Search verses
- Create your own playlist of verses [who else provides that?]
- Remembers where you left off with bookmark.
- Easily fit entire 22 hours of audio on your device.
- Ability to highlight text and take notes
- Maps of the Holy Land during various Biblical times
- Spanish text version of the Bible is NOW offered (La biblia de Straubinger, considered the primer Catholic Bible in Spanish)



MP3 Cardinal Newman

In 2019 Pope Francis canonized a new English saint who already had an app devoted to his sermons! MP3 Cardinal Newman (Free) Android | Apple Lent is a wonderful time to get to know Saint John Henry Newman, a Roman Catholic cardinal, scholar, and founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England. And what better way to get to know him than by spending time listening to many hours of his talks on MP3 Cardinal Newman.

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. 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.


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.














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 psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16) So, this year, we’re calling out two important apps to help you do just that.
- audio Rosary
- audio Chaplet of Divine Mercy
- Podcasts — talks by noted Catholic authors and priests on a variety of topics.
- the ability to record a testimonial on how Catholic music has impacted your life
- quick links to iCM’s social media posts




Jennifer. Great website and suggestions. I would add the fairly new Amen App by the Augustine Institute. Have you seen it?