Becoming Catholic

Diane is from Boston, MA, raised in the Unitarian Church. She met her husband, Ron, a devout Catholic. After knowing each other for sixteen years and falling in love, they married. “I thank God for bringing a man of such strong faith into my life,” says Diane. Then in a family with two adopted boys, Diane went through RCIA  in Annandale, VA when she and Ron were living and working there, but she “kind of didn’t get it.” She and her biological daughter were baptized into the Church about one month apart. She was active enough in her faith, managing even to teach CCD  for two years despite being a busy and distracted Mom of three kids. Then the circumstances of life, as it always does, brought changes.

“The move here to Texas awakened my faith,” says Diane. Upon moving here she was invited to Bible study where her network of woman friends burgeoned and grew and it was the Book of Acts, still one of her very favorites, that she says, “Captured my heart and changed me.” She goes on to say, “The more I study scripture, the deeper my faith. Beyond that, the group studies I attended of the writings of Thomas Merton have been so important.” She cites both the new insights from learning itself and the flourishing of deep, lasting friendships.

Connecting with others in a caring and welcoming Catholic community has been the continuous theme of Diane’s walk of faith since becoming an increasingly more active and participating member here at Good Shepherd.

“I had cancer in 2010 and more people in this Church and my small church community prayed for me and lifted me up and I’m convinced I am here today because of all those prayers,” according to Diane.

How does that flourishing continue today? “Tuesday evening Bible study – Matthew and Acts (my favorite) – Father Jonathan’s ‘Journey Through the Mass’ sessions – the opportunities are endless.”

We asked Diane what is the thing she would most like a visitor to Good Shepherd to know. Her reply is, “I’m grateful. By doing a little service, you never know how deeply you effect another. You recognize the blessings of every single day and that the Holy Spirit is with you every step of the way; He gives you infinite peace to go through whatever you need to.”

[1] The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is the process through which interested adults and older children are gradually introduced to the Roman Catholic faith and way of life.

2 Stands for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, the religious education program of the Church.

Evangelizing Challenges This Week

Strike up a conversation with someone you know is a convert to the Church about what led them to the Faith and what it is like now.

Pick up a Lighthouse CD in the narthex about or by a convert to Catholicism.

Watch “The Journey Home” or another program on EWTN focusing on conversions or returns to the Church.

Pope Francis’ Radical Call to Evangelization

Cardinal Burke is prefect of the Sacred Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura and the Vatican's most senior serving American official. He wrote the article (extracted here) for the English edition of L'Osservatore Romano in his capacity as President of the Advisory Board of the Dignitatis Humanae Institute. 

          During a recent visit to the United States, I was repeatedly impressed by how deeply Pope Francis has penetrated the national conversation on a whole range of issues. His special gift of expressing direct care for each and all has resonated strongly with many in my homeland.

          At the same time, I noted a certain questioning about whether Pope Francis has altered or is about to alter the Church’s teaching … Clearly, the words and actions of the Holy Father require, on our part, a fitting tool of interpretation, if we are to understand correctly what he intends to teach... Pope Francis is exercising strongly his gift for drawing near to all people of good will. It is said that when he manifests his care for a single person, as he does so generously whenever the occasion presents itself, all understand that he has the same care for each of them.

          With regard to his manner of addressing the critical issues, the Holy Father himself has described his approach, when he stated: “We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods…. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the Church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the Church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time” The Holy Father wants, first, to convey his love of all people so that his teaching on the critical moral questions may be received in that context. But his approach cannot change the duty of the Church and her shepherds to teach clearly and insistently about the most fundamental moral questions of our time…

          [Pope Francis] addressed the Dignitatis Humanae Institute at our Fifth Anniversary Papal Audience. Exhorting the assembled politicians, the Holy Father warned of a modern-day “throwaway culture” which threatens “to become the dominant mentality”. He went on to identify those who suffer most from such a culture, declaring: “The victims of such a culture are precisely the weakest and most fragile human beings — the unborn, the poorest people, sick elderly people, gravely disabled people… who are in danger of being ‘thrown out’, expelled from a machine that must be efficient at all costs. This false model of man and society embodies a practical atheism, de facto negating the Word of God that says: ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness’”…

          Surely, persons whose hearts are hardened against the truth will read something very different into the approach of Pope Francis, claiming that, in fact, he intends to abandon certain teachings of the Church which our totally secularized culture rejects. Their false praise of the Holy Father’s approach mocks the fact that he is the Successor of Saint Peter, totally grounded in the Beatitudes, and that, therefore, with humble trust in God alone, he rejects the acceptance and praise of the world.

          It is not that the Holy Father is not clear in his opposition to abortion and euthanasia, or in his support of marriage as the indissoluble, faithful and procreative union of one man and one woman. Rather he concentrates his attention on inviting all to nurture an intimate relationship, indeed communion, with Christ, within which the non-negotiable truths, inscribed by God upon every human heart, become ever more evident and are generously embraced…

          The Pontificate of Pope Francis should therefore be seen as a radical call to redouble our efforts for the new evangelization. Radical in the sense that, in our dialogue with others and with the world, we must start with the beginning, Christ’s call to life in Him. This call of Christ is the good news of God’s love and mercy which our world so badly longs for. At the same time, as Simeon foretold to Our Blessed Mother when Our Lord was presented in the temple, it is also “a sign that will be contradicted” (Lk 2:34), in every age and particularly in our “post-Christian” society. This is because the proclamation of Jesus Christ can never be authentic without the proclamation of his Cross. Pope Francis reminded us of this most eloquently in his homily to the cardinal electors on the afternoon following his election: When we journey without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord, we are worldly: we may be bishops, priests, cardinals, popes, but not disciples of the Lord. My wish is that all of us, after these days of grace, will have the courage, yes, the courage, to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Lord’s Cross; to build the Church on the Lord’s blood which was poured out on the Cross; and to profess the one glory: Christ crucified. And in this way, the Church will go forward (Homily of Pope Francis, 14 March 2013).

          In the face of a galloping de-Christianisation in the West, the new evangelization, as Pope Francis underlines, must be clearly grounded in Christ crucified who alone can overcome the world for the sake of its salvation.

- Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke

Evangelization Challenge This Week

Invite a friend, neighbor or family member long away from the Church or whose participation has been put “on hold” to attend five Catholics Come Home sessions at Good Shepherd starting Tuesday, April 29 at 7:00 p.m.

Stewardship

“I will put my spirit in you that you may live.” With those words, God speaks to us through the prophet Ezekiel in the first reading for this Fifth Sunday in Lent. In fact, all of the readings for this Sunday reflect the importance of the Spirit living within us.

St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, the second reading, asks us to understand that the spirit dwells within us, and that is what is important; not our flesh or our bodies, but what God has placed in us — the Holy Spirit. What is important is that Spirit, for that is truly the key to truth and life.

Of course, in the Gospel story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, this idea of body and spirit is reinforced. As our Lenten journeys continue, we need to continue to acknowledge the presence of Christ and the Spirit within us, and strive to fulfill that manifestation. Furthermore, we need to connect a key part of the Lazarus story with our own lives. Just as Jesus tells them in that story to “Take away the stone,” the Lord is commanding us to remove the stones in our lives; the obstacles that prevent our spirits to live in Him and with Him. It is time to roll our personal stones back and to pursue stewardship and discipleship as a way of life.

We Have Much in Common

We Catholics, both the Latin Church and 22 Eastern Catholic Churches, profess we are one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that Christ founded. As such, we are not a denomination; we are pre-denominational, the original Church of Christ. But since the Reformation or even before, we Christians have disagreed on so many things – liturgy, how to worship, articles of faith, interpretation of Scripture, moral teachings – the list, unfortunately, goes on. Once the wheels of disunity were set in motion, the impulse to split seemed to take on a life of its own until today, by many accounts, there are more than 40,000 Christian denominations. Sometimes we Christians appear more fractious than brotherly. In January, addressing a gathering of Pentecostals via YouTube, Pope Francis said that all Christians are to blame for their divisions and that he prays to the Lord “that he will unite us all.” But in today’s Gospel, John 9: 1-41 holds a great opportunity to honor how we are all brethren in devotion to our Lord and spreading the Good News.

 

Once in a great while, we are caught up in a cause or a movement that unifies all Christians – human rights, defeating Nazism or the Soviet Union, stopping apartheid, civil rights or abolishing slavery and (increasingly so) ending abortion. We can rally round the great social justice issues and even, sometimes, be galvanized by a song when tragedy like 9/11 befalls us; a hymn because the times simply call for it as they did in the fractured society of 1970.

Arguably, the most familiar and beloved hymn of modern times is “Amazing Grace” by the 18^th century hymnist and Anglican priest, John Newton. Its themes are so universal, profoundly resonant and familiar to readers of the Bible perhaps because of the story of John Newton himself: a slave trader converted to Christianity who eventually became a minister, a vocal abolitionist and who penned the hymn to be sung by his own congregation. He was experimenting with what at the time was a relatively new form of religious song, the Protestant hymn.

The hymn was published many times in the U.S. during the 19^th century. Its popularity grew during the last century coinciding with the invention and popularity of recorded music, then exploded into pop music becoming a Top 10 Hit with Judy Collins’s 1970 a capella recording. The majority of the 450 recordings held by the Library of Congress were made after 1970 and include versions by artists as varied as Elvis Presley, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tiny Tim, Al Green, Johnny Cash, Rod Stewart, Chet Baker and Destiny’s Child.

Eventually, of course, the hymn found its way into Catholic hymnals, our own included, and the Catholic worship song repertoire.

We are mindful of it today because of our Gospel reading in which the beggar, blind from birth, gains sight for the first time and says, “One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”

Evangelizing Challenge This Week

Talk with family about how much we believe in common and practice in common with our friends and neighbors of other faith traditions. Start with the words on the change in your pocket or the currency in your wallet.

Catholic Apps

 Catholic’s Companion. Precious few apps are available for this format, but this one will hold you over until more come on the scene for the Windows Phone. It is most comprehensive as an all-in-one Catholic app holding many different resources like the most common prayers, rosary, bible, audio bible, daily mass readings, mass online, prayer reminders, journals, news and a breviary! WindowsPhone8 – Free.

 Pewsitter is an app version of the popular Catholic news website that relies upon user generated content and traditional media sources. The site features audio, video and print news items. If you are interested in keeping up to date on what is happening in “Catholic World,” this app is essential. Based on the ground-breaking Drudge Report format, it offers up-to-date news, sometimes within minutes of it occurring anywhere in the world. iOS and Android - Free

Why Should You Even Bother?

Why should we make the effort to evangelize our fellow inactive Catholics or non-Catholics?

1. Jesus asked us to. We do so out of love and obedience to our Lord who laid down his life for us. On the day of his ascension, in what became known as “The Great Commission”, he told his assembled disciples “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” This final command before he returned to his Father in heaven urges us to go to our fellow man and share the good news that Jesus is the Christ, God become man, who took the sins of the world up with him on the cross, died for us, was raised to life and ascended into heaven. He now shares His divine life with us through His church and her sacraments till the day of His return in Glory. We will not be alone when we approach our neighbors / family / friends / strangers with this Good News, for He told us – “And behold, I am with you      always…”

2. Joy – from our great gifts. We want to share this Good News with our fellow man. Our life is bathed in the infinite glow of Christ’s love for us which sustains us and gives meaning to our existence. We know that God “…wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.” (1Tim 2:4) We desire to bring others into that same light that illuminates our own lives. We are moved by compassion for those in the shadows or darkness who do not know Him.

3. Everyone deserves a chance. In today’s society, we cannot assume that an individual has heard the Good News in a positive manner from someone who has experienced Jesus and has a relationship with Him. Because we know Him, we have a duty to share Him with others so that they can decide whether they choose to follow Him or not. This sacred duty should not be left up to Hollywood, the Internet, or the nightly news.

4. Because the need is so great. We are surrounded by people who are hungering, thirsting, and dying for the Good News in their lives. They ask the timeless questions that have been with man from the beginning: Is there any sense, any meaning to life? Why am I here? Why is there suffering? Does anyone care? Is there hope? Is this all there is?  If we have the answer to their questions – Jesus Christ – then to withhold the way, the truth and the life is unjust and calls our own inaction into question.

Our readings on this Third Sunday of Lent begin with the tale from Exodus about how the people of Israel were in the desert, and they were thirsty. They were unhappy with Moses, their leader, and they were disappointed with God to the extent they questioned whether the Lord was still present, asking “Is the Lord in our midst or not?”

That is a question we may ask at times. We may wonder if God is watching over us; we may lose our trust in God. It is worth noting that the Book of Exodus tells us in today’s reading that the Israelites were in a place called Massah and Meribah. In Hebrew “Massah” means “to test” and “Meribah” means “to quarrel or provoke.” The description of the chosen people “provoking” God and “testing” God may have applicability to us as well.  Stewardship calls for us to place our faith and trust in God — to believe and know that He is always with us and always watching over us.

That is not easy. Jesus never once tells us that it will be easy or that it is easy. However, He also assures us in today’s Gospel that He brings us the “living water.” Even in the Book of Isaiah we are reminded “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (Is 12:3) As St. Paul says in the second reading, “…and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts.” (Like living water)

What Does the Bible Say?

“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go out and bear fruit that will remain…” John 15:16

“So we are ambassadors for Christ” 2Cor 5:20

The Missionary Option - What it Means to "Be A Disciple"

Evangelization means we are sent as Disciples. Each one of us in virtue of our baptism is called to live our faith and to bear witness to the Gospel. First, there were the groundbreaking writings on the New Evangelization by Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II and others. Then Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) was one of the primary authors, in 2007, of an important document from the Fifth General Conference of the

Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, called the Aparecida document. Called by some the foundational document of Pope Francis’ pontificate,  Aparecida calls us to be missionary disciples who work to build a world of love and solidarity. Missionary disciples joyfully announce the Gospel and proclaim the love of God that transforms hearts and minds—as well as unjust structures that perpetuate poverty and suffering.

In a recent address, USCCB President, Archbishop Joseph E Kurtz said that the New Evangelization in the U.S. must be made of three components

1.   personal conversion – a continuous effort by every Catholic to evangelize themselves through prayer and reading the Gospel

2.   a confidence in the power of the Gospel to impart God’s Grace to all who hear it

3.   creative new ways to share the Gospel.

Many of those new ways are through new media and new technology. That is the reason we have featured Catholic Apps, for example, on this page.

To make the New Evangelization a reality is to become pilgrims on a journey or pilgrimage with Jesus Christ— much like the journey of Jesus meeting the disciples along the road to Emmaus.  The journey or pilgrimage includes moments for a deepening of our faith, increasing our participation in the sacramental life of the Church, and leads finally to our destination of being Christian witnesses.

"A new evangelization is synonymous with mission, requiring the capacity to set out anew, go beyond boundaries and broaden horizons. The new evangelization is the opposite of self-sufficiency, a withdrawal into oneself, a status quo mentality and an idea that pastoral programs are simply to proceed as they did in the past. Today a 'business as usual' attitude can no longer be the case. Some local Churches, already engaged in renewal, reconfirm the fact that now is the time for the Church to call upon every Christian community to evaluate their pastoral practice on the basis of the missionary character of their program and activities."

—Synod of Bishops XIII Ordinary General Assembly, The New Evangelization for the Transmission of Christian Faith, Lineamenta

Pope Francis’ recent apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (the Joy of the Gospel) makes it clear when he writes, “I dream of a 'missionary option', that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.”

This is a huge statement. As a Church, we have been inward-focused and guilty of “triumphalism” to use Pope Francis’ term. His Holiness is calling for our Church to thrive by choosing the missionary option in everything that we do.

“Evangelization is the Church's deepest identity.  Evangelization brings the good news of the Gospel to all who seek the life-giving message of faith in Jesus Christ… Each one of us in virtue of our baptism is called to live our faith and to bear witness to the Gospel… Stewardship is an expression of discipleship rooted in a personal relationship with Christ. Good stewards generously share their gifts and blessings with others for the sake of the Kingdom.”

— Bishop David Ricken, USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis

Evangelization Challenge This Week

Read one of the following:

EvangeliiGaudium(the Joy of the Gospel)

Aparecida document, 2007

Why Do We Say, “Forty Days of Lent” When It’s Really Forty-Six?

Today’s Gospel Reading from Matthew 4:1-11 recounts the forty days and nights Jesus fasted in the desert. This reminds us of the forty days of Lent. “But wait,” our friends of other faith traditions might say, “if we count them out, there are forty-six days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. How can that be? What is the Catholic explanation?” As more and more of our friends of other denominations are beginning to practice fasting, vigils and even the application of ashes to the forehead, the question about forty days might come up.

The simple answer is we do not count Sundays, but why not? The answer takes us back to the earliest days of the Church. Christ's original disciples, who were Jewish, grew up with the idea that the Sabbath—the day of worship and of rest—was Saturday, the seventh day of the week, since the account of creation in Genesis says that God rested on the seventh day.

Christ rose from the dead, however, on Sunday, the first day of the week, and the early Christians, starting with the apostles (those original disciples!), saw Christ's Resurrection as a new creation, and so they transferred the day of rest and worship from Saturday to Sunday.

Since all Sundays—and not simply Easter Sunday—were days to celebrate Christ's Resurrection, Christians were forbidden  to fast and do other forms of penance on those days. Therefore, when the Church expanded the period of fasting and prayer in preparation for Easter from a few days to 40 days (to mirror today’s Gospel reading), Sundays could not be included in the count.

Thus, in order for Lent to include 40 days on which fasting could occur, it had to be expanded to six full weeks (with six days of fasting in each week) plus four extra days—Ash Wednesday and the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday that follow it. Six times six is thirty-six, plus four equals forty. And that's how we arrive at the 40 days of Lent!

(adapted from “Why Sundays don’t count during Lent” by Scott Richert on Catholicism at About.com)

What Does The Bible Say?

“At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights…”

— Matthew 4:1own

Evangelizing Challenge This Week

Engage in a conversation with a non-Catholic friend or neighbor about Lent and what it means to them, how they observe it in any special way. Listen carefully and offer your own practices and experiences in a loving, accepting and non-threatening way.

The readings for this First Sunday of Lent present to us exactly what Lent should be about. In the Gospel from Matthew, reference is made to the time Jesus spent in the desert, “He fasted for forty days and nights.” Most of us are aware that Lent, which began on Ash  Wednesday, is 40 days in length, ending on Holy Thursday after the Mass of the Last Supper. We may also be aware that we are called to prayer,  penance, repentance, fasting, almsgiving, and some  elements of self-denial during this Lenten time.

 
Today’s church keeps reminding us, nonetheless, that we need to do more than stop doing things. We also need to start doing things. That is where stewardship comes in, of course. The Gospel tells us that Jesus was “tempted” by the devil. Notably the word for “tempt” in Greek is the same as the word for “trial.”

Just as the Lord was put to trial by Satan, we, too, are put to trial every day. Our response has to be more than just saying “no” to those things which are not good for us. We also need to say “yes” to more good things — more practices which deepen our faith and bring us closer to God. That is what the 40 days of Lent are really about.

 

Lenten Apps

Truth & Life Dramatized Audio “46 Day Challenge” The developers of this great app have packaged all four Gospels into 46-day segments – about 2 chapters a day– so you can  read all the Gospels through Lent. iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, Nook. Free (so it’s a great way to try out the full version).

iStations ($1.99) Android and  iOS. Traditional stations and the  St. Alphonsus Liguori devotional text. For most people, that’s all they ask for. But you get more–There is an audio version imbedded. In that case, bring your ear buds if you’re in church.

Magnificat Lenten Companion 2014 The print version is sold out, but you can get an iOS app. This is the popular devotion presented in a day-by-day format. Includes daily liturgy, prayer, meditations, penance service, devotional prayers and much more. iOS, $0.99

 

 

 

In 2008, I was driving along Harwood Rd. in Bedford minding my own business. Having moved back to Texas from New Jersey a couple of years before, I was in no hurry to do anything about faith or religion but on that day was in a hurry to get someplace (I’ve forgotten where) when I noticed all the churches I was passing – Concordia Lutheran, Emmanuel Presbyterian; then I saw a banner in front of one Church reading, “Catholics Come Home – Meet Here Tues Nights at 7” in front of St. Michael Catholic Church. 

It didn’t literally stop me in my tracks but it definitely caught my attention. Never had I seen this direct an invitation to return to the Church. Baptized Catholic, raised in a nominally Catholic home, Catholic schooled for the first four grades, confirmed at St. Paul CC in San Antonio – you could say I was planted in the Church, but the roots did not keep me past junior high school. It was the 1960’s and jumping out of Church found plenty of soft places to fall. Fast-forward fifteen years — public HS, rock & roll and soul music (playing in a garage band and the dawn of “album oriented” radio programming), college (off and on), the so-called “sexual revolution,” …and drugs. If you read about a drug in Time or Newsweek in those days, I probably took it sometime between 1968 and 1983. I stumbled through college and two failed marriages by the time I was thirty. Rising from those “soft places to fall” led to some pretty hard places for me and many others.

Life began to change for the better. I met my wonderful wife of now twenty-six years in 1984. We fell in love, married in 1987 and have two terrific, grown daughters.

All the while, I was fascinated by religions, Eastern philosophies, spiritual writings and worship (just not Catholicism). My meandering path back to that momentous day on Bedford Rd. had led me to worship and sing in Protestant churches, dragging my wife and kids along sometimes, but mostly not. God led me to be a better husband and father, little by little. Still, the music in churches I attended kept moving my soul and drawing me in. Remember the soul music I mentioned above? It’s the first cousin of African-American church music.

There is a balm in Gilead,

To make the wounded whole;

There’s power enough in heaven,

To cure a sin-sick soul.

 

There was a God-shaped hole in my heart, in my sin-sick soul, until I started coming home in 2008 at St. Michael CC, led by a banner posted outside the Church. The “Coming Home” weekly meetings, the lovely staff and priests and deacon guided me.

In 2010, I discovered Good Shepherd was closer to my home, so my journey was almost complete. This parish, its wonderful people and friars have led me to more and more service and all the way home to Jesus.

 

How lost was my condition

Till Jesus made me whole!

There is but one Physician

Can cure a sin-sick soul.

Don't ever feel discouraged,

'Cause Jesus is your friend,

And if you lack for knowledge,

He'll never fail to lend.*

* The “balm in Gilead” is quoted in the Old Testament, but the lyrics of this spiritual refer to the New Testament. This difference is interesting to comment. In the Old Testament, the balm of Gilead cannot heal sinners. In the New Testament, Jesus heals everyone who comes to Him.

 

What Does the Bible Say?

“For thus says the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah: Though you be to me like Gilead, like the peak of Lebanon, I swear I shall turn you into a waste, with cities uninhabited. Against you I will send destroyers, each with their tools.”

— Jeremiah 22:6-7

Evangelizing Challenge This Week

Invite a Catholic friend, relative or neighbor who has drifted away from the Church to come to Mass with you, to “come home;” Lent would be a great time to do that. 

 

Featured Catholic Apps

EWTN is getting great user reviews. Comprised of live feeds of television and radio broadcasts, iOS and Android, Free.

 

National Catholic Register

 

The leading Catholic newspaper since 1927 is not only Online; its available 24/7 at a very reasonable $0.99. Great, accurate reporting and insightful commentary available on iOS, Android and Kindle, $0.99