diff --git a/lib/pushmeup/apns/core.rb b/lib/pushmeup/apns/core.rb
index fe9d79a..9a480a9 100644
--- a/lib/pushmeup/apns/core.rb
+++ b/lib/pushmeup/apns/core.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ module APNS
   @host = 'gateway.sandbox.push.apple.com'
   @port = 2195
   # openssl pkcs12 -in mycert.p12 -out client-cert.pem -nodes -clcerts
-  @pem = nil # this should be the path of the pem file not the contentes
+  @pem = nil
   @pass = nil
   
   @persistent = false
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ module APNS
   class << self
     attr_accessor :host, :pem, :port, :pass
   end
-  
+
   def self.start_persistence
     @persistent = true
   end
@@ -69,24 +69,25 @@ def self.feedback
   def self.with_connection
     attempts = 1
   
-    begin      
+    begin
       # If no @ssl is created or if @ssl is closed we need to start it
       if @ssl.nil? || @sock.nil? || @ssl.closed? || @sock.closed?
         @sock, @ssl = self.open_connection
       end
     
       yield
-    
+    rescue OpenSSL::X509::CertificateError
+      raise "Your pem is not a valid file or certificate. (APNS.pem = /path/to/cert.pem)"
+
     rescue StandardError, Errno::EPIPE
       raise unless attempts < @retries
-    
       @ssl.close
       @sock.close
-    
+
       attempts += 1
       retry
     end
-  
+
     # Only force close if not persistent
     unless @persistent
       @ssl.close
@@ -97,13 +98,6 @@ def self.with_connection
   end
   
   def self.open_connection
-    raise "The path to your pem file is not set. (APNS.pem = /path/to/cert.pem)" unless self.pem
-    raise "The path to your pem file does not exist!" unless File.exist?(self.pem)
-    
-    context      = OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext.new
-    context.cert = OpenSSL::X509::Certificate.new(File.read(self.pem))
-    context.key  = OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.new(File.read(self.pem), self.pass)
-
     sock         = TCPSocket.new(self.host, self.port)
     ssl          = OpenSSL::SSL::SSLSocket.new(sock,context)
     ssl.connect
@@ -112,20 +106,30 @@ def self.open_connection
   end
   
   def self.feedback_connection
-    raise "The path to your pem file is not set. (APNS.pem = /path/to/cert.pem)" unless self.pem
-    raise "The path to your pem file does not exist!" unless File.exist?(self.pem)
-    
-    context      = OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext.new
-    context.cert = OpenSSL::X509::Certificate.new(File.read(self.pem))
-    context.key  = OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.new(File.read(self.pem), self.pass)
-    
     fhost = self.host.gsub('gateway','feedback')
-    
+
     sock         = TCPSocket.new(fhost, 2196)
     ssl          = OpenSSL::SSL::SSLSocket.new(sock, context)
     ssl.connect
 
     return sock, ssl
   end
-  
+
+  def self.certificate
+    @certificate ||= begin
+      if File.file?(@pem)
+        File.read(@pem)
+      else
+        @pem
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  def self.context
+    @context ||= OpenSSL::SSL::SSLContext.new.tap do |context|
+      context.cert = OpenSSL::X509::Certificate.new(certificate)
+      context.key  = OpenSSL::PKey::RSA.new(certificate, self.pass)
+    end
+  end
+
 end