Hallow

God is so good. Prayers for you!

"They also serve who only stand and wait." - John Milton This quote was an inspiration for our main writer on the Lent challenge. It is from John Milton's poem, 'When I Consider How My Light Is Spent,' which he wrote as he was losing his eyesight. It is a reminder that even amidst our limitations, we can still serve God through our patience and our love.

Sorry y’all - have been trying to take a step back to spend some time with family post the craziness of the Ash Wednesday launch. Apparently over the last few days we’ve been attacked for a series of different things. So I wanted to take a moment and respond. I’m usually not very good at these kinds of things, but will give it my best. Before I do though I just wanted to say thank you. I’ve seen so many posts and replies defending Hallow and sharing what the Lord has done in your life. Honestly it’s brought me to tears several times. Thank you all. It means more than you know. Lord thank You for the opportunity to work on this - to be a witness to your goodness. Okay so the first and biggest one, interestingly enough, is folks attacking partners, mostly Gwen it seems, for partnering with an ‘anti-abortion’ app. - Yes, we are pro-life. At least we are trying our best to be. We are catholic. On every political issue we stand with the Pope and the Church. Then there is the usual group of people mad that we have a subscription option for Hallow. - There is a free version with thousands of free sessions and we give free subscriptions to anyone who reaches out and can’t afford it. Most people who use the app use it completely for free - forever. We do not sell ads or data. The subscription is how we support the work we do. We’ve got some folks upset that we are going through Dostoevsky for Lent. - For those of you concerned, please just give the challenge a try. I think the team did a really great job, working with several great priests, of weaving together Fr. Henri Nouwen, the spiritual message of Brothers K, and Scripture in a really beautiful way that’s all, of course, always in line with Church teaching. And then the latest seems to be a resurfacing of the fact that Peter Thiel is an investor. - Thiel is one of several hundred different individual investors in Hallow, each with their own politics and other businesses / investments. We are grateful for anyone who was willing to take a bet on Hallow, especially in the earliest days when essentially everyone said no, but we certainly don’t stand behind or endorse everything every investor does. We do not and would never share any user data with any investor. Thiel specifically is one of the most prolific technology investors of all time (Facebook / Instagram, PayPal, Apple, LinkedIn, Yelp, Microsoft, Tesla, Spotify, The Athletic, Stripe, Airbnb, Postmates, SpaceX), but just because he owns a share of a company certainly does not mean he has any control over its actions. Thiel is a relatively minor investor (~3% of Hallow’s overall funding). I’ve seen some people say he invested $40 million - this is off by an order of magnitude. He does not sit on our board, and has no decision making control. The three co-founders of Hallow have governance control of Hallow. If there is ever anything you disagree with, there is never anyone else to blame but me. Okay, I think that’s all. Tried to do my best to hit on the biggest points, but I’m sure I missed some. I’d ask, if you would, for your prayers. May the Lord use all of this only for His good. May He take this app, and everything we do, and use it only to share the incredible love He has for you. Lord, helps us to make everything we do only ever in the service of that. Lord, help me to thank You for the rebukes and for the criticism. May all things give You Glory. Empty me, fill me, use me.

@Joeinblack @FrMatthewLC Next time can we get an autograph, Fr. Joe?

Thank you, brother. I blocked Mike because I have enough crazy in my own life without volunteering for more, so I had no idea his obsession continued. I believe Hallow sent representatives to one of the cruises that I emceed. I didn’t meet any of them and they certainly didn’t pay me anything. I don’t even know if they were a sponsor.

Mike, if you want someone to stop what you claim is "calumny" against you, it's good not to commit calumny when asking for a retraction. @Joeinblack said he never got paid by @HallowApp. You claim this is false as he was a chaplain for a cruise, but I find no indication that cruise is in any way related to Hallow. (I get you can consider free travel as payment, but it's an unrelated entity & he never said anything about just payments for ministry elsewhere.) You appear to be falsely claiming that a good priest is dishonest. I invite you to repent.

@catholicpat We've been exposed!

The Hallow App is a giant conspiracy to get people to pray more

"I am destined to step into my Father’s place and offer to others the same compassion that he has offered me." - Fr. Henri Nouwen

God is so good, what a blessing to be a small tool in the hand of the Lord. AMDG

@JoeShmoedg6q I think you're thinking of a different Alex Jones 🫠hallow.com/blog/the-hallo…

@JaredDHardin @alexathallow is pretty great!

I would like to start following more Christians. More specifically I'd like to follow Christian entrepreneurs, business and finance leaders, politicians, dad's, and outdoorsmen. Who should I be following?

@FrMatthewLC Thank you for this, Fr. Matthew 🙏 If you're curious about our public benefit corp structure, this article might be helpful in explaining our reasoning! hallow.com/blog/why-we-ma…

I personally don't subscribe to Hallow: I don't think being led in prayer by actors would help my prayer, but I'm in a very different place from most Catholics spiritually & I respect those it would help. However, I don't think there is any moral issue with charging for a service like that. I charge for my book to pay for material, editors, graphic designers, warehousing, etc. & help my community. I would be a little cautious about its for-profit status (although a public benefit corporation), rather than non-profit like most other Catholic publishers & content creators, which could lead to issues.

Glory Be. Congratulations. Praying for you both

@chooseCatholic @catholicpat

@catholicpat Wait, where in the Bible did Jesus say don’t use apps during Lent?!? I missed that. Call Fr. Mike Schmitz, he’ll know

This is the best timeline

@Joeinblack @alexathallow Thank you, Fr. Joe 🙏 God bless you!

The crying about @alexathallow is insane. The people at Hallow created a program that makes it easier for people to pray. That’s it. As a priest who hears over 10 hours of confession a week, I can joyfully tell you that it bears great fruit for people. To create the app and set it up and coordinate took a huge investment of manpower and technological skills. They charge for it because they have a right to their wage. They did something no one has done as well as them and the fruits show. I don’t use Hallow, I’m not getting paid by them, I’m just tired of watching people tear apart those who are doing their best to advance the kingdom of God. If you don’t like what they’re doing, get off your couch and do something better. Otherwise, stop this nonsense. There is nothing about it that shows the fruits of the spirit, but I see a lot of the fruits of the flesh in the attacks.

@MrPopOfficial We love Gwen! You can join the challenge here and get a 90-day extended free trial of the app here 🙏 💜 hallow.app.link/jKPoZDbCW0b

Gwen Stefani promotes her anti-abortion pay-to-pray app for Lent.

@smith_john59677 @maryarchived She'll be telling her whole faith journey in one of our Saturday interviews! Absolutely beautiful and sincere soul

@maryarchived Is she a recent convert? She sure wasnt one in the 90s

finding an issue with the hallow app really takes an overactive imagination. obviously prayer is free, some people just find the app helpful. even the founder has said that hallow is unnecessary.

@IAmClintMurphy @BridgetPhetasy Praying for you this Lent. God bless you 🙏

Someday maybe I will share about the many things that happened last year that drove me to reconnect to my Catholic faith again. Today is not that day. But I am doing the 40 day @HallowApp Lent challenge if anyone wants to buddy up. hallow.app.link/3mlDzdcsS0b

@kling_leo Exodus 24:18 1 Kings 19:8 Matthew 4:1-2

@HallowApp WTF is Lent? I can't find any thing called Lent in my Bible. In which pagan religion is Lent a thing?

Join Coach Prime and millions of Christians this Lent on Hallow, the No. 1 prayer app.

@thetrueshelby He's a different Alex Jones 😭hallow.com/blog/the-hallo…

So, this probably won’t surprise any of y’all, but Alex Jones is behind the Grifting for Jesus app, Hallow.

@pianogal63 @gladitzia @FatherChrisVor1 We have a version that is always free! But we are doing a promotion for 3 months free of our upgraded version hallow.app.link/3monthsfree

@gladitzia @FatherChrisVor1 I thought the free version was only available for a month?

Seeing some Roman Catholic influencers warning against apps like Hallow this Lent. If Hallow helps you pray and draw closer to God, use it. Don’t overthink it. Don’t be distracted by noise. Just pray. God hears you, and He delights in your sincere conversation with Him.

What a blessing to be a part of your journey!