iPod Touch in Church

[CGDouglas]

I love my kindle, with the bible you can jump to the book, chapter and verse in seconds. My catechism is really neat also because it is a direct link to the Vatican. And not to mention you don’t have to lug around all of the those big books with you all the time.

Tell me, am I the only one who likes carrying big books!?

I hope I’m not alone, lol…

God Bless.

Chris.

 

[yellowbird]

When in doubt, ask thy priest!
.

I think would be great on T-shirts!

 

[yellowbicycle]

Tell me, am I the only one who likes carrying big books!?

I hope I’m not alone, lol…

God Bless.

Chris.

My husband carries around big books.
Big science textbooks that he’s got memorized anyway.
Let me tell you, despite the shooting pain in his spine from carrying these big heavy books all these years, he STILL insists on carrying them all. LOL

 

[Grant_Stewart]

I am actually the co-founder of Cantcha, Inc. the company who developed iMissal for the iPhone and iPod touch so I just couldn’t resist commenting on this thread.

Obviously, I find it intriguing.

When I came up with the idea for iMissal, it was when I was sitting in Church and watching everyone fumbling or looking for the Church provided Readings. Being an avid user of technology, I thought how much nicer it could be to just have all of that information available electronically. In addition, I attend the teen mass with my children and thought that by developing something like that, I could (in my own small way) help the youth become more engaged in Mass. If you have kids you know what I am talking about.

I have been using iMissal for months along with my two children and haven’t had any issues with people giving us disapproving glances. Oh, I am sure there are some that think we are just playing around and not being reverent like we should. But we know that is not the case. And if anyone were to ever say something, I would be more than happy to explain to them that wasn’t the case and show them the application. We have used it in Masses that weren’t crowded and some where there wasn’t a single seat in the Church left. I have had no issues with using it during Sunday Mass.

I have talked with many Priests about the application and all of them so far have been very approving of it.

Ultimately, I feel it has to come down to what you feel comfortable with. Technology will continue to permeate our society and this sort of thing will become more and more common.

God Bless

Grant

 

[LilyM]

I am actually the co-founder of Cantcha, Inc. the company who developed iMissal for the iPhone and iPod touch so I just couldn’t resist commenting on this thread.

Obviously, I find it intriguing.

When I came up with the idea for iMissal, it was when I was sitting in Church and watching everyone fumbling or looking for the Church provided Readings. Being an avid user of technology, I thought how much nicer it could be to just have all of that information available electronically. In addition, I attend the teen mass with my children and thought that by developing something like that, I could (in my own small way) help the youth become more engaged in Mass. If you have kids you know what I am talking about.

I have been using iMissal for months along with my two children and haven’t had any issues with people giving us disapproving glances. Oh, I am sure there are some that think we are just playing around and not being reverent like we should. But we know that is not the case. And if anyone were to ever say something, I would be more than happy to explain to them that wasn’t the case and show them the application. We have used it in Masses that weren’t crowded and some where there wasn’t a single seat in the Church left. I have had no issues with using it during Sunday Mass.

I have talked with many Priests about the application and all of them so far have been very approving of it.

Ultimately, I feel it has to come down to what you feel comfortable with. Technology will continue to permeate our society and this sort of thing will become more and more common.

God Bless

Grant

The problem with this idea is is they WON’T say anything to you, for the most part. For every one person who says anything, good or bad, there will be ten or a dozen who’ve taken good note, rest assured.

Those ten or dozen will just assume, and maybe in their turn do what they think you’re doing (playing games or texting). You are setting a bad example, possibly influencing others to sin, and that is something you need to consider. It’s why causing grave scandal by your behaviour (even if you’re innocent) is a sin.

St Paul speaks to this - how some people are fine with, say, eating certain foods, but out of consideration for their weaker brothers, they should avoid doing that which might cause others to sin.

Haven’t you ever been in a situation where someone is behaving badly and everyone around them just puts up with it because they think ‘oh, it’s only for a short time’ or whatever?

 

[Grant_Stewart]

Like I said before I do think it comes down to what you feel comfortable with.

If I see someone reading from a book that looks different than what is provided in Church, I don’t automatically assume the person is “goofing off”. There are so many different forms of Bibles, Missals and the like. Many people bring in what they prefer to worship with and I think that is great. Whatever a person can use to get more out of Mass is a good thing.

I think the real issue here is that the phone is a relatively new device when it comes to worship aids (tools). Over time the idea of having a phone in Church will become more prevalent and people will become much more open to it. Technology can be a good thing or a bad thing. I personally feel that the use of it as a worship aid is a good thing. Anything we can do to reach out to the younger generation is good in my humble opinion.

I personally don’t feel that using a phone as a worship aid is causing others to sin. I personally find that it improves my Mass experience.

 

[yellowbird]

Grant,
I appreciate your efforts to make mass more engaging for teens. I totally hear what you’re saying.

My son just rec’d an ITouch for his 17th b-day and I assume his sibs will follow suit and beg for theirs. This is why I would NOT allow them to bring it to mass: Although they might intend to only use it for the readings, I know my kids … they would read their new wall posts on facebook or check out the times for a movie they plan to see later ect. etc. When I caught them and pitched a fit, they would say… Ma, it was during the collection… nothing is going on during the collection! I can hear it now. And I don’t think my kids are particularly unique… I think LOTS of people would be checking out just one thing real quick. And I think that’s just so wrong.

I think we have become so dependent on our techy gadgets… we are NEVER without them. I learned to live with my kids texting while having a conversation with me… and I get it that the woman in the grocery store is NOT talking loudly to me about her husband’s affair, even though I’m the only other person around… and I TRY to be patient as the solo driver in front of me creeps along at a slower speed because obviously he’s engaged in a deep conversation. And at a recent Broadway production, I tried to ignore the guy two rows in front of me who’s ITouch was literally like a spotlight in the dark theater.

You are right, the technology we have is here to stay… but in my fantasty, it doesn’t become part of the mass. Can’t we all give 1 hour to God without any toys in our hands? Even if they are cool, helpful toys. That’s how I see it.

 

[LilyM]

Like I said before I do think it comes down to what you feel comfortable with.

If I see someone reading from a book that looks different than what is provided in Church, I don’t automatically assume the person is “goofing off”. There are so many different forms of Bibles, Missals and the like. Many people bring in what they prefer to worship with and I think that is great. Whatever a person can use to get more out of Mass is a good thing.

I think the real issue here is that the phone is a relatively new device when it comes to worship aids (tools). Over time the idea of having a phone in Church will become more prevalent and people will become much more open to it. Technology can be a good thing or a bad thing. I personally feel that the use of it as a worship aid is a good thing. Anything we can do to reach out to the younger generation is good in my humble opinion.

I personally don’t feel that using a phone as a worship aid is causing others to sin. I personally find that it improves my Mass experience.

Grant Grant Grant. Since when is it about what you feel is causing other people to sin? It’s about what you have been told is ACTUALLY likely to cause other people to sin. If I were to start making out with my husband in the middle of Mass, the fact that I might not feel I was causing others to sin is no excuse. As an objective fact I would be causing scandal and regardless of my feelings on the matter should avoid the behaviour.

Books cause scandal to no-one precisely because since the beginnings of Christianity people have brought their own prayer books, Missals and whatnot to church - they are an expected and accepted part of the scenery. Books will not ring at ear-splitting volume in the middle of the consecration. People don’t feel the need to check their books every five seconds for messages from their friends.

People can’t play games with a book (not unless it’s a book of crosswords or sudoku or something, and then you have to write in them so it becomes bleeding obvious). Producing a book in the Mass doesn’t have the (fair or not, but real nonetheless) presumption built in that it exists for entertainment rather than education or serious purpose. Unlike gadgets.

As for improving Mass experience - mine would be best improved by staying at home and watching the whole thing on television half the time. It’s about what’s good for the community, not just what’s good for me as an individual.

Look, I have seven nieces and nephews and it is SUCH an uphill battle at the best of times to tear them away from their various techie gadgets and have an actual conversation with them. We are breeding a generation of social illiterates - and your promoting the technology which is one of the root causes of it.