Fathers of the Catholic Church Audio Library (was MP3 Catholic Sermons)

Fathers of the Catholic Church Audio Library is an audio app full of sermons from the Church Fathers. St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, St. Ephrem, St. Leo the Great, St. Gregory the Great and others, preaching on the Gospel readings for the whole liturgical year, plus other topics.

You download the app free and sample some of the talks. An in-app purchase unlocks the full library. The sermons stream rather than download, so they do not eat up your phone's storage, and one purchase covers both your iPhone and iPad.

What gets me is hearing how directly these men preached. We tend to treat the Fathers as untouchable historical figures, but put on Chrysostom for ten minutes and you realize he was talking to ordinary people about money, anger, and mercy. The same things your pastor talked about last Sunday, often more bluntly.

Good fit for the commute, for anyone who reads the Sunday Gospel ahead of time, or for Catholics who keep meaning to read the Fathers but never get past page ten of a paperback. Listening is an easier door in. RCIA folks would get a lot out of it too.

It is a listening library, not a study tool. There are no transcripts or footnotes, and the recordings are plain readings, not dramatized productions. The app has been around a long time and the interface shows its age. The developer says that if anything goes wrong you can reinstall and restore your purchase at no extra charge.

Free to download with an in-app purchase for the full library, made by As Written Productions. Available on the App Store: Fathers of the Catholic Church Audio Library. The preaching of the saints, in your pocket. Hard to argue with that.