The Word Among Us Mass Edition

Review by eFreeware

If you already follow the daily Mass readings and want them in one place on your phone, The Word Among Us Mass Edition is built for exactly that. It is a Catholic devotional app from a publisher that has been producing this material in print since 1981, and the Android edition carries the same daily structure: the readings for each day, a meditation tied to them, and the Order of Mass. It is free to download, ad-free, and comes with a two-week trial before a subscription is needed.

The audience here is fairly specific. This is for Catholics who pray with Scripture regularly and want a routine they can keep on a phone rather than in a printed booklet, whether that is a few minutes in the morning, a pause at lunch, or reading before bed. It is also a reasonable option for someone preparing for Mass who wants to see the readings ahead of time and have something to reflect on afterward.

What appeals to me about the framing is that it does not try to be everything. It is a devotional, not a Bible study suite or a parish directory, and the content list stays close to the liturgical calendar. For a reader who wants a defined daily portion rather than a library to browse, that focus is the point.

Daily readings and the meditation that follows them

The core of the app is the daily Mass readings, drawn from the New American Bible, with the liturgical texts sourced from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and ICEL. Each day pairs those readings with a meditation based on one of them. That pairing is the reason people come to this title rather than to a plain reading list: the Scripture is the starting point, and the reflection gives you something to carry into the day.

The publisher describes this as the largest daily devotional for Catholics, which is a claim I would treat as the developer's own framing rather than a measured fact. What matters more for a reader is the consistency of the format: one set of readings, one meditation, every day of the year. If you like knowing that the day's material is already chosen and waiting, this structure does the deciding for you.

One limitation the developer states plainly is that audio playback of the readings and meditations is not available on Android. If listening is how you prefer to pray, that matters before you commit. The text is there; the spoken version is not.

The Order of Mass and the surrounding articles

Beyond the daily portion, the app includes the complete Order of Mass in the ICEL translation. Having that on hand is useful for anyone who wants to follow along, prepare, or revisit the parts of the liturgy outside of a service. It sits alongside the readings rather than replacing them, so the app covers both the daily prayer and the shape of the Mass itself.

There are also issue articles organized around a central theme, which gives the content a magazine-like rhythm rather than a purely day-by-day one. Special features add articles on the saints and personal testimonies, and the developer notes that digital exclusives include material that does not appear in the printed edition. For a subscriber, that is a genuine difference between the app and the paper version.

The mix is devotional and reflective rather than academic. Someone looking for commentary, historical background or study tools will find a different kind of reading here; someone who wants encouragement and a theme to pray with will be closer to the mark.

What the subscription covers and what it costs

The app is free to download and contains no advertising. After a two-week free trial, access requires a paid subscription, monthly or annual. Those subscriptions are sold through Google Play as in-app purchases.

The renewal terms are worth reading before you start the trial. Payment is charged to your Google Play account when you confirm the purchase, and the subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is switched off. If it is left on, the account is charged within 24 hours before the current period ends. You can stop auto-renewal whenever you like through your Google Play account.

That is a standard arrangement for a subscription app, and the free trial gives you two weeks to decide whether the daily format fits your routine. The practical step is to note the trial end date when you begin, so the decision is yours rather than the calendar's.

Fitting it into a prayer routine

The natural way to use this app is to treat it as a daily appointment rather than something to dip into occasionally. Because the readings and meditation change each day, a short, regular visit gets more out of it than a long catch-up session at the end of the week. Ten minutes in the morning, or whenever you can find quiet, matches how the content is organized.

If you are preparing for Mass, reading the day's passages beforehand gives you a head start, and the meditation can serve as a prompt for what to bring to the liturgy. If you are praying at home, the same material stands on its own without any need to follow along with a service.

The themed articles and saint features work better as occasional reading than as a daily obligation. Treating them as extras keeps the daily portion manageable and leaves something to return to when you have more time. The content is built around a routine of daily prayer.

How it sits against the print edition

The publisher has produced this devotional in print since 1981, and both printed and digital editions remain available. The app version carries the same daily structure with the addition of digital exclusives, so anyone already familiar with the magazine will recognize the format. For readers who prefer paper for prayer and a screen for convenience, the two can sit side by side.

The Android version dates to October 2018, and the latest update only lists bug fixes. That is not unusual for a devotional reader, where the value is in the content rather than in frequent feature changes.

The app has more than 100,000 installs and holds a 4.3 average from 460 ratings, which points to a reasonably established audience. Those numbers tell you it is widely used; they do not tell you whether the daily format will suit your own habits, and that is the question worth answering during the trial.

A devotional for readers who want a set daily portion

My recommendation is straightforward. If you are a Catholic who wants the Mass readings, a reflection on them, and the Order of Mass in one ad-free app, this is a well-matched choice, and the two-week trial is enough time to see whether the daily rhythm sticks. The content is organized around the liturgical calendar, the sources are named, and the format does not ask much of you beyond showing up.

The caveats are the usual ones for a subscription app, and they are worth knowing before you start.

Readers who want a study library, commentary or audio devotionals will find this app narrow by design. Readers who want a dependable daily portion of Scripture and reflection, presented plainly and without advertising, are the ones this app is built for.

What's new in version 1.2.16.8

Bug Fixes