The CatholicTV App allows people to carry their faith on the morning commute.

Many Catholics enjoy attending daily Mass, but often a hectic schedule prevents them from getting to a church. CatholicTV, America’s Catholic Television Network, realized this problem and has taken steps to make the daily commute “holier.” The CatholicTV App for the iPhone or iPod Touch, released in July 2009, now enables Catholics to “Carry your Faith!”

The CatholicTV App is a free download from the iTunes App Store, because, according to the CatholicTV website, “How could we possibly put a price tag on what has been so freely given?”
The App features five main sections: Daily Mass, Daily Rosary, What’s New, Reflection, and Blogs. Each section contains several options for the faithful to peruse.

Daily Mass features Mass said by a different priest each day, including BC’s own Fr. Casey Beaumier. Masses from days past are also available, allowing viewers to go back and hear homilies from earlier in the week, or see a Mass they might have missed.

On Daily Rosary, users choose the mysteries they would like to pray and the location for the video to take place. The App is updated frequently, changing the location options, to give users different prayer experiences each time they click. Currently, the options are the Blue Hills, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the National Shrine, and the Basilica at the University of Notre Dame.

What’s New offers the latest news from CatholicTV including “Newsbreak” and this week on “The Day.” There is also a feature on Respect Life during October’s Respect for Life month.

For the month of October, Reflection features a five part series on Our Lady of the Rosary presented by Monsignor Jim Lisante. Past reflections still available include “Year for Priests”, “Reasons I Love Being Catholic” by Elizabeth Kelly, and “Encountering Christ in the Sacraments” by Fr. Dan O’Connell. These short videos provide insight and invite consideration by the viewer.

Blogs allows users to stay up to date on the goings on at CatholicTV. Upcoming interviews, which priests will be saying Mass, and other news are frequently updated, keeping users informed and current.

CatholicTV joined the airwaves in 1955, broadcasting a Pontifical Low Mass celebrated by then-Archbishop of Boston, Richard J. Cushing. In 1964 the name was changed to Boston Catholic Television, and in 2006 the station adopted the name CatholicTV. In addition to the television station, the network has an expansive website, a profile on Facebook, and a YouTube Channel. The iPhone App is the most recent endeavor by the network to be able to reach Catholics all across America.

The average rating on iTunes is 3.5 stars; the majority of reviews praises the App for its potential and content but criticize the loading speed. Hopefully, future versions of the App will improve the speed of this otherwise wonderful product.

Jay Fadden, General Manager of CatholicTV, encourages BC students to look into the App. So next time you have a half hour to spare, try using that time to pray the rosary or Daily Mass, or reflect on some part of your faith life, and consider using the CatholicTV iPhone App to help.