The iMissal

Yesterday morning I came across the following video:

That’s right…an iPad lectern! And, I checked, this thing is a real product available for purchase!

At lunch, as I walked to a nearby sandwich store, I got to thinking about whether or not I thought an iPad-based parish would be a good move or not. There would be some clear advantages to having an electronic Missal and an electronic Lectionary:

1. Cheaper Upgrades
A year ago the new Roman Missal was introduced and all Catholic parishes had to change replace their Missals. If an electronic Missal was used it would have just required connecting the iPad to a computer and downloading the new texts. This would also eliminate the tricky question concerning what to do with the now out-of-date book.

2. Larger Text
Electronic Missals and Lectionaries have the ability to render the text in a larger font size. This would be a great advantage for those with impaired vision.

3. Finding the right text
How many times have you been at Mass and it’s clear that the Lectionary hasn’t been setup for the Lector? If a tablet application were used it could automatically move to the correct readings for the day. It could also automatically insert the name of the Pope and Bishop in the Eucharistic Prayer.

However, I also see some real problems with this:

1. Battery Life
Tablet devices need to be regularly charged and someone has to remember to do it. Will this become a new Altar Boy duty?!

2. Failure
Software fails. Hardware fails. Users fail. Trust me, I’m a Software Engineer. If this happened during Mass it would be reeeeeeally awkward. The priest might accidentally say the Eucharistic Prayer again and again while the software got stuck in an infinite loop. If the software crashed, Mass would have to be put on hold while the priest called technical support. Books are simpler.

3. Screen Glare
It’s well known that iPads suffer from screen glare. However, this could be fixed using a Kindle 😉

4. Just doesn’t seem quite right…
There’s something about this idea that just doesn’t seem right to me. There’s just something about the written word on paper. Can you imagine the priest or deacon processing with iPad, incensing it or kissing it after the proclamation of the Gospel?!

So what do you think? Do you think the iMissal is a good idea? While we’re on the subject, what do you think about using electronic devices in the pews?