our Flagship Program
The Mental Prayer Challenge
30 days. A small accountability group. The habit of daily mental prayer—learn it and start, restablish the habit, or challenge yourself to go deeper. Free to join.
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ALTUM YOUNG ADULTS · FORMATION · FREE PROGRAM
The Mental Prayer Challenge.
30 days. A small accountability group. The habit of daily mental prayer — built from the ground up. Free to join. This is where everything else begins.
Free to participate. No commitment beyond 30 days.
WHAT IS MENTAL PRAYER
Most Catholics Were Never Taught How to Actually Pray.
There is a difference between saying prayers and actually praying. Mental prayer is the latter — a real, personal conversation with a living God. Not reciting words. Not going through motions. Actually talking to God and listening. It is the foundation of the interior life and the thing the saints built everything else on.
Most Catholics were never taught how to do it. They were given prayers to memorize but not the practice of actually encountering God in silence and conversation. The Mental Prayer Challenge exists to close that gap — to give every young adult a simple, practical structure for building mental prayer as a daily habit, held together by a community that keeps them accountable.
HOW IT WORKS
30 Days. A Small Group. A Habit That Holds.
The Mental Prayer Challenge runs for 30 days. Every day you spend 15 minutes in mental prayer using a simple five-step structure that walks you through how to enter into real conversation with God. Once a week your small group meets — four to eight people, coordinated by a trained volunteer — to check in, share how it is going, and keep each other accountable.
The accountability group is what makes it work. Mental prayer alone tends to fade within two weeks because there is nothing holding it in place. The group changes that. You show up because people are expecting you. You keep going because you are not doing it alone.
Step 1 — Prepare
Take a moment to quiet yourself. Acknowledge that you are in the presence of God. Set aside everything else for the next 15 minutes.
Step 2 — Read
Read a short passage of Scripture or a reflection from a saint. One paragraph is enough. Let it land.
Step 3 — Meditate
Sit with what you just read. Let a word or phrase or image stay with you. Don't rush to the next thing.
Step 4 — Speak
Talk to God directly — as you would talk to a person. Tell him what is on your mind. Ask him what he wants to say to you through what you just read.
Step 5 — Rest
Spend the last few minutes in silence. Not thinking. Just being present. Let God speak if he wants to.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything You Need to Build the Habit.
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THE FIVE-STEP WALKTHROUGH
A clear practical guide to mental prayer that walks you through exactly what to do every day for 30 days. No guesswork. No figuring it out alone.
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YOUR ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP
A small group of four to eight people that meets once a week to check in. Coordinated by a trained volunteer. The thing that makes the habit stick.
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30 DAYS OF STRUCTURE
A clear 30-day framework so you always know what you are doing and why. No decisions to make — just show up and follow the structure.
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A FOUNDATION FOR WHAT COMES NEXT
The Mental Prayer Challenge is the entry point to the SOCA Way — a deeper structured formation path for those who want to continue building their interior life beyond the first 30 days.
WHO THIS IS FOR
You Don't Have to Already Know How to Pray.
The Mental Prayer Challenge is designed for young adults who want to build a consistent prayer life and have not been able to make it stick on their own. You do not need to have a strong prayer life already. You do not need to have it all figured out spiritually. You just need to want to start — and be willing to show up for 30 days.
The challenge is also for young adults who have tried to pray before and found it fading. The structure and accountability are specifically designed to solve that problem. You are not going to white-knuckle your way through 30 days alone. You are going to do it with a group that keeps you accountable and a structure that removes the guesswork.
— You don't need a strong prayer life already — you just need to want one
— You don't need to know how to pray — the five-step walkthrough teaches you
— You don't need to do it alone — the accountability group does it with you
WHAT COMES NEXT
The Challenge Is the Beginning, Not the End.
After 30 days you will have built the foundation. What you do with it is up to you. Some people run another challenge. Some join a local Altum chapter and continue in community. Some go deeper through the SOCA Way — the structured formation path that takes the interior life further than the first 30 days.
The Volunteer Outreach Team will reach out personally after you complete the challenge to check in and point you toward the next step that makes sense for where you are. Nobody falls through the cracks.
JOIN THE WAIT LIST
Join the Wait List.
Fill out the form below. Someone from the Volunteer Outreach Team will reach out personally to get you placed in an accountability group and walk you through what to expect when the next cohort launches.
By providing your phone number you consent to receive text messages from Altum Young Adults about the Mental Prayer Challenge and updates. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.
Free to participate. No commitment beyond 30 days. Someone will reach out personally within 48 hours.
30 Days Can Change Everything.
The interior life is not complicated. It is just consistently showing up to a real conversation with a real God. The Mental Prayer Challenge gives you the structure and the community to actually do that. Start here.
Free. 30 days. A small group. The foundation that holds everything together.
ALTUM
Duc in Altum — Launch into the deep.
A movement of depth. The young adult arm of SOCA — Souls of the Christian Apostolate, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in Denver, Colorado in 2018.
© 2026 Souls of the Christian Apostolate (SOCA). Altum Young Adults is a program of SOCA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All rights reserved.