Hallow app: A goldmine of Catholic prayers

Our modern world feels like it was designed to stop us from praying. Many of us deal every day with stress and anxiety on the one hand and constant distraction on the other. Life often drowns out our ability to hear the still, small voice of God, who is always trying to speak to us. 

But modern life also brings new advantages for Catholics looking to deepen their relationship with God. Recently, a flood of new digital resources has made the two thousand years of Christian spiritual traditions and prayers easily accessible from your smartphone.

At the forefront of these resources is Hallow, a fresh and user-friendly app that answers the question, ‘what would you get if you combined a twenty-first-century meditation app with a Catholic guide to contemplative prayer?’

Hallow is a goldmine of audio recordings of Catholic prayers, like the rosary or daily Mass readings, presented in the style of the modern, secular mediation apps. But, instead of new-age style mediations, Hallow prioritises finding peace by spending time in prayer with God.

The app’s centrepieces are its guided meditations that encourage users who might be unfamiliar with contemplative prayer to be still in silence and listen to what God might be saying to them. For even those with the worst attention spans, the recordings on this app are a great place to start learning to put yourself in God’s presence and simply listen.

Like the greatest works of our Catholic spiritual tradition, the Hallow recordings are deep enough for an elephant to swim but shallow enough for a child to wade. The tutorials, reflections and guided times of silent prayer on Hallow are a wonderful place to start for anyone looking to learn how to talk to God for the first time or wanting to go deeper in the spiritual life.

• Hallow app can be downloaded via Google Play or through the Apple App Store