2 More iPhone Apps for Catholics

The ever present iPhone

This is the second of a 3 part series on iPhone apps for Catholics.  

In our previous installment, we found apps focused on Scripture, the Mass, and Catholic media and education.  Now we'll look at two more apps, both designed to help you pray in different ways.

Technology & the Family

Impossible to escape

Technology is ever present and ever changing.  You're experiencing that right now as you read this blog!

But how often do we pause and think about how we're experiencing technology and the effects that it has on ourselves?  How can we learn to embrace the positives of technological innovation while pushing back against the negatives?

Leading the charge to answer this question in the secular world is MIT professor Sherry Turkle, author of the book Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.  She gave an interview on the book and this topic with a couple insightful takeaways on parenting in the age of the Internet.  [transcript of interview available here]

3 iPhone Apps for Catholics

Archbishop Carlson (of St. Louis) with his iPhone

This is a first in a 3 part series on iPhone apps for Catholics


Millions of apps tap in to the versatility of the iPhone. You can listen to the radio, read the news, play games, learn Spanish, and yes, even shoot, edit, and publish your own home videos. What about living out our Catholic faith? Yes, there’s an app for that too.

Here are three Catholic apps that can help you grow closer to God:

Car Conversation: Gives You Hope

Look familiar?

Northern Virginia has awful traffic.  In any given week, you might spend a few hours in traffic with your children driving to school, after school activities, and the grocery store.  Instead of jamming to the Top 40s or everyone popping in their headphones, shake things up with a car conversation.  "Car Conversations" suggests topics that you and your children can talk in the car while you're waiting for your red light on 123.

Website Wednesday: ForYourMarriage.org

Introducing Website Wednesdays, a chance for you to learn about faith-centered or family-centered websites that will be helpful for you and your family.  This won't be the update every Wednesday, but I liked the alliteration.

Today's website is a marriage website that was piloted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops a few years ago and is kept up to date; it's called "For Your Marriage."

The Lion King: 2 teachable faith moments

For two weeks, millions of adults and children will pour into movie theaters to watch the highest grossing animated film to date, the Lion King.  Redone in 3D, the film combines a great plot (said to be inspired by the stories of Moses and Joseph from the Old Testament and Shakespeare's Hamlet), award-winning music, and stunning animation into one of Disney's finest offerings.

But you already know all that.  The big question is what can we take away from watching this film with our children and how can we watch it in the context of our faith?  Here are a couple of moments you can harness to discuss faith and morals with your children.

Welcome Parents!

Welcome to a new initiative designed to help your family grow in faith together!  Over the course of the RE year, I will update this blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  Posts will be aimed toward you, the parents, and will include practical, implementable ideas, quotes from holy people, conversation starters for talking about faith with your children, links to articles across the web related to faith-filled families, and more.

I encourage you to leave comments, which will be moderated.  If you have any suggestions for what you would like to see on this blog, please contact Isaac.

Updates will start the first week of RE (September 18).  You can subscribe by email in the box on the right hand side of the page or follow us on Twitter (@StMarkRE).