by Jessica Langdon
jessica.langdon@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Instead of giving up something for Lent, why not spend a few extra minutes with your phone or tablet each day?
No, not on Facebook, Trivia Crack, or Angry Birds.
Instead, how about growing your faith this Lent with the help of the audio and video prayers and reflections made available through the Catholic Media ArchKCK app.
Since the app launched in late 2014 to coincide with Advent, thousands of people have followed along to check out the content — including special seasonal pieces — featured in the archdiocesan Digital Media Center.
Lent, which starts Feb. 18, will bring even more new, season-specific audio and video content to the app, with audio daily prayer, video reflections, reminders and notifications and more.Lenten video content will feature offerings from a variety of renowned national and local artists including: Steve Angrisano, John Angotti, Jesse Manibusan, Caroline Metzinger, Noel Garcia, Valimar Jansen, Adam Bitter, Mikey Needleman and Lorraine Hess.
“We have great content all year long,” said Tim Chik, director of Savior Pastoral Center and the Digital Media Center. “But during these special seasons of preparation, Advent and Lent — and, of course, Christmas and Easter — this is special content; we go above and beyond.”
The app, which highlights the content available in the Digital Media Center and provides a portal to the thousands of videos and other materials currently available through it, was launched last November.
An “enormous” amount of activity occurred during Advent, with more than 2,500 downloads of the app and an average of 19 views per download, said Chik.
To date, there have been more than 3,000 downloads of the app, which is available for any format of mobile device, and there have been more than 55,000 views of prayer materials between app use and the website.
Chik encouraged everyone who has the app — or has yet to download the app — to check it out anytime.
But since Lent offers a great opportunity for Catholics to refresh and renew their spirituality, said Chik, he hopes people will incorporate the app’s offerings into their journey.
“It’s just a really good resource to help people stay close to the Lord,” he said.
Get the app
The Catholic Media ArchKCK app is available for all mobile devices and can be found in the Apple App Store and Google Play by searching for: “Catholic Media ArchKCK.” It is free to download, and the majority of videos are free to watch.
