The Rosary Workout...What It Is Really All About

An inspiring, eye-opening interview with Peggy Bowes, author of The Rosary Workout, on Catholic health and wellness. 

(What would you say is the most important benefit to exercise? The “Catholic” answer may surprise you!)

 1.      Give us a bit of background about yourself and your experience in the world of health and wellness.

First and foremost, I define myself as a devout Catholic wife and mother. My primary goal in life is to get to heaven and to help as many people as I can to do the same.

           

My career as a health and wellness specialist began while I was in the Air Force. I proudly served my country as an instructor pilot, but I became pregnant with my son and was no longer able to fly. I was reassigned to the Health and Wellness Center due to my experience as an aerobics instructor and personal trainer, and I truly enjoyed counseling Air Force members and their families and inspiring them to live a healthier lifestyle. I was blessed to be able to separate from the Air Force to stay home with my children. When they started school, I established a business administering metabolic and athletic performance (VO2) testing, with an emphasis on weight loss counseling and exercise program design.

I was inspired to combine my passion for exercise with my devotion to the Rosary by creating a unique exercise program called The Rosary Workout.Through this book and my other writings, I hope to lead more people to heaven and to help them enjoy a healthy lifestyle so as to best carry out their earthly vocations.

2.      Explain your own philosophy and approach to health and wellness.

I believe that the best way to live a healthy lifestyle is to incorporate healthy habits, one at a time, until they become second nature. Too often people make the mistake of trying to make dramatic changes and then become discouraged when they fail to meet unrealistic expectations. Instead, focus on creating one new habit every month or so. Here are a few ideas: If you don’t exercise, start with just 10 minutes, twice a week. Do you drink a lot of soda? Substitute water as often as possible. Are you trying to eat more fruits and vegetables? Make it a goal to add one more serving each day. If you’re always tired, set a timer to ensure you get to bed 15 minutes early each night. By making small changes, one at a time, you will set yourself up for success in the long run.

3.      What would you say is the most important aspect of health and wellness?

Definitely commitment.I have counseled so many people who want to live a healthier lifestyle but expect it to happen magically, without any effort on their part. You have to first decide that you are ready to make these changes, then you must set specific goals, create a plan to meet them, and take action. If you state your goal as “I want to get in shape and lose weight,” then you have not quantified your expectations, and it will be difficult to meet them. A better goal would be “I want to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks by exercising 3 days a week for 20 minutes and keeping a journal to track my daily food intake.” This type of goal sets you up to succeed because you have a time frame, a concrete goal, and tools to meet it.

4.      What do you see as the most significant benefit of exercise?

It’s hard to choose just one benefit! Exercise is the closest thing we have to a “magic pill.” It builds and m healthy muscles, bones, and joints. It decreases anxiety and depression and improves psychological well-being. Regular exercise enhances work, recreation, and sport performance and improves the quality of sleep. It reduces triglyceride levels (fat in the blood) and increases HDL levels (good cholesterol). Exercise is powerful preventative medicine. It reduces the risks of and helps prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, and Type 2 diabetes to name a few.

That said, I think that the most significant benefit of exercise is that it helps a person to best carry out his or her vocation, whether it be wife and mother, priest or religious, business executive or custodian. If you take the time and effort to exercise, you will be rewarded with more energy and enthusiasm to meet the demands of your daily life.

5.      In your experience, what are some of the hurdles that people face when approaching their health and exercise pursuits?

I think the biggest complaint that I hear is not having enough time to exercise. Yet most people take time to watch TV, check Facebook, surf the web, shop and engage in other pursuits that could easily be limited or avoided, at least occasionally. Exercise does not have to be a long, drawn out process. Anyone can put on a comfortable pair of shoes and walk for 10-15 minutes without having to purchase special equipment, drive to a gym, or arrange for child care. If you have children, take them with you! Certainly most people can find 10-15 minutes for exercise just 3-4 days a week. Keep a journal of how you spend your time for a week, and I bet you will be able to find several places where you can convert unproductive time into time for exercise.

The same time crunch problem prevents most people from eating a healthy diet. It seems easier to grab a pizza or go through the drive-through, but those types of foods actually sap energy and contribute to weight gain. Instead, use some down time to research recipes that are easy to put together and use ingredients you can keep on hand. I call these recipes my “911 dinners” because they are simple and usually involve just a can opener or frozen vegetables, enabling me to cook a healthy meal in the same time it would take to wait for a pizza. Also, a crock pot or slow cooker and a few good recipes can ensure that you come home to a healthy meal at the end of a busy day. I find time on the weekend to plan a week’s worth of meals and shop for the ingredients. This ends up saving me time in the long run, and my family can look forward to spending our evenings eating a healthy meal and connecting at the end of a busy day.

6.      What have been some of your own obstacles in your personal goals towards health and wellness?

Oh, I do get lazy now and then and decide I’d rather sit on the couch and eat ice cream than go for a run. I definitely have a sweet tooth! I fall into the same traps as everyone else when it comes to finding time to exercise and eat healthy foods. What gets me back on track is that I truly miss exercising and find that my body just doesn’t feel right when I skip my workouts. My muscles ache, my energy level drops, and I don’t sleep as well. This motivates me to make the effort to fit exercise back in my schedule.

My husband and I joke about having a “veggie low light” that comes on when we have been indulging too much in unhealthy food choices. Even my children will complain if we’re on vacation and have been eating out too much. They once asked me, “Can we just go home so you can make some oatmeal and stir fry with lots of vegetables?” A lifelong commitment to a healthy lifestyle certainly involves a few detours, but you will find that you truly miss the benefits of your efforts and will take the time to re-establish your healthy habits.

7.      What have been some of your biggest personal achievements in your own exercise program?

I admit that I’m proud of my participation in triathlons, adventure races, circus performances, etc., as well as my sense of adventure in trying new sports and activities.Yet I receive the most satisfaction from the fact that my teenage son and daughter both exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet and understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle. I am glad that my husband and I took the time and effort to educate our children and to provide positive role models for healthy living.

8.      What sort of dreams do you have for the Catholic health and wellness arena?

I am really excited that more Catholics are writing about the combination of prayer and exercise. Dr. Kevin Vost is a dear friend and author of a great book on combining virtue and weight training called Fit For Eternal Life. In fact, Dr. Vost and I, along with Shane Kapler, wrote a unique devotional combining saint biographies and daily exercises to grow “fit in faith” in a book called Tending the Temple. Another informative book on this topic is Ten Commandments of Lifting Weights by Jared Zimmer.

I would love to see retreats and seminars focused on helping Catholics care for their “Temples of the Holy Spirit” through regular exercise in a way that emphasizes that our bodies are gifts from God that require an effort on our part to maintain. Taking time to care for the body God gave you is not selfish or vain unless taken to an extreme. Unfortunately, many Catholics avoid exercise because of the way it is sexualized and promoted in the media. Additionally, some Catholics seek out New Age exercises like yoga and Tai Chi, which focus on self and emptying the mind. My dream is for Catholics to learn to use the rhythm of exercise to help fill their minds with Truth by meditating on the Gospels. We can then be better equipped to carry out our vocations on earth with fit and healthy bodies.

9.      If there was one piece of advice you would give, what would it be?

Don’t be so hard on yourself! I have seen many otherwise confident and self-assured adults break down in tears over their perceived failures in maintaining an exercise routine or healthy diet. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say. Instead, focus on your success and keep a journal to discover what helps you to stay on track as well as what takes you off course. Don’t forget to harness the power of prayer. There are a number of athletic saints to serve as patrons and intercessors such as St. Gianna, St. Teresa of the Andes, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, and Pope Blessed John Paul II. Ask them to help and inspire you.

10. How can you be contacted for speaking events and presentations on Catholic health and wellness?

I can also be contacted through my email, peggybowes@gmail.com. I always enjoy meeting new people and inspiring others to share my passion for combining fitness and faith. The Rosary Workout is available in Kindle and in Paperback and really can be used as a personal exercise program or one to do with a few friends!

(Peggy on Marcus Grodi's Journey Home)

Gender Issues

Congratulations to Jared Zimmerer for his Honorable Mention win in the Gender Issues category at the 2015 Catholic Press Awards! Jared's book Man Up! Becoming the New Renaissance Man is a gathering of twelve voices who speak to a variety of topics. 

They include:

 Fr. Dwight Longenecker: Foreword

Jared Zimmerer: Where Have All The Good Men Gone?

Jesse Romero: Do Not Be Afraid of the Culture of Death

Marlon De La Torre: Theological Manhood

Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers: Biblical Manhood

Fr. Steve Grunow: Sacramental Manhood

Kevin Vost: Man Up Your Mind

Jared Zimmerer: Strength for the Kingdom

Shane Kapler: Greatness of Soul

Douglas Bushman: Manhood Fulfilled in Being Prolife

Kevin Lowry: Work and Finances

Jared Zimmerer: Heroism Survives Secularism

Gerard-Marie Anthony: The Theology of the Body Influences

Jim Burnham: Mary: World's Greatest Warrior, Intercessor, and Mother

Dave DiNuzzo Sr.: The Evils of Pornography

Man Up! Contributors: Those Who Came Before Us (Saints)

Dave DiNuzzo Sr.: A Higher Call

Jared Zimmerer: The Rise and Fall of Honor

Jared is also an avid weight lifter and sought-after conference speaker whose first book is the popular Ten Commandments of Lifting Weights. 

In-Law Problems? There is a Patron Saint for That!

Very few people know about St. Jane Valois. She was a deformed and sickly young daughter of King Louis XI of France. The Catholic Church has given her February 4^th as a feast day and many turn to her intercession when in a difficult, loveless marriage for she was in an arranged marriage that was without love and still she prayed for her husband for decades.

She is just one of the many interesting saints in the Catholic Church.

The following excerpts are taken, with permission, from the daily devotional Tending the Temple by Kevin Vost, Peggy Bowes, and Shane Kapler. Kevin, Peggy and Shane are regular guests on such popular shows as Sonrise Morning Show on EWTN among others where they talk about health and fitness, Catholic style.

January 26 is the feast day of St. Paula (347-404), the Patroness of Widows.

Paula was a devout Christian widow who had five children. After her husband’s death, St. Paula embraced a life of devotion to the poor, to learning, and to ascetic self-denial under St. Jerome’s spiritual direction. She founded a hospice with her daughter, Eustochium; and she herself headed a convent. She assisted St. Jerome in his great Scriptural and theological works. The death of her children would grieve St. Paula in the last years of her life, though she persevered in her sanctity until she embarked on eternal life.

April 8 is the feast day of St. Julie Billiart (1751-1816), the Patron of the Sick and Impoverished

As a little girl of seven, Julie had already memorized her catechism and was eagerly teaching and explaining it to other children in her hometown of Cuvilly, France. Her parents lost their fortune during her teenage years, and she labored in the fields to help support her familyIn her early 20’s, she was paralyzed but refused to change her habits of daily prayer and of teaching the local children, gathering them around her bed each day to continue their education in the catechism. When the French Revolution broke out, she used her home as a hiding place for priests. Julie was miraculously cured of her paralysis and spent the rest of her life in service to God and the poor.

May 28 is the feast day of St. Bernard of Menthon (923-1008), the Patron of Skiing, Snowboarding, Hiking, Backpacking and Mountaineering!

Did you ever see those old cartoons where a traveler stuck on a snowy mountain is rescued by a huge, courageous St. Bernard dog, complete with mini-keg of medicinal brandy attached underneath his collar? Those cartoons bear witness to one of the many acts of corporal mercy brought forth by St. Bernard! A Benedictine priest, St. Bernard and his monks offered hospitality to the pilgrims who travelled the dangerous Alps and also ventured out, accompanied by their herding dogs (now known to all as St. Bernard’s) to find and save victims trapped in the snows of the mountains.

August 18 is the feast day of St. Jane Frances de Chantal (1572-1641), the Patron Saint of In-Law Problems

September 18 is the feast day of St. Joseph Cupertino (1603-1633), the Patron Saint of Pilots

Although he was not a pilot, Joseph frequently levitated during prayer and was known as “The Flying Saint.” Unfortunately, many people viewed his levitation as a circus stunt and would gather to watch the saint fly around while deeply absorbed in prayer, making him uncomfortable. Joseph wanted to be a monk and eventually found a spot in the Franciscan order where he went on to become ordained a priest. During the investigation for his cause for canonization, over 70 people were found to levitate through his intercession. His life is the topic of a DVD called The Reluctant Saint.

These are but a few amazing men and women who have come to be known as Saints and whose lives are able to still touch us today!

Chronic Illness: A Gift from God?

For years the only person who knew I suffered from a chronic illness was my husband. Over time, and out of necessity, a few more people were allowed into my world of health issues—and yet no one really knew the severity of what I went through, except my husband.

What I’ve come to realize is that I prefer my world be divided into two clear parts: the private, reclusive Cheryl and the author, writer, teacher, social Cheryl. Mostly, though, at the heart of who I am is the private, reclusive Cheryl.

My quiet, alone time is important to me—even more so since I began spiritual direction a few years ago and sought to understand the movements of God in my life and live accordingly. I need to be with God in a very real way and have learned how to respond to the ache for Him through my prayer life and “down time.”

As the years progressed and I understood that my physical suffering had value, I began sharing bits and pieces of what I was going through: severe joint problems, nights of dizziness and vomiting that rivaled scenes from The Exorcist, and constant feelings of imbalance (just to name a few). I’m not sure where I saw my “sharing” going but believed that God was using it for some reason beyond the way it was drawing me deeper in my relationship with Him. I was willing to let Him use it as He saw fit. That was all I knew at the time.

So it was that when I signed the contract with Servant Books to write Wrapped Up: God’s Ten Gifts for Women I knew it was time for it to be shared in a very public way in the chapter “The Gift of Suffering.” Still, it isn’t easy opening yourself up to the world and letting people know about your life experiences. It isn’t easy to shine a light on what you are going through and suggest that someone else can draw insight or inspiration from it.

Quite frankly, I would rather have been healthy my whole life; and I share that sentiment and frustration as well in the book.

Nonetheless, I’m allowing God to continue to mold me (I keep thinking “Potter-Clay”) and although I’m still on the journey towards wholeness and health, I pray that the knowledge that suffering from a chronic condition can be a gift from God will shine through in my words which have been prayed through and offered up for every woman who reads Wrapped Up: God’s Ten Gifts for Women.

Health and Wellness...Catholic-Style

The path to Hell is paved with good intentions.

I don’t get that.

It seems to me that good intentions ought to be worth more than a ticket to Hell.

Having said that, I definitely get that the good intentions I have for any number of things can always be a hellish path.

Exercise comes immediately to mind. As does dieting and just keeping fit and well at 53 years old. I am filled with good intentions, but turning those passive good intentions into successful achievements is another story.

I suppose this also falls under the Scriptural category of the-spirit-is-willing-but-the-flesh-is-weak.

So maybe the whole path-to-Hell-is-paved-with-good-intentions does make more sense than I am willing to admit.

Either way, I have come to realize that while the initial good intention is a necessary first step to health and wellness, a viable course of action must accompany it—preferably something not too painful, boring, or time-consuming.

My goal this year has been to find the right-for-me, realistic balance of health and wellness while accommodating the real demands on my life as a wife, mother, author and speaker—all the while making my spiritual life a top priority.

I know, I know, I don’t want much, right?!

My efforts towards this goal actually began at Lent when I gave up Facebook in an effort to give more time to God and to my own journey towards Heaven. I never went back to Facebook—or any of the other online social outlets that had begun to take up too much of my time. I pretty much stopped writing articles and even put a book I was writing on hold.

I needed to get a handle on things. Big time.

Since then, I have continued to use the time I once gave to online activities to the things that now contribute to my newfound wholeness.

The time away from it all allowed me to sort through what I needed and wanted in terms of my spiritual and physical well-being. I was able to set priorities and developed a spiritual life that has really blessed me. I found a spiritual director and attended a retreat where I learned about Ignatius discernment. Ultimately, and not coincidentally, this all slowly turned my good intentions into a reality.

Maybe that is the key to success: taking the time necessary to pray and discern and truly understand who you are as a person created in the image and likeness of God—and how to tend to that unique person in the physical and spiritual sense.

With the New Year fast approaching, many people will begin making resolutions with good intentions. To help turn those good intentions into reality—and not become a path to Hell—I wanted to share some valuable resources that truly address the wholeness and holiness we all seek…

Kate Wicker is a delightful young mom whose writing I have always enjoyed. She has a nice balance of wit and reality—of reverence and candor. Kate has a new book out titled Weightless. Weightless is the sort of book that should be on every woman’s nightstand. And I don’t say that lightly (pun intended); I promise there are passages in it that will be highlighted and will be returned to frequently! Although Weightless begins with the oft-trotted-out warning about media messages—and maybe rightfully so—Kate really hits her stride in the chapters that follow.

(I know many women whose bad body images have nothing to do with media messages but was very much affected by things said to them while they were young; so while I can understand the influence of media messages, I really would like to see someone explore more in-depth how susceptible young girls are to ALL messages. I believe in Wicker’s capable hands, this could be an issue more fully explored and understood. My own interest in helping girls “vaccinate” themselves against bad body image at a young age is behind my work on the tween book Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…What is Beauty, After All?)


I absolutely loved when Wicker wrote about why we exercise; her insight and wisdom here is worth the price of the book. I also found her encouragement to see ourselves through the eyes of our family as truly words we ought to take to heart. They jumped off the page at me. Wicker’s Weightless combines just enough real-world statistics with Scripture to make it the ideal sort of book to be a background to whatever health and wellness you seek as a Catholic. This is why Weightless is first on my list of resources: Weightless is a book that women should give themselves and give their friends. Now, since I know that most women would worry about why their friend has given them such a book—but because I also think this book should be a gift given to every Sister-in-the-Lord—I ask that if you receive the book, you receive it with the spirit in which it was given—love! I highly recommend Weightless as the foundational piece for the health and exercise program you seek as a Christian woman.

The next two books I recommend are actually listed in Wicker’s Weightless book: The Rosary Workout by Peggy Bowes and Fit for Eternal Life by Kevin Vost. Working with Peggy on her book a few years ago, I truly began to see how my Catholic faith and my interest in physical health could be combined. Peggy is one of the most interesting women I have ever met and her understanding of wholeness and holiness is something I truly admire. Her book, The Rosary Workout, isn’t just about walking and saying the Rosary. Bowes’ book is about understanding the ways in which our bodies work—and when they are working well how we can more fully live out our vocations. Bowes flew planes for the Air Force and is a certified health and fitness instructor. Her knowledge of health and passion for her Catholic faith are beautifully shared in The Rosary Workout.

When I first read Fit for Eternal Life a couple of years ago, I was taken by Vost’s ability to draw from Scripture while explaining how to get the most out of my strength training. I found his book to be the perfect complement to the aerobic training I was being introduced to in The Rosary Workout. Since then I’ve been able to combine the two into what has become my routine. More importantly, each day, because of the works of Vost and Bowes, I am able to view my body in a more wholesome and holy way.


Since their work (Vost and Bowes) became so important to me, I invited them to write a devotional—which they did. Along with Shane Kapler (who followed Vost’s advice in Fit for Eternal Life and lost 40 pounds!) who is also an author (The God Who Is Love), the three recently released Tending the Temple: 365 Days of Physical and Spiritual Devotions which I have had the good fortune to publish. I’ve got to admit, for a daily dose of encouragement, nothing beats what these three authors offer in Tending the Temple!


The other resource I want to mention for the Catholic health and fitness enthusiast—or the enthusiast in the making—is the book and DVD by Michael Carrera, Catholic Workout. Like Wicker, Vost, Bowes, and Kapler, Carrera’s great passion helps us see the whole self as a temple to be cared for and whose purpose of serving God is best accomplished through its loving care. Although simply made, the DVD does offer something new for anyone seeking a Catholic bent on their exercise routine.


(I’d actually like to see some entity or production company or person with great vision to use the talents of all these excellent, knowledgeable and creative authors and explore what can be brought to bear in the way of a Catholic Health and Fitness television or radio program—or a DVD series or something!)


In the meantime, wherever the Holy Spirit is taking you in terms of your physical and spiritual journey, I am sure that you will be greatly blessed by any—or all—of these resources so that your good intentions become actions. You will be more fully equipped, with knowledge obtained through their passions and expertise, to better serve God who created you.

Catholics and Their Rosaries!

Let’s face it; Catholics love Mary and the Rosary.

Trying to sift through all the Marian devotions and offerings is testament to that fact.

Some Catholics are accused of “worshipping” her and relying on rote, impersonal prayers while holding beads; but those of us in the know understand that our love for her and for saying the Rosary has nothing to do with worship and rote memorization and everything to do with the way that she directs us to her Son, our Savior, and the ways we meditate upon His life through the mysteries.

Marian devotion and the praying of the Rosary is not some sort of superstitious nonsense, directing the practitioner to damnation; rather, the Rosary is a tool for those who desire to know Christ fully, to meditate upon Him in a more personal way.


During the Easter season, it is incumbent upon us to get more purposeful in contemplating the life of Jesus; it makes sense, then, to look at Rosary products more in-depth. After all, it has been said that if one spends time on all the mysteries of the Rosary, one has contemplated the essence of the Gospels and these Rosary offerings do just that—bring us to the depths of the Gospel in unique and valuable ways.

1. Susan Bailey is a singer, songwriter and author. I first listened to her Sung Rosary about four years ago and I actually felt as if I were being carried away by angels. There is something about Susan’s voice that lifts your spirit to the heavens. I’ve had the good fortune to speak with Susan on a number of occasions and her passion about her faith and her work are palpable. If you purchase nothing else this year to explore the depths of Jesus’ life, this should be it. Susan’s website is http://www.sungrosary.com/.


2. Like everyone else, Catholics are concerned about health and fitness. The Rosary Workout focuses on the aerobic aspect of physical health, all the while developing the spiritual component through guided Rosary meditations. Bowes flew Air Force jets for nine years before becoming a full-time wife and mother whose family sold all their belongings and travelled the United States in an RV while she homeschooled. She currently continues to fulfill her vocation as wife and mother but is also a speaker, author, blogger and podcaster. The Rosary Workout is a compilation of over 100 different exercises along with the history of the Rosary and ways to make the cadence of the Rosary work for optimum benefits during exercise. Bowes was recently featured on EWTN’s Journey Home because of her compelling reversion story. Everything she has learned about health and faith fills the pages of The Rosary Workout.


3. Who better than to write a book about the Rosary than a convert? There isn’t a Catholic alive who doesn’t understand that one of the biggest obstacles to a Protestant’s conversion to the Catholic faith is Mary and the ways in which Catholics use the Rosary to pray. So when a Protestant writes a book about the Rosary, it is often worth our time and effort. This is because the convert has investigated and researched and prayed, no doubt, for a better understanding about Mary’s Rosary before making the commitment to convert. This naturally leads to a book that ought to be filled with insights that affected the author and can deepen a Catholic’s understanding as well. Matt Swaim delivers—in a big way—in his book The Eucharist and the Rosary, published by Liguori. Swaim takes each of the 20 different mysteries and makes them personal and relevant—while keeping them reverent and “mysterious.” I was particularly affected by Swaim’s pages on the Transfiguration; he writes with clarity and insight. The Eucharist and the Rosary is an excellent physical size to take to Adoration and the handful of reflection questions at the end of each mystery (which also tend to be the perfect length for reading at Adoration) make it a great guide for this time with Christ.


4. As Swaim points out in The Eucharist and the Rosary, there isn’t anyone who does not have some sort of Cross to bear; that being the case, Father Dwight Longenecker’s book Praying the Rosary for Inner Healing is the ideal antidote. Each mystery is examined in a particularly powerful way: First is the Scripture verse followed by a simple explanation; Second, Longenecker includes a few paragraphs called “Think it Through” which gives further explanation of the message of the mystery; Next, there is a short 4 or 5 paragraph story called “Healing Example” which shares a real-life application; the conclusion is a prayer to be recited that makes the inner healing your own. Like Swaim’s book, Father’s book would also be an excellent accompaniment to Adoration.


5. Teaching our children about the power and mystery of the Rosary is a Catholic parent’s job. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, this passing on of the faith (and all aspects of living it) is the primary concern of the parent; books such as Little Rainbow Rosary by Rose Maria Dennis is the perfect tool to do just that. Both the storyline of a mother explaining the Rosary to her child, along with the masterful illustrations, make Little Rainbow Rosary the sort of book that parents love to read from and kids love to carry around—and take to Church.


A final suggestion is for iPod fans. Although I’m still not great friends with my iPod, one of the first applications I purchased was iRosary. I’m still “all thumbs” when it comes to working my way around my iPod but on first glance, I do like the app and look forward to becoming more comfortable with my iPod and my techno-Rosary!