Me & My Iphone, Updated: A Moment of Grace Thanks to Technology

There is a lot of chatter lately about how the Vatican has approved priests to use an iPad to use an iPad to say Mass.

Cay has a great post about this, terrifically named, "The Weight of an Ipad," a rift on the The Weight of a Mass book.

I have to say, that I don't think it is appropriate to use an iPhone at Mass.   I think people multi-task too much on their mobile devices to make it worthwhile.  I don't really have a problem with priests using an iPad to say Mass, because it's rarely the priest whose mind wanders at Mass, but those of us in the congregation.

I would not consider an iPhone in Mass, for two reasons: one, I don't want people to think that I am checking Facebook, the New York Times, the Weather Channel, or playing Bejeweled Blitz (some of my other heavily used apps), and second, I don't want to be tempted to check Facebook, the NY Times, the Weather Channel or play Bejeweled Blitz.  One doesn't need to read along with the Mass readings to participate in Mass, so it's not really necessary in any way.

However, as I've written before, one of my most-used "apps" on my iPhone is Universalis, which has the Liturgy of the Hours, Mass readings and other information, for each day.  I consider it indispensable.  Several weeks back, my husband and I were out to dinner with a visiting priest, and I found it difficult to make my case that I could actually pray with my iPhone.  Yes, it's better to be able to pray with a prayer book or Scripture itself, but why can you not pray as well with an electronic device?

I have used Universalis on occasion during some quiet prayer time in a mostly empty church.  And this past week I discovered the Divine Mercy Chaplet App and downloaded it.  You can actually click on the beads as you say the prayers.  But I hadn't had the chance to use it yet.

Yesterday, my oldest daughter and I bicycled up to our parish for confession time.  After a few minutes in line, (we were the only ones in line at that point), I remembered that I had promised to say a Divine Mercy Chaplet for a friend's intention.  Then I noticed my daughter seemed a little nervous, remembered I had my phone with me, and opened up the App.  (Many people, myself among them, help distract the inevitable pre-confession nerves with saying a decade of the rosary or some other calming prayer, but I hadn't remembered telling her about this.)  So I showed her how it worked, and together we prayed through the beginning couple of "decades" (are they called that in the chaplet?) before it was her time.  There were a few people starting to come in for Saturday night Mass, and I had a moment, what if they think I'm showing her some fun website or game?  But I had to assume those people would not automatically think the worst of me.

So for the two of us, a moment of grace made possible by technology.