During his long commute, David Lima, diocesan assistant superintendent of Catholic schools, tunes into Hallow. Last year, he used the Catholic prayer and meditation app to listen to the “Bible in a Year” podcast with Father Mike Schmitz. Currently, he’s listening to St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s “Story of a Soul” with reflections on each chapter. “It’s been a strong part of my prayer life, so I highly recommend it,” he said.
Hallow allows listeners to hear Bible stories, a guided examination of conscience, the Liturgy of the Hours, the rosary and other prayers. Users can choose soothing sounds to accompany the prayers, such as Gregorian chant or falling rain. They can use the app to spiritually journal and keep a record of their daily prayer life. Though the app is free, there is a paid version with more resources.
This Lent, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge offered diocesan Catholic school teachers a free paid subscription to the app that lasts through the end of the next school year. So far, more than 25 percent of teachers and school administrators have signed into the app, and Lima is hopeful more will take advantage of it in the coming months.
There are many ways to use the app with students, including classroom prayers, said Lima. “You can go on and you can listen to music used just for studying. In the classroom, students get overwhelmed at times so (they) need a brain break where (they) can just kind of relax for a minute. You can go in and it does a meditation brain break using prayer,” he said. “And kids sometimes like celebrities, so right now Mark Wahlberg has partnered with Hallow and he prays the rosary, the Holy Spirit prayer, Anima Christi.”
Lima believes Hallow is a great tool for teachers personally and professionally. “We’re so thankful to Bishop Burbidge for doing this for us,” he said. “In the diocese, we want all of our teachers to be prayerful and this really helps our teachers strengthen their prayer life.”
