Welcome to the adventure of following Christ. Perhaps you are a mother, a college student, a writer. Whoever and wherever you are, this formation applies universal principles into your concrete state of life—and it will be both difficult and, God-willing, supernaturally enriching to whatever you do.

To be a SOCA Envoy is to start/bolster a SOCA cell in your locale. This cell aims to save souls by sowing the seed of Christ's Kingship: supernatural grace. This is at the heart of Catholic Action. Leadership is primarily about the interior life, followed by zealous action that is strategically cohesive with the Mystical Body.

SOCA does not exist for SOCA's sake. SOCA exists to execute God's desire for zealous Catholic Action, beginning with prayer and penance. Further, this training should not "take away" from other apostolates in your area (or even your own), but rather add to them; it is not a "typical program" but rather a movement that integrates with other apostolates as the heartbeat of zealous apostolic action from all Catholics. This training is specifically designed around taking the basic SOCA formation template and strategically applying it to your specific locale. This requires applying speculative principles into practice in a way that a program simply could not. Finally, this differs from a program in that it is not based on a quick-fix (such as a retreat high, a motivating speaker, or video discussion-groups), but rather empowering cells of shocktroop interior apostles at the local level to become champions of the Catholic Action mission--most of all in their personal prayer and family life, but also in those other areas they are prayerfully called to.

Our training requires dedication and sacrifice for SOCA's mission. It is not for the faint of heart. It stands on the firm conviction that souls need to be saved, and that all of the baptized are called to both the mission of sanctity and the mission of the apostolate. Both of these will be very much determined by supernatural prudence in one's state of life; that is what we are here to help with. But no no matter your state in life, it will require all of you, full dedication. This is our Lord's call to carry the cross.

SOCA has a particular constitution, charism, and mission. Envoys are also called to this, but they must join with an eager and docile mindset. Some may be scholars, some blue-collar workers, some neophytes; all work collectively to spearhead this movement strategically in society and the Church, especially in their particular sphere of influence. We not only accept but strongly welcome diverse backgrounds.

This training is for any baptized Catholic--academics, blue-collared workers, businessmen, mothers, college students, young, old, etc. It can provide solid vocational formation for those discerning or those already set. Further, God's grace can make anyone a leader in their sphere of influence. But He is not concerned with simply making leaders in a natural and generic sense, but especially to build up His Kingdom. The primary mark for this is zealous perseverance and humble docility.

Training begins with a 40-day challenge called "Candidacy" that acts as a discernment for the candidate and SOCA. The challenge entails achieving 1) 80% with the rule of life (daily mental prayer, spiritual reading, the rosary); 2) participate in 2+ public prayer/evangelization initiatives (ex: pray outside of planned parenthood; hand-out rosaries); 3) pass the apostle interview. "3" is a build-up of weekly lessons, 10-15 pages of reading, and a guided zoom call discussion. The interview not only demonstrates understanding, but resolute integration of the apostolic mission into one's personal constitution.

Our next round of candidacy will launch Fall 2020. In the meantime, you are recommended to start the Purgative Way Campaign in our formation repository and starting the minimal SOCA Rule today: 20 minutes of mental prayer, 10 minutes did spiritual reading, 5 decades of the rosary, and weekly habit tracking. The “SOCA Rule” app is optional, but the resolutions are vital to a foundational spiritual life. Further, we typically recommend involvement with SOCA on another level before leader training, such as prayer activism, utilizing our online formation modules, or doing small group accountability with the SOCA Rule app.