Alyson,

You are not being punished; that fear stems from one of your personal anxiety issues. For those kinds of anxieties you need to balance it out with:

• prayer
• trust in God, and
• sometimes a good therapist or counselor—someone who can help you navigate through that stuff.

RCIA is the most common way to learn about the faith, but in some cases a priest (or another qualified person) will meet with someone individually. You may have to set up a meeting to talk with the priest in person to explain what your needs are and see about a plan. There are always more options; you just have to find the right one.

So, don't give up! You just need to have patience. People are sometimes very busy at this time of year — for a variety of church events happen during this season. The lack of a call-back could be because they are just overwhelmed with other stuff. As summer approaches it should get easier to get a time and the opportunity to make a plan.

God loves you and certainly isn't trying to make this harder for you. Life does that all by itself.

Just hang in there! The Holy Spirit will help you on your journey if you let Him lead.

Peace,

Bob Kirby