Why I Built Cornerstone

When I was younger, I'd gone to CCD (for years?), but I didn't really know, or frankly, care too much about religion or Christianity or Catholicism for that matter. Soon, by about 13 or 14, I was confirmed in something that I didn't really know. Years later, I largely fell away from the faith and became a Christmas/Easter Catholic, if you can even call it that.

In the past several years, I'd realized that the question of God was likely the most important question in life, so I'd been studying my religion generally and the very faith that I had been brought into: Catholicism.

I assume that there are many stories like mine where I knew the most about Catholicism years/decades ago, when it wasn't really a priority for me. Consequently, feeling super ignorant, I read the Bible, which, when I started reading, I didn't know that Catholicism had a 73-book canon! I read the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which was quite boring, to be honest. I think it's meant to be more of a reference than something you read). I wanted to become more knowledgeable about the faith.

I realize that the texts can be intimidating because of their lengths, and many of you might not even know what the Catechism of the Catholic Church is (I didn't).

Therefore, I created an application called Cornerstone: Bible & Catechism that allows you to learn about the faith in a way that's like a game. The app is free and works overwhelmingly offline!

Currently, the application has the full 73-book canon (audio narration) plus a study section with early Church Fathers' commentary on verses, like St. Jerome and St. Augustine (and if you don't know who they are, don't worry, simply click on them to get a brief bio!). The reading is tracked on the device. If you read out of order, there's no problem.

It has daily quizzes, which have practical quiz questions regarding the faith and the Bible on things like mortal sin (can you define it?) and scenario-based questions.

The Learn section is based on the Baltimore Catechism, what used to be taught in schools in the 1950s and 1960s. You can learn Catholicism in bite-sized, fun, interactive games rather than a monotonous slog.

The Pray section has the classic Catholic prayers, plus guided audio devotions — a voice leads you through the Rosary (all four sets of mysteries), the Divine Mercy Chaplet, and the Angelus, with the words on screen to follow. I noticed, since coming back to the faith, that many churches end with the St. Michael Prayer, which I didn't know because the parish I'd primarily gone to didn't say it. Also, I still sometimes get tripped up with the Nicene Creed since they changed the words in 2011, haha.

If you want to learn more about the faith as a refresher or a newbie, or think that you're a master, try out Cornerstone: Bible & Catechism.