HALLOW,
HOW ARE YOU?

How an App Helped Me Become A Better Catholic in Seven Days

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Day 1

Since I was new to the app, I reacted like a kid who was given a bunch of new toys for Christmas. What should I play with first?  I perused the app and came across a reflection of that day’s Gospel (Luke 5:33-39) about Jesus’s response to the Pharisees who questioned why his disciples were not fasting. It made me consider that Jesus doesn’t want us to follow rules just for the sake of following rules. He wants us to follow him heart and soul. That same night, Hallow’s “Sitting in Silence With God” meditation helped me navigate my way to a restful sleep.

Day 2

Being a history buff, I decided to try the “Saints in 7 Days” feature, which allows you to explore the life of a saint. Hallow gives you a choice of different saints. I chose St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  My guide, Rhea Wahlberg, talked about Elizabeth Ann Seton's early life, including her suicide attempt at age 16 because of an unhappy home life. She was going to take an overdose of opium, but instead turned to God for comfort and healing. Rhea asked us to reflect on the struggles of our lives and how God has helped us.  I enjoyed the session, especially how Rhea wanted to bring the listener’s experience into it. She ended the session by reciting a soothing prayer. At bedtime, I tried another nighttime meditation. This time, however, I just couldn’t calm down enough to let the images of peaceful green pastures settle me. I chalked it up to a bad night and told myself I would try again another time.

Day 3

I explored the “How to Pray” section and listened to Alex Jones lead the “The Lord’s Prayer” and discuss how turning to God changed his life for the better.

by Paula Katinas, Senior Reporter

PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Having trouble falling asleep one night, I decided to stop tossing and turning and instead look into whether meditation could help me get some much-needed z’s. At the same time, I also knew that I probably needed a bit of heavenly help in my quest for slumber.

So I reached for my iPhone on the night table next to my bed and logged onto Hallow, a popular prayer and meditation app. I scrolled down and, under the “Nightly Routines” category, found “Sleep Meditation.” It did the trick, and I slept like a baby.

The particular meditation I chose — “Sitting in Silence With God” — featured actor Jonathan Roumie of “The Chosen” as the narrator. He encouraged me to imagine sitting on a bench by a babbling brook, waiting for God. Using his soft, gentle voice, Roumie urged me to picture God sitting beside me. I felt so relaxed that I went a little further and pictured leaning my head on Jesus’ shoulder as he put his arm around me. 

I found the exercise to be very beneficial.

“Never in a million years would I have imagined we’d be at the top of the App Store.”

Alex Jones

The “Nightly Routines” tab is just one of the many features of Hallow, an app that offers a cornucopia of activities, including prayer campaigns, meditations, speakers offering reflections on Scripture passages, music, people (such as actor Mark Wahlberg) reciting the Rosary, and something called “Saints in 7 Days,” in which listeners can spend a week learning about the lives of saints via one lesson each day.

When my editor asked me to try the app for seven days and report on my experience, I went into the assignment with trepidation. Sure, I’m Catholic, but would Hallow have anything to offer me?

Turns out it does.

But before I take you on a tour of my Hallow experience, here is some information about the app. Hallow (definition: to make holy) is a meditation and prayer app created in 2018 by three entrepreneurs: Alex Jones (not the InfoWars guy), Erich Kerekes, and Alessandro DiSanto. 

The app offers a week-long free trial to allow listeners to try it out before committing to a paid yearly subscription.

According to Hallow, the app has been downloaded 20 million times since it launched five years ago. Last Feb. 14 — Ash Wednesday — Hallow reached the top spot in Apple’s App Store. 

“Never in a million years would I have imagined we’d be at the top of the App Store,” Jones said at the time.

Mark Wahlberg has served as a pitchman for the app, and his voice can be heard reciting prayers. His wife, model Rhea Walhberg, is the featured speaker of one of the “Saints in 7 Days” courses. She tells listeners about the life of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founder of the Sisters of Charity, who is credited with creating the Catholic school system in the United States.

​​After only a week of use, I benefited from the app and its light, breezy way of presenting information. It nourishes the faith from the second you log on by greeting you with an affirming quote from a different way each day, and from there has a countless number of options to fit a user’s specific needs. 

Looking back, I learned a lot, had fun, and now feel closer to my faith — so much so that I decided to become a paid subscriber.

Day 4

I joined one of the novenas offered — a community of people praying for children with cancer. We did “The Lord's Prayer.” After a brief Scripture reading, we were asked to pray for our own intentions. I focused my thoughts on the parents of children with cancer. I asked Jesus to help ease their stress and mental anguish and help them through their ordeal.  Later that day, I listened to Rhea reading the second portion of the history of St Elizabeth Ann Seton. This chapter focused on her young adulthood; the fact that she was a vivacious socialite who married a rich sea merchant named William Seton and the glorious life they had hobnobbing with the likes of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Undaunted by my meditation failure the previous night, I tried again — this time with a session called “Have No Anxiety.” I feel it was tailor made for me. The guide had me imagining handing all of my anxieties to God one by one and handing my joys to God thereafter. It was peaceful and relaxing and I had no problem drifting off to sleep.

Day 5

I listened to “Out of Our Control,” a homily by Father Mike Schmitz, director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota. He talked about how we often try to control things in our lives that we really have no control over. I’m paraphrasing here, but basically, he said we need to let go of our compulsion to be control freaks and put our trust in God.  While I feel I got a lot out of the homily, I also think Father Schmitz spoke a little too fast and seemed to rush through it. I plan to listen to another one of his homilies soon.

Day 6

I visited the “How to Pray” section and listened to Mark Wahlberg recite the Rosary. Today it was the Glorious Mysteries. He might be one of the most well known actors in the world, but he did not sound like he was performing. His prayers sounded heartfelt.

Day 7

After being so impressed with Mark, I turned to him again, this time, to recite the Holy Spirit Prayer. I also listened to a reflection from Jonathan Roumie and Catholic evangelist Jeff Cavins on today’s Gospel, Luke 6-27-38, in which Jesus instructs us to love our enemies. It gave me food for thought.

FINAL
VERDICT

Hallow is a handy way to try to deepen one’s Catholic faith. It certainly made me think about different aspects of the faith. And I did feel like I joined a lovely online community of like-minded people. But, in my opinion, Hallow should supplement going to church, not replace it. I believe the best way to grow in faith is to attend Mass and receive the Eucharist.