The best Catholic apps to restore your faith

Who could have foreseen Marky Mark’s impressive role in the ongoing revival of Christianity in America? Mark Wahlberg’s evangelization is made all the more surreal by the fact that Wahlberg has teamed up with Jonathan Roumie, the man who plays Jesus on “The Chosen.” Roumie offers the greatest portrayal of Christ I’ve encountered.

If you’re a Christian, this is incredible news. Ideologically manufactured or not, the buoyancy of our faith seemed to be in question there for a moment. In his book "The Everlasting Man," G.K. Chesterton writes that “Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a god who knew the way out of the grave.” We are witnessing a digital resurrection.

There’s no clearer indication of Christianity’s eternal newness than the adaptability of religion to accommodate technology, particularly with the use of apps.

Belief in Christ hinges largely on the resurrection. As Christians, we live for the resurrection. So it makes sense that just as the media activists have begun celebrating the “death” of Christianity, it has come back to life. There’s no clearer indication of Christianity’s eternal newness than the adaptability of religion to accommodate technology, particularly with the use of apps. Here is a list of the best apps currently on the market:

AMEN

Unpopular opinion: Hallow is not my top app. There’s nothing wrong with it, but I’ll explain below. My personal favorite is Amen. Best of all, it’s free. And don’t tell the folks at Hallow that I told you, but Amen offers many of the same features without the cost. Although to be fair, Amen does not have recordings of the Rosary, read by Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus on “The Chosen.”

Amen is a project by the Augustine Institute, mainly assembled by Dr. Timothy Gray. The app itself is sleek, with a seamless user interface and none of the buggy lag that haunts many other Christian apps. Amen is so smooth that I often ask, “How is this free?”

“The Stories for Sleep” section is also neat. It features 90-minute lectures told in a compelling way — the perfect sleep aid. Amen also offers tremendous readings. This one alone, “The Universal Prayer” read by Dr. Christopher Blum, is breathtaking.

I listen to it at least once every day. It captures the essence of Christianity better than any other prayer, excluding the Our Father, the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed, and, well, there are so many beautiful prayers. Even my 1-year-old loves it — it’s the perfect lullaby when we’re in the rocking chair before bedtime.

Apple | Android

Daily TV Mass

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Maybe I may have a soft spot for Daily TV Mass, a Canadian program that airs the daily Mass and Sunday Mass in an abbreviated form. There’s nothing showy or eye-catching about it. But that’s a large part of its appeal. When I miss daily Mass in person, Daily TV Mass is my go-to. And not because it’s the only one. There are tons of apps that offer broadcasts of daily Masses from all over the world. There’s just something special about it.

Filmed in the Loretto Abbey Chapel, Daily TV Mass includes a roster of priests and deacons whose acuity and fervor are enough to raise you from the couch. The program has done well in its conversion to internet presence, with a YouTube channel that churns out content with the reliability you want from your faith institutions.

It's a great way to fulfill your holy obligation if you’re sick. It’s also quite popular in retirement homes. As an app, it’s not cutting-edge technologically, but that’s not why you get it. You push the “GET” button because it’s ready and eager to be your lifelong friend.

Apple | Google Play | YouTube

Magnificat (free, with subscription options)

This almost feels like cheating because Magnificat is so ubiquitous in print. It’s one of the most valuable tools for Catholics. This iconic monthly publication includes daily readings, daily prayers (morning and evening), and the Order of Mass, but also colorful passages about the lives of saints, all condensed into its pocket-sized paperback. I include Magnificat here because the app is as functional and airtight as its print form. Or rather, the paper version translates into digital relatively smoothly.

Its strongest feature is the gallery-style flexibility that separates each day.

Apple | Google Play

#Bible - Verse of the Day (free, with subscription option)

While not Catholic — at all — the #Bible app is fantastic. It’s lean and quick. On iPhone, you can add it as a widget for your home screen, which offers a nice reminder throughout the day.

Pick a time, and you’ll get daily Bible verses. The timing and applicability of any given verse regularly blow me away. My only complaint is that only three translations are available: The King James Version, the Word English Bible, and the Berean Standard Bible. For a nominal fee, you can access Bible Chat AI, “an AI assistant that can search, summarize, and answer questions about Biblical events and people.”

Apple

Bible Gateway

For a variety of translations, go with Bible Gateway. This makes sense because Bible Gateway is the internet standard for finding verses and passages, allowing you to change the translation effortlessly. And there are tons of translations. If you’re ready to explore the Bible academically and philosophically as a spiritual exercise, this is the app you get.

The audio doesn’t match the quality of Amen or Hallow, but those apps have top-notch audio, not just relative to other apps but to audio recording in general.

Apple | Google Play | Kindle Fire

Hallow (free, but a subscription is an option for more access)

DHNPhotos/Getty

If Catholicism had a “Tech Rookie of the Year,” it would be Hallow. It’s likely the only Catholic app, or even a general Christian app, that could be considered a household name, mainly because of the company’s brilliant approach to marketing. But it also happens to be an incredible product. Perhaps its most beneficial quality is that it is profoundly educational and geared toward teaching people how to pray in entirely new ways.

Perhaps its finest feature is the legendary Father Mike Schmitz, the ultimate social media priest known for radically lifting countless souls from the dirt using tech.

Monthly 8.99; annually $69.99: Apple | Google Play

EWTN (free, with paid options)

If Hallow is the vibrant youngster on the Catholic media scene, the Eternal Word Television Network is its seasoned godparent. EWTN is iconic. Its red logo is the only sticker on the bumpers of countless minivans. For a network founded in 1981 as a cable TV platform, it has adapted incredibly well.

It still has a boxy feel, lacking the spryness and novelty of Hallow, but that’s perfectly fine, and it doesn’t affect the app’s performance, which is mostly wonderful — the only issue I’ve had is glitchiness in the Adoration stream. The on-demand feature gives you the same access you find on EWTN cable but with the portability of your device.

Apple | Google Play | Kindle Fire

Laudate (free)

It’s pretty bare-bones, but it’s got everything you need: daily readings, podcasts, prayers (including the Latin prayers), Vatican documents, Catechism, and several translations of the Bible. For those new to Catholicism, it also includes guides to the sacraments: The section regarding reconciliation offers easy-to-understand instructions for how to go to confession, with specialized tips for children, young adults, singles, and people who are married.

Also included is an “Order of the Mass,” a useful cheat sheet for anyone unfamiliar with the maneuvers of Catholic gymnastics. The app’s minimalism is practical. There’s no time wasted on graphics and flashy content. The only downside to this is with the “Interactive Rosary,” which lets you use your phone to pray the Rosary, but the graphics are a bit laggy. Laudate does, however, feature an impressive list of resources for the Rosary, including links to live broadcasts of the devotional prayer. It’s also available in eight different languages.

Apple | Android |Kindle Fire