May 7, 2025 “There’s an app for that.” Apple popularized that phrase in 2009, using it in commercials promoting the company’s newest phone and the numerous applications – software programs – available for those who purchased the device. The commercial features a close-up shot of a smartphone screen and the hands holding and operating it. A finger swipes from right to left on the phone’s screen showing page after page of images representing various apps. “If you want to check snow conditions on the mountain, there’s an app for that,” the commercial says, as the phone user in the video taps on an image, opening an app that offers snow reports. “If you want to check how many calories are in your lunch, there’s an app for that. And if you want to check where exactly you parked the car, there’s an app for that.” Last year, I joined a friend for a Lenten program using Hallow, a Catholic prayer app. I enjoyed it. While I thought it was a good addition to my Lent, and I still frequently reference a quote from it, I didn’t find the experience life changing. I’ve participated in lots of Catholic programming. It felt like just another Catholic program. When that same friend asked me if I wanted to join this year’s Lenten program on Hallow, I expected a repeat of last year – nice program, nothing transformative. I think God laughs when I assume I know how He’ll work in my life. Through that app, its Lenten program and now the Easter program that has followed, God has drawn me closer to Himself. God used the app to focus my attention on fasting, something I was basically doing at bare minimum levels prior. Through the prayer and meditations delivered to me by that app, God has also shown me at least glimpses of light and healing in areas of my life where I previously saw only darkness and pain. God took something I thought of as insignificant, mundane or “just another,” and He transformed it into the transformative. Apparently, there’s an app for that. |
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