Hallow: Prayer & Meditation Reviews

by Peach_Pit

Better to something than nothing, so I am happy that this exists. But it needs major improvements. Rosary routines are not as given to the world by Mary. Instead, this offers a the new version, with JP-II’s additions. Would be easy to add the original version.

Psalms uses a truly bad translation. Deep meanings in the mental poetry are completely removed. Offer alternate translations that adhere closely to the Hebrew text, like the Douay-Rheims, or the Grail Psalter.

It’s no surprise that Bishop Barron is featured in this. Though he very often strikes out when a specific soul is on the line & the theological bases are loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning. Not withstanding any critiques of his statements on the eternal logos being just “the privileged way” & “we have a reasonable hope that all men are saved” , he manages to be in the spotlight constantly, and seems to showcase his own intellect more than the Trinity’s mercy/justice, love for us, & mastery of all. I’d rather his presence here be counter balanced with the simple faith and bold proclamation of other prelates who do not show so many sign an egocentric predilection.

by Subal428

I am so thrilled with Hallow. The content is incredible. I love that the content regularly changes to reflect the liturgical seasons, as well as daily for such features as the gospel reflections & rosary. There are so many features to use from themed practices to specific types of prayer to seasonal and current event relevant prayers. I love the in depth challenge features of the Our Father and Stations of the Cross, the daily Examen, the Sleep prayer options, the liturgy of the hours . . . and I love that you can set and track goals, streaks, and journal thoughts from a session. The Guest section includes so many incredible resources from experts . . . Hallow is just packed with the best Catholic contemplative prayer content and it is very well engineered . . . super user friendly. Finally, it's great to have two different voice options as well as the option to choose ambient music, silence or gregorian chant to accompany your prayer/meditation sessions. I highly recommend Hallow. It has definitely revolutionized my prayer life because now when I wake up in the morning, I have an auto reminder to sit in prayer when I pick up my phone rather than scroll through other fluff and news. Bravo!

by Tribalash

I didn’t grow up in a religious household and only within the last few years have been developing my faith and finished RCIA two years ago. Praying is still relatively new and something that I am growing in, Hallow has really helped that with all the different options from stations of the cross, rosary, divine mercy, etc. I have also thoroughly enjoyed and learned so much through the Bible in a year which is based off of the great adventure Catholic Bible and features a lot of information to help understand and get more from the readings. It is also very cool that Jonathan Roumie from “The Chosen and Jim Caviezel from “Passion of the Christ” is available as readers or are featured in some of the talks.I strongly recommend this for any Christian not just Catholics. I promise that absolutely everyone will get something out of this app. Thank you for this great resource!

by Avi Gedler

Even though I’ve only had Hallow for a week I cannot begin to explain how much it has helped me as a Catholic young adult. I’ve never been dutiful with practicing the faith, and it’s so great to have such a great number of resources to look into and pray with. I can’t thank the creators enough for an app that looks great, is accessible, and is so calming.

Almost every session begins with the same introduction which was starting to bother me, but it’s becoming less of an issue as I just start to think of the deep breathing and attention focus to God as a routine I need to get into.

Would LOVE to see an Apple Watch app to be able to listen to prayers through that on workouts and such. Also, maybe the prayer goal could have the option to change to times a day instead of times a week? Anyway, this app is great you should get it!

by Mithrandiran

I really enjoy using Hallow. I am finally praying daily pretty consistently which has been one of my goals for more years than I would care to admit. I very happy that they recently added a lot of prayers in Latin as I find them more meditative. The only thing with which I’m not entirely happy is that one cannot add some entire groups of prayers to one’s routine e.g. the Latin rosary. One can add each individual rosary but then you can’t choose which day you’d like to be notified as the routines have no option for setting the days you’d like to do certain prayers. If these two parts of Hallow were updated they would vastly improve its overall usefulness, as it would make the routines endlessly customizable and then all I’d have to do to get going is to click on the notification and, BAM! I’m prayin’!

by PendingMatcha

My husband and I had both been looking for something to help our evenings wind down better with God. The daily readings are amazing. Hallow has a lot to it (reflection space, mood tracker, prayers for moods, daily gospel, rosary based on daily mysteries, bed time gospel stories, a kids zone that does stories and prayer how to based on age, music center, chants, prayer session challenges and more.) I started to use it to help me get my rosary in the mornings like I have been wanting to do. You can set routines into your phone to help carve time out of your day for God as well.

My only recommendation to the developers is to add the transcript in on the sessions. This would be helpful for 3 reasons. 1) New Catholic’s learning prayers and how things work no matter the age 2) To help when the mind is overly active to give something else to focus and help ease into the meditative process 3) Meditation can be great for relaxing or stimulating to wake up. With how things are currently set up, there is a lot of focus of relaxing versus stimulating to the day. Words on the screen can help be part of that stimulation.

Keep up the great app! Can’t wait to see what all you add!

by AmyB_

I started using Hallow about 8 months ago and I learned so many beautiful ways to pray! The content is rich with beautiful guided prayers and devotions, surpassing all apps... then this app goes and adds even more amazing content! Fr Mike Schmitz, a beautiful man of God with ways of speaking to connect anyone to the inner chambers of their heart and then, this app added content such as Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus on The Chosen, and reads Jesus's famous sermon from the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 - 9! Tears! Tears of joy and love! I LOVED THIS SO MUCH! Truly, last night I feel asleep listening to my Lord and Savior. I cannot thank the team at this app enough for this beautiful gift! It’s a must have! This team truly loves helping bring us all closer to God as it shows in each and every part of Hallow! May God bless and keep you, this app team! What a beautiful ministry he’s called you to! Praise God!

by Dee Joy

I have subscribed to the “Magnificat” magazine for AM & PM prayer meditations for a few years. I was uncertain as to what added value the this app app subscription would be to my routine. The free trial convinced me to support this outstanding tool. The guided meditations are an alternative, Catholic-centered approach with an “eastern” feel, so familiar to any who have dabbled with Yoga “practices”. It’s a bridge between East & West that feels like a comfortable shoe (or mattress)! I particularly appreciate being able to choose from a variety of venues as I wind down to sleep. Sometimes, its a scripture reading. Sometimes the life of a saint. Or a review of conscience. The this app app helps me feel, in a concrete way, part of the larger community of faithful beyond the boundaries of my local parish! I am truly more aware of the “cloud of witnesses” that surround me…living and deceased…and that gives me hope. TY4 developing this app.

by Steph2329

I absolutely love Hallow. It is so incredibly on point to keep yourself intact with God-The Holy Trinity!! It keeps me grounded, has a much stronger connection within my strict Roman Catholic Faith, and with given all the extra perks of morals and virtues that you can within this application, this app.

I am so blessed beyond measure to be born into a family with the strict, solid morals, devotion to Mary, Our Blessed Mother, the rosary, scriptures at home, and to learn to use, trust, and use your inner faith to do great things here on earth. My Daddy would say The Rosary,!Trust and Loyalty in your Roman Catholic Faith, your heart and deep innermost thoughts and being faithful and al to The Scriptures, The Holy Trinity, Mary, and The teachings, following scriptures. By showing your utmost loyalty and the rule of law, Catholicism is The Truest Way To Get To Heaven!!

I attached K-12 grade at a private Catholic School. I am so unbelievably fortunate. I can’t think of my parent enough. My Daddy has passed, and My Momma just passed just this year on February 25, 2021. this app also helps me remember my childhood and teenage years of dedication, devotion, and loyalty to Catholicism.

Thank you so much for creating this Extraordinary App for all Christians. Still, most of all, it’s designed especially for Roman Catholics and all rules, values, virtues, and BELIEFS of Catholicism.

by None546553

I’m not Catholic & was exploring the faith. Hallow has been instrumental in me getting an inside view to what Catholicism looks like in practice, not just reading about the ideas of it from unapproachable/overwhelming walls of information. I have been praying everyday with Hallow , and this is my first week praying — ever!!! I like that the CEO is passionate about Hallow ’s mission, and that he has experience with the other popular meditation apps that modernized meditation. I never felt connected to those apps/practices, and this app allows me to explore the faith through these short doses of meditative prayers. It’s fantastic and I highly recommend to anyone looking to practice prayer or deepen their Catholicism with modern guidance — especially the millennial crowd. I respect their ethos and will gladly pay for Hallow after the free trial. Also, love the voice in the prayers, very soothing.

by Alfred P

I just turned 60 and have felt a draw to go to mass and a need to pray, but put it off. I heard Father Rich Pagano on The Catholic Talk Show mention the this app app for your phone. I downloaded and it sat there for a few weeks. Well today, I was alone in the house and the rumble of an approach thunderstorm and I decide to try this app. I selected a 5 minute prayer with God in silence, it was amazing and left me needing more, so I click on the Angelius prayer because I have a deep devotion to Our Blessed Mother, than I listen to a presentation of St. Theresa of Avila and I was blown away, it is as if the presentation was written just for me. I am energized and want more. Time to upgrade from the free version to the paid version. I also am going to be inviting people in my life to join this community, which is such a blessing during this pandemic. God Bless and keep you all!

by Ellereims

I love Hallow. I only use the free version since I’m not able to pay for the subscription and there is still so much content available! It’s simple and helpful (especially to an easily distracted mind like mine).
The only problem I’ve come across is on setting reminders. It requires that you choose a habit to attach your reminder to...although this is a great idea the only options are not applicable to me. I like to is Hallow as soon as I put my little one down for a nap so it bothers me that I have to just choose a random habit in order to set a reminder for me to pray. I would suggest being able to type in your own habit or just remove the requirement.
All in all, Hallow still deserves 5 stars. I think that the creators are doing wonderful things and I greatly appreciate all the work they’ve put into it!

by JLB123202

I don’t normally take the time to review apps but this one is so good that I had to. There are so many prayers to choose from and so many ways to customize the prayers for your schedule and preferences. Hallow has gotten me to pray every day when nothing else has!
It is worth the $5 a month. After all, it is constantly being updated with new daily prayers and gospel readings. You can tell that a lot of time, talent, and resources have gone into Hallow and for goodness sake, the people who did all of this need to make a living somehow. An app is no different than a book, music, or whatever - the person who created it should get some reimbursement for their work. Please don’t expect high quality apps like this one to be free any more than you would expect people to give away their books or other works.
If you’re not sure, do the trial and see for yourself. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

by CMCZH

I love Hallow and have been using it now for years and think it’s worth every $ it charges and more. I rarely review apps but think Hallow is fantastic and so deserving of a good review..

Hallow fulfills all my requirements for meditation, prayer petitions, or even just listening and reflecting on your day/bible stories/scripture. It has a wide variety of great content so you never get bored and more importantly, so you can always the right content to suit your present situation in life. I can’t recommend it enough to anyone/everyone!! It has gotten me to pray more regularly where nothing else has.

my 2 cents for developers: it would be great to one day see this as an Alexa enabled skill so users could build a routine around it in the era of the “smart home”. Also would be good to be able to reset challenges so we can re-do them at our own time.

by Miaaconte

I honestly don’t know how I found Hallow. I was raised Catholic and attended weekly mass. But once I got to college I decided to put Christianity on the back burner and do life my way. So I did & it got to be pretty self-destructive and wasn’t bringing about goals or calming my worries I was missing God in my plan. COVID-19 happened and that sent me back into my child home & emotionally was rough being in quarantine & feeling this overwhelming amount of shame & guilt & this yearning to get closer to God. I love mediation & was using headspace often. But I remember reading this article saying how vision boards and affirmations were the law of attraction & how mediation can even be focused to much on yourself. I realized I call myself Catholic but I wasn’t at all I wasn’t living a Christian filled life. I wanted to find truth and grow back in my faith & Hallow is beautifully designed & so well thought out that it’s slowly helping me back to my Catholic faith. Thank you 💜

by Jules 1960

I’ve never been one to sit still and I have a busy mind. Suffice to say that meditation doesn’t come naturally. Yet I was dealing with some generalized anxiety post surgery and wanted to try some meditation. I also knew that for my comfort level, I preferred it to be Catholic meditation. I really believe God led me to this site. It’s worth the yearly subscription.
What I didn’t expect was the inner healing and insights I received- and which I could then journal and record right on Hallow . God’s love and presence just seemed to explode as I sat in the guided silences and meditated on the scriptures provided. I’m so grateful!
My favorite is the daily scripture meditation. Brings me closer to daily Mass while I still recuperate. I like the ten minute option but you could do 5 or 15 instead.
I’d really recommend this too for those homebound but interested in growing spiritually. It can be a home made retreat if you let it! If you want Catholic it’s here. But it clearly is “catholic” in the sense that it’s for all of us.

by 457379puppies

I stumbled upon the Christian tradition of contemplative prayer about a year ago and promptly began practicing it on my own. I was pretty good about doing it most every day, but some days were certainly more focused than others. Someone told me about this app and I immediately fell in love. I cannot rave enough about Hallow! I have told all my friends about it (most of whom are not Catholic). Now I can do multiple meditations a day and sometimes I will turn on the angelus or rosary while I am cooking or cleaning for an extra spiritual boost. I have been using the free version for a few months and there is so much great content that I feel like I’m stealing from them! 😬 I will definitely buy the premium version eventually, because Hallow has already helped me so hugely in deepening my relationship with Christ. Now I feel totally “off” and not nearly as kind or happy when I skip my morning prayer session. I cannot recommend this highly enough- if you commit to it and keep the habits going, it WILL change your life!

by Jamers7

I really struggle with prayer and anxiety at night. I was looking for something to help as I fell asleep or while laying in bed to calm my heart and mind. But I wanted something that was 1- Catholic! And 2- orthodox! I was honestly skeptical when I randomly saw a Facebook add for this app. Most “catholic” prayer aides I’ve come across saying things like “meditation” have a very skewed idea of meditation and it tends to quickly digress into things like “finding your third eye” 🤢 what I LOVE about the creators of this app is that they desire to reclaim meditation as a unique Christian form of prayer. It has always belonged to the Church and we are responsible for continuing this life giving practice!

This is my 4th day using Hallow and it has already been a game changer! I’m excited to get to bed now, so I can have those last few moments of my day in prayer! The guided meditation is not cheesy and has so many options! I feel more peace then I have for awhile and I find that I’m more aware during my day of the Lord, communicating with Him as my day goes on. I love Hallow and have been telling everyone about it!

by Pswap57

Last January, after having gone through the final illness and death of my father, I determined to be more faithful in my devotional life. After looking around the ‘net and Hallow Store, I decided to try the this app preview and a couple of others. I’m Protestant, so I was hesitant about the this app app being Catholic.

Well, before the preview was up, I had subscribed to this app. Hallow has helped me keep my promise to be more faithful in daily reading and prayer. I have particularly enjoyed the Daily Mass Readings and Daily Reflections. Plus, through the Daily Saints feature, I’ve learned so much about amazing Christians from the past. (I’ve even learned to love the Rosary.) I also loved the Advent prayers. Not only has Hallow helped me be more faithful, I also feel so much more connected to the (little c-catholic; i.e. universal) Church. Hallow has been well worth the subscription.

by Thunderface

I accidentally purchased the annual subscription and iTunes would not refund it, but I took that as a sign from God and will make the most of it. I do find it to be maybe a little pricey for the quality and content. It is good, but I think it could be organized much better. I also think that for $60/year, it would be nice to have varied background sound—I love the Gregorian chant, but can’t do too much of this in one day because the repetition of the background gets to me. Overall though, Hallow is a great coach for contemplative prayer for the average person. Helps me recenter in the middle of the day, regain peace, sleep at night, etc.

by Iflycoach!

this app is putting quiet, prayerful time with God back in my life. Currently the moments I get to spend alone with God come while caring for my newborn baby. I love praying the Rosary with the guides or reflecting on Scripture and my day. My favorite part is the opportunity to journal after each session. I am not finding many chances to check in with myself throughout the day while adjusting to being a new Dad, so being asked what I am taking away from prayer time with God is truly a gift. I also love the variety in Hallow that lets me connect with God in whatever way is being offered in the moment. I so so need Hallow to help me prayer regularly again and can’t recommend it highly enough.

by Erin Sto-Mo

I am loving the this app app. As a working mom of two under two, sometimes it has seemed impossible to prioritize a prayer life. this app has given me a simple way to take time out of my day to be with God. I love that the sessions can be different lengths depending on how much time I have! And I love that it’s exposing me to a variety of prayer. I especially love Lectio Divina on Saturdays with the Sunday gospel since I’m often wrangling children during mass and it can be hard to concentrate. It’s the perfect way to prepare. Thank you to all involved in the creation of Hallow— it’s been life changing!!

by Amanda Rose G

I made the move from headspace to this app about three weeks ago, and I’ve used it every day since. I’m actually Episcopal, not Catholic, but it hasn’t mattered. I’ve prayed through different challenges, the rosary, daily gospels, and others. Hallow has all the benefits of any mediation app but has also improved my prayer life. Hallow is beautiful and works perfectly, and even the emails from the this app team are encouraging. I can’t recommend this enough. Also, if you are considering this as a Protestant, I think you’ll still like 90% of the prayers. Try it!

by RKrox4ever

I’ve tried various secular meditation apps, but I felt like I was missing out on the beautiful meditative traditions in Catholicism. I tried to pursue these on my own, but it is so much easier with Hallow! And it has so much! Catholic mindfulness, Lectio Divina, Examen, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Stations of the Cross, reflections on lives of the saints, so much! And it’s got a beautiful interface! Many Catholic apps have great content but are super clunky. This one is not like that at all. It gives you lots of customizable features and even has weekly goals and a tracker to help you develop a habit. Beautiful app! Really well done!!

by HAPPINESS ALL OVER THE PLACE !

With the above title I wanted to communicate that Hallow is done so well that it can be very valuable for either people that consider themselves souls of prayer and have been praying for many years daily or for people that are just considering entering in a life of prayer. I literally just downloaded Hallow and still trying the free version, nevertheless I will most likely enroll for the $5 monthly. There is nothing more important than our souls so $5 per month should not hurt but serve you well so you can become a better son of God every day. And becoming a better son of God will help you become a better version of your self on every field of your life. God Bless!

by CC Mac

this app is a wonderful tool to have in my daily devotional time. I have enjoyed the variety of options and the care that has been taken to get all of this together. I especially like the music that has been added. Sometimes I just need the music in my prayer time. But don’t get me wrong I need the guided meditation most of the time. I was just looking through my history and remembered how much I learned during the Lenten meditations which lead me to he advent challenge. Thank you. My one issue is that I get locked out sometimes and have to go through some crazy steps to get back into this app. The team is very responsive to my issues and have helped me, however, it occurs randomly and some times it prevents me from using Hallow for a day or so. With that being said this app is totally worth the glitch !
Thank you again for this app.

by Pueblo Doc

This is Hallow I have been looking for, for years. In so many ways. The daily gospel reading allows to to really draw something that transforms and changes you, in the middle of your busy life. I listen to it while getting dressed in the morning and while commuting. It allows me to hear God's voice even in busy day. I've tried to do an daily examen so many times. But now I'm fruitfully doing it regularly. I loved the guest speakers. They really know how to directly speak to the challenges that many of us as a younger generation face. This is an amazing, life changing app. You don't have to wait until retirement to deepen your spiritual life. You can do it now, with Hallow, in the midst of your busy life and have authentic rich experiences.

by Weecyff

As someone who was raised Catholic but identifies as not particularly religious, I was curious about this app and how different it would be from meditation apps I’ve used in the past.
What really differentiates this app from Insight Timer and Headspace is that it has been (at least for me) more like guided introspection than guided meditation... it creates space for both stillness and personal growth.
Examens are my favorite, maybe because they seem less about one’s relationship with God than the guided prayers. They’re great for reflection at the end of the day.
The customization options for voice, length, background music, level of guidance are great touches.
I highly recommend this app - for both devoted Christians and people just curious about getting back into prayer or spiritual reflection.

by Carleyef

As a young and adventurous Catholic, I have learned about the practice of meditation and all the glorious benefits for mind and body. I was using a different app and I enjoyed it but was always rephrasing the guidance to picture God. Hallow does that for me and so much more!! I love the aesthetics of Hallow , so pretty and soothing. I also really appreciate the journal option after each session.

I’m not sure when the daily Lectio Divina resets... I did it last night around 5:00pm and this morning at 8:30am it was still the same reading. ?? I even closed Hallow and reopened it but that didn’t help. I’ll try it again tomorrow but I was hoping to hear a different reading in today’s practice. Other than that, I love Hallow! Thank you guys for creating this space!!

by Ballroomdancer150

Yes you get free content, but supporting a group of young men and women who are trying to bring the prayers of our faith into modern day time is important! I love praying the Rosary on my commute to work or while exercising! I don’t have to have a Rosary because he/she guides me through it. Also, the short prayers and meditations are calming and remind me the importance of handing my day over to God not only in the morning but throughout! I suffer from anxiety and tried the other meditation/mindfulness apps but something was missing, God! In those moments when I feel like I can’t go on Hallow is here to remind me that God is in control and will be with me each second of the day! Thank you to the developers and all who work for this app for answering God’s call to bring meditation and prayer together! I wish you much success.

by LilBunnyMoon

Absolutely love Hallow. It’s truly a blessing from God. Some people may be hesitant because of the subscription fee, but it’s reasonable. Especially since the this app team seems to be coming up with more things to add!

Hallow has helped me really meditate and work on my relationship with Him. It’s so hard to find modern Catholic apps these days. Hallow allows for a lot of Catholic tradition with a mix of modern day flare. I love the look of Hallow as well, very simple and eye catching. The narrator is very soothing, i love having some background music (i choose ambient music but having a Gregorian chant option is above and beyond in my opinion!) additionally, i love how the creators and the team are working hard to constantly update and add to Hallow!! I can’t wait to see what else this app will have in store for the future! Thank you this app for bringing me closer to God.

by Matt8363891)3

I have found Hallow to be an incredible addition to my prayer life! I love the daily gospel reading and rosary.

I’ve seen some individuals complain that you have to pay for a prayer app. This is tremendous content and takes a lot of expenditures, both of money, human capital and time to make work. Honestly, $60 a year is cheap to invest in my prayer life. I’ve spent hundreds a year on books that don’t provide this much value. Saying you shouldn’t have to pay for a prayer app completely misses the point. I’d challenge those individuals to look at what they spend money on and reflect on where God fits into their life. Your own individual prayer time is of course free, but if you want great content to augment and improve that time, it can’t be made free.

The developers have made a significant amount free which is extremely generous. I want to thank you all for what you’ve done to enrich my spiritual journey and many others! Keep up the great work!

by Monica123596

Conversations with God can be hard. this app has helped me put my feelings into words with its app. They have meditative prayer series for almost every difficult situation and emotion people experience. A quick, easy, and effective way to get close to God whether you are in a rush, on your way to work, in bed, walking to church, sitting around bored, etc. I keep it on my home screen so when I find myself in a multiple hour social media binge, I can click on it and spend a few minutes focusing on my faith.