The Divine Office App

A few months ago I shared a post about how to begin using The Liturgy of the Hours (also called the Divine Office) for daily prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours is for Catholics what the Book of Common Prayer is for the Anglican Communion.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I recently purchased the Divine Office app for my iPhone and have been enjoying it very much. You should check it out (works for Android as well). It's $9.99.

In the mornings I try to pray through the Office of Readings and Morning prayer. But sometimes I just don't get up early enough to do this before I have to head off to work. The Divine Office app provides you with audio readings of all the prayers. So on days when I can't sit down and read the Office before work I turn on the audio and listen to the prayers while getting ready and driving or riding my bike to work. I also listen to evening prayer on the way home from work. I've also been using the app a lot while walking the dog.

Beyond the audio, the Divine Office app also gives you all the text for every prayer. So you can read or listen, or both. The app also includes a liturgical calender which is handy in finding dates for Holy Days and seasons. Finally, I also like the notifications function, which can be customized. This function rings a bell on your phone, like text message alert, when it's time to say one of the Offices. Even if I can't say the prayers when the bell chimes its sound throughout the day is a nice reminder to pray.

Anyway, if you're a busy, on the go kind of person, or simply struggle with the discipline of prayer, you might really like the Divine Office app. I'd recommend it.