My Catholic Journal

My Catholic Journal gives you two short entries a day, one in the morning and one at night, each taking about five minutes. The app calls them Lauds and Compline. They aren't the Liturgy of the Hours itself, since there are no psalms or canticles, but they borrow its rhythm of beginning and ending the day with God.

The morning entry opens with the traditional Morning Offering, the one that offers your day through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Then you write three things you're grateful for and three goals for the day, look back at last night, and see the resolutions you made before bed. A setting adds the day's Gospel and Psalm from the USCCB at the end.

The evening entry is a simple Examen. You notice where God was present, name three more gratitudes, look honestly at where you found peace and where you didn't, pick out one moment that mattered, and write tomorrow's resolutions. It ends with an examination of conscience and a closing prayer. What you resolve at night is waiting for you in the morning, which makes the two entries feel like one practice rather than two chores.

There's also a small prayer library with the Our Father, Hail Mary, Apostles' Creed, Confiteor, the Acts of Faith, Hope and Love, and prayers to your guardian angel and for the faithful departed. The listing says it also has the full Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and litanies, though they don't show in the screenshots. A calendar marks the days you wrote in the morning, the evening or both, and you can set a reminder for each.

There's no account, no ads and no analytics. Your entries stay on your device, and Apple's label says the developer collects no data at all. The trade-off is that there's no sync yet, so an iPhone and an iPad keep separate journals. The developer lists cloud backup as coming.

The suggested daily affirmation opens with "I believe I will do something great today" before moving to "Jesus, I trust in You." The first line sounds more like a self-help book than a prayer, but it's only a suggestion, so you can write your own.

My Catholic Journal costs $2.99 in the US, with no subscription and no in-app purchases. It's new, it comes from a small Catholic studio, and it has no ratings yet. If you've wanted to try the Examen but a blank page stops you, this gives you the questions and keeps your answers private.