Catholic iPod Apps – First in a Series

iMissal’s Calendar Page

In a recent Twitter conversation with JaredDees and BarbinNebraska, the subject of iPod apps for teachers came up. I don’t use too many apps for teaching yet, but I use several Catholic apps regularly, so I thought it might be helpful to write a series of articles about them.

Apps are small programs that can be purchased in iTunes and synced to an iPhone or an iPod Touch. Many of the apps are free, and most that cost money are 99 cents. I download apps to my iPod Touch (but I’m hoping the iPhone becomes available on the Verizon network soon).

Because of the apps I’ve purchased, whenever I carry my iPod Touch with me, I have access to Mass readings, the Liturgy the Hours, papal documents, and hundreds of Catholic prayers and devotions.

One of the Catholic apps I used most is iMissal, which costs $4.99 as of this writing.  It is one of the more expensive apps I’ve purchased, but it is well worth the money.  iMissal contains  the complete texts of all Mass readings for any day of the Church year, both Sundays and weekdays.  The app has a perpetual calendar that calculates what feast or solemnity ought to be celebrated, and the readings are from the official Lectionary.

I recently purchased the printed edition of the Vatican II Weekday Missal for $24.95 and it only contains readings for Monday through Saturday, so iMissal is an excellent value.  Since I have an iPod Touch rather than the iPhone, I appreciate the fact that the entire lectionary is downloaded upon purchase.

If you’re in a WiFi hotspot, you can use the app to watch Mass daily, and iMissal also comes with a library of many prayers, including all the mysteries of the rosary.

Any Catholic with an iPod Touch or iPhone would find iMissal a valuable addition to their app library.  At less than five dollars, it’s a steal.

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