Electric Prayer

Listen to the Alleluias

If you have the Universalis app for iPhone, iPad or Android, you will see a grey Easter Alleluia button at the top and bottom of every page. Press it to hear the rejoicing. There are more than 200 Alleluias waiting for you to press the button and hear them. They come from all ages – and from all places. Here is one in Zulu.

Christians of new birth

I have had quite a few emails from people who call themselves “baby Catholics” – and rightly, because they were baptised or received in to the Church only a few days ago at the Easter Vigil. Welcome to them all! Let’s all help them in their first baby steps.

But we are all reborn in a way, having gone through Lent and now joining in the Resurrection. Here are a few baby steps you might want to take yourself, in the coming seven weeks of the Easter season.

Get Universalis

Many of you already have a Universalis app. Some of you simply visit our website every day. You are welcome; but the app will give you far more. Better layouts, special app-only content, and of course no need for the Internet. The app isn’t expensive: read all about it here.

Do more with it

I know (because you write to me and tell me) that some of you use Universalis for only one thing: it may be the readings at Mass, or it may be Morning Prayer (Lauds). Just for the Easter season, pick one more thing to do. If you have only been using the Mass readings, pick one of the Hours and try looking at that as well. If you have been looking at one the Hours, pick one more, or perhaps look at the Spiritual Reading page for extra nourishment.

And of course the About Today page in Universalis tells you all about today’s saints from across the world – and in the apps, you get pictures too.

Listen

Reading is good. But there are times and places when we can’t read; and even when we can read, we sometimes find ourselves skimming far too fast through it all, the way we do with web pages. So consider listening instead. You listen with the iPhone/iPad and Android apps. It’s a subscription, but not an expensive one, and everything is read to you by real human beings. Read about the spoken Mass and Hours here.

The weekly podcasts

Here are the episodes which have come out since the last newsletter. You can listen by clicking on the link. Each episode is around 20 minutes long.

8 March 2026: The Samaritan Woman at the well. Sin: responsibility and healing: ‘I did it’ and ‘I didn’t do it.’ The readings of the week. St Etheldreda’s and the tax-collectors..

15 March 2026: St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland: his life and his breastplate. Sin: what makes a sin a sin? The Seven Deadly Sins and the Divine Comedy. The other story of the healing of a blind man.

22 March 2026: The Sun and Moon as timekeepers; the rivers proclaiming our place in Lent. Science as a love letter from God. The final miracle: the raising of Lazarus. Being together in desolation. The strong women of salvation history.

29 March 2026:
Original sin: a chemical parable. The Atonement or At-one-ment: a tale from school. Love as a blank cheque: ‘Whatever happens – shall happen’. The days of Holy Week.

5 April 2026:
Holy Saturday without hindsight: the desolation of the Apostles and how we share in it. The Easter Vigil and the ultimate surprise of the Resurrection. What Jesus’ resurrection can tell us about our own resurrected life.

Many thousands of people listen to the podcast, from all over the world. Sometimes by themselves in the car, sometimes sitting at home with the whole family. If you haven’t listened yet, do. If you have, and you like it, tell all your friends.

• Here is a link to the Podcasts page. You will find all the weekly episodes listed there, right from the very beginning almost two years ago. There are also
• If you use podcast apps, there are links to Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube at the bottom of this newsletter.
• If you don’t want to have to send your friends a link, tell them to go to the home page at universalis.com and they’ll find a Podcasts button at the top right.
• All the Universalis apps and programs will show an alert in the About Today page whenever a new podcast is ready.

New podcast episodes come out on Friday or Saturday each week.

Thank you all for using Universalis. If you have trouble or questions, or suggestions, do write to us at universalis@universalis.com or use the Contact Us button in one of the apps. Let us all keep one another in our prayers, as always.