A listener asked a two part question (or rather two questions) in one email, both of which I thought were great though somewhat unrelated.
A few weeks ago you had a fertility specialist on the show. I was very
interested because my wife and I have been trying to conceive for a
little while now with no success. Well, I was in Mass for the part
where she discussed testing male fertility in a sin-free way. Could
you point me in the right direction?Also, Greg, can you recommend a good Bible app or mobile site for
iPhone and iPad? Preferably RSVCE?I love your show; I try to listen everyday.
I faintly remember Dr. Raviele making that comment, but don’t remember the details, however, the entire conversation was put out in that week’s podcast and you can listen to it here.
Hopefully that extra detail will be of help. If not, there was also a website we discussed on the program that will let you find an NFP-only doctor in your area that would probably be more than happy to help.
As far as a Bible app, that’s a sore spot for me. I would like to have an NAB one just so it more closely matches the Mass readings, but there aren’t really any out there. When I DO use a mobile Bible, it’s usually the YouVersion Bible, but I really am not a huge fan of that one, either. If I just want the daily Mass readings, I get them from iBreviaryPro or iPieta.
I’ve attached a screen shot of the Catholic apps I currently have on my iPad. I have a lot more on my phone, but I rarely use a lot of them.
The ultimate Catholic Bible App has become somewhat like the Yeti for me. I sort of doubt it even exists.
And while I’m looking for a good Bible app, I’m still hopeful that Marquette University will make their NFP resources available as an app to make it easier to track fertility cycles. That would be awesome, and rumor has it that they may be working on that.
One app where you can get a NAB bible is OliveTree bible reader. It comes with a KJV but you can order any number of translations such as NRSV and D-R. The cost for each bible is kinda high, but I paid for my NAB back in the palm3 days and have been able to port it over through every upgrade. Hope that helps!
The New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) is the culmination of nearly 20 years of work by a group of nearly 100 scholars and theologians, including bishops, revisers, and editors. The NABRE includes a newly revised translation of the entire Old Testament (including the Book of Psalms) along with the 1986 edition of the New Testament.
I have the Logos Bible Software app on my iPad and the following is going to be released soon for it. Logos is multi platform and works well but I, too, want to be using the same translation we have at Mass rather than something else. It’s $16.95 on pre-order and the app is free. Might be worth a look…
The NABRE is a formal equivalent translation of Sacred Scripture, sponsored by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, using the best manuscripts available. Work on most books of the Old Testament by forty revisers and a board of eight editors began in 1994 and was completed in 2001. The 1991 revision of the Psalter, the work of thirty revisers and six editors, was further revised by seven revisers and two editors between 2009 and 2010. Work on the New Testament, begun in 1978 and completed in 1986, was the work of thirteen revisers and five editors.
With the Logos Bible Software edition, the New American Bible, rev. ed. (NABRE) is fully integrated with the other resources in Logos, including maps, dictionaries, and numerous other Bible study tools. The Logos edition also allows you to perform powerful searches and word studies, as well as the ability to sync this translation with other English and original language translations in your library for comparison. This makes New American Bible, rev. ed. (NABRE) more powerful and easier to access than ever before for reading, sermon preparation, research, and Bible study.
Darn…my beginning/introduction got moved down to the second paragraph. Sorry. Darn Facebook app. 😉
I wrote a Creighton Model NFP iPhone app last year and was beta testing it with lots of positive feedback. I tried to show it to the Pope Paul VI Institute to get some feedback on it and was informed that I wasn’t allowed to release the app as it would violate their copyrights and they would take legal action if I did. They said they were working on their own app that they hoped to release later in the year. I offered my services to work with their developers since I already had a fully functioning app, but never got a response. As of yet, their NFP app has never materialized.
It’s increasingly hard to be a Catholic in the 21st century when it feels like the institutions you rely on are hesitant to move into the digital age.
Travis,
I would encourage you to follow up again. I respect you for adhering to their request, though, not to release the app. We recently went through something where someone wanted to use some of our content for an app without our permission, and it ended up being a terrible situation because the developer didn’t respect our request that he not use our content, and he did anyway.
But again, I would encourage you to try to develop a relationship with them that could be mutually beneficial. From the perspective of someone who has been responsible for a Catholic non-profit for 8 years now, we’ve had many zealous people want to help us, but many times people with the best of intentions let life catch up to them, and they abandoned us after we’d invested much time and money and effort into a project, based upon the offer of a well-meaning volunteer.
So I can understand an organization being somewhat hesitant to release an app from someone else that they may later on not be able to technically support themselves.
Did you send them screen shots or anything of the app? I wonder if there is a way we could help in this case to reach out to them and try to make an intro of some sorts.
I agree we need to work together, but it’s not always that institutions are hesitant to move into the digital age, but perhaps they simply don’t have the manpower and financial resources to do so. There is SO MUCH more I’d like to do through Rosary Army and this website for The Catholics Next Door, but with limited resources (including hours in the day and manpower), we’re limited on what we can do. Perhaps Pope Paul VI Institute is in the same boat.
While not an NFP app, per se, Period Tracker Deluxe does allow you to track your ovulation and fertile dates. It also has inputs for weight and temperature:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/period-tracker-deluxe/id289084315?mt=8
The best app I have found for charting your cycles is called Lily. It has not been developed from a catholic perspective (like for example they require you to specify whether you’ve used ‘protection’ or not), but it is the best functioning app that I’ve found for that purpose and I’ve tried a few!