I Want to Convert but no one will call me back

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Gresham

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I dropped in at the local parish about 2 months ago and spoke to a priest about converting. We talked for about 10 min. He said that he was leaving in a few days for a vacation. He gave me a book to read and asked that I get in touch with him during the 1st week of May. Well thats where I’m having problems…I have called several times and left messages, I have even stopped back by the parish and spoke to the associate pastor who said he would pass along the message. I told him that I have unyielding passion to do God’s work and I just wanted information on becoming Catholic. It has been over a week and still no phone call.
Simply said, I’m almost heart broken. I have spent alot of time working out my conversion, this is a big deal to me.
It seems for them, they are in no rush for me to join the Church at all.

What can I do. I hate to keep bothering them. It seems that if they wanted to call me back, they would.
 
This is most disconcerting.

Perhaps you could call another parish.
 
This can be a crazy time of year, 1st Communion for children, Confirmations, end of school stuff - so many things taking place at your local Parish.

Give the office a call, and set an appointment to come in and speak with the Priest.

At the same time, ask for the number of the Director of Religious Education, and give them a call. They can let you know what the schedule is like (in many Parishes, RCIA will be starting up end of summer).
 
PLEASE :eek: don’t be discouraged.

In the “old days,” parishes could have as many as four or five priests. Now, parishes are lucky when then have two.

So many people, even Catholics, think priests don’t have too much to do on days other than Sundays, but that’s very far from the truth… to name a few things, daily Mass; hearing Confessions both at the scheduled time and when people make a special appointment to go during the week; hospital visits; marriage prep meeting with engaged couples; counseling appointments for people who need help; spiritual direction appointments for people wanting help with their spiritual lives; Baptism preparation meetings; attending wakes; funerals; visiting the homebound; parish council meetings; their involvement in whatever activities of a particular parish including working with the teens, training altar servers or lectors, Bible study, etc. etc. etc. If they are pastors, they have even additional duties since it is their job to keep the parish running. Add to all this, the priest’s own time for personal prayer and any personal responsibilities, such as helping an elderly parent.

I have friends who are priests that I’ve called sometimes a dozen times before I reached them or they called back.

So KEEP ON CALLING. You will eventually get through or get a call back. Don’t get discouraged, and know that the end goal is certainly worth the wait. (In the meantime, you might want to add to your prayers a growth in vocations to the priesthood! 🙂 )
 
keep on calling
make sure you are very specific on who you wish to speak to, and why, and give good contact info including email.

I have a stack of phone calls such as yours I have been trying to return. for various reasons (including a lot of volunteers in the front office) I have bad or missing contact info, or do not know what the caller needs, so am having a tough time reaching everyone.

If I could reach everyone we could start a class right now, and I have mailed invitations to everyone who left good addresses–3 have been returned by PO already, students I suspect, who have moved.

be persistent.

in an ancient rule for the monks they were instructed to turn away a new applicant 3 times to test his persistence. Not saying your parish is doing that, but whoever needs to get your message is not receiving it.
 
Praying for you, Gresham!

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen
 
The pastor can sometimes be very hard to reach. When you call the parish office, tell them you are interested in becoming a Catholic and ask how you can contact the person in charge of the RCIA (Rite for Christian Initiation of Adults). Alternatively, you can simply check the weekly parish bulletin (either by attending a weekend service or online), which generally has the name of the RCIA director and contact information. The RCIA is the program used by almost all parishes to prepare people to become Catholics.
Gresham said:
I dropped in at the local parish about 2 months ago and spoke to a priest about converting. We talked for about 10 min. He said that he was leaving in a few days for a vacation. He gave me a book to read and asked that I get in touch with him during the 1st week of May. Well thats where I’m having problems…I have called several times and left messages, I have even stopped back by the parish and spoke to the associate pastor who said he would pass along the message. I told him that I have unyielding passion to do God’s work and I just wanted information on becoming Catholic. It has been over a week and still no phone call.
Simply said, I’m almost heart broken. I have spent alot of time working out my conversion, this is a big deal to me.
It seems for them, they are in no rush for me to join the Church at all.

What can I do. I hate to keep bothering them. It seems that if they wanted to call me back, they would.
Click to expand...
 
We have had three or four priests die this past year. As a result,
we have one priest handling 3 parishes! Our parish is large, but
we only have 1 priest, a deacon and help from an elderly retired
priest who comes when he is not ill.
So don’t despair of not receiving a call back. Keep calling and
do set an appointment.
 
goodness me :confused:
perhaps use the time for extra prayer and meditation … there is no first or last at the gates of heaven, we stand together.
and there is no time in eternity, remember that … you have forever to have a relationship with the Eternal Father, forever and ever and ever and ever and ever …
🙂
 
Thank you all for the advice and prayers. I have still not heard back from them but I will take your advice and call tomorrow to make an appointment.

👍
 
hi…
please do not give up…
i think it may help you if you are going to go to your local Bishop and address to him this problem… after all it is always the obligation of the priest to assits those people who want to return to the Church… i will keep on praying for you…🙂

Sancti Michaeli Arcangeli, defende nos…
 
Greshom, keep us informed. We do not know where you are or your age. I wanted to convert at age 16 but as my family was opposed the priests wanted me to wait until age 21.
I have a Hindu friend here who wants to convert. He has the freedom to convert as a Latin Catholic, Malabar Catholic or Malankara Catholic.
If you have a monastery near you, you might want to try there. Or if you have a Catholic university near you might find a retired priest with lots of time and experience to help you. I had several friends (RIP) who converted while at university.
God Bless You
 
Gresham said:
I dropped in at the local parish about 2 months ago and spoke to a priest about converting. We talked for about 10 min. He said that he was leaving in a few days for a vacation. He gave me a book to read and asked that I get in touch with him during the 1st week of May. Well thats where I’m having problems…I have called several times and left messages, I have even stopped back by the parish and spoke to the associate pastor who said he would pass along the message. I told him that I have unyielding passion to do God’s work and I just wanted information on becoming Catholic. It has been over a week and still no phone call.
Simply said, I’m almost heart broken. I have spent alot of time working out my conversion, this is a big deal to me.
It seems for them, they are in no rush for me to join the Church at all.

What can I do. I hate to keep bothering them. It seems that if they wanted to call me back, they would.
Click to expand...
The Church is the place to be, based on being “the place to be” and not on anything else.

Keep bothering them, as it’s their job to be bothered. Giving them a cross to bear is what is best for them.

If you can find another nearby parish that is more “friendly”, go for that. But remember the reason you’re intent on getting where you’re going, and not on the (probable) fools who might seem to get in yor way.
 
First of all, God bless you in your journey home to Catholicism.

Remember, you don’ t have to be Catholic to attend Mass as long as oyu do not receove Communion. Make it a point to go regularly and get to know people at the parish as well as the priest. Speak with him after Mass and let him get to know you. Find out who the RCIA director is and contact them. Don’t give up. There are always obstacles that get in the way of good.
 
Don’t give up, we all care about you…I would try another parish, if there is one near you

If there isn’t ,I would sent the priest a nice letter explaining that you are not trying to be unreasonable ,but you do want to start instruction …It might have to do with the next starting up of RCIA classes. I think they go through instruction as a group and are baptized and confirmed as a group…ours are all baptized on Holy Saturday( the Saturday before Easter Sunday)

If there is a director of religious education in that parish, it might be best to contact them. They will do the teaching, don’t let anyone brush you off or discourage you…call and ask if they have a director of religious ed and ask to speak with them
 
Once again thank all of you for the help. To answer a few questions, I am 32yrs old, Married for 11yrs with two beautiful kids. I want so much to attend Mass but had a few questions to ask the Priest first. I don’t know some of the traditions yet and simply did not want to look foolish going to my first mass. On the other hand, I don’t care if I look foolish or not as long as don’t disrespect the Church or the faith.

I have an appointment set up for next week. I expect it all to go well.

I chose this parish for several reasons. It is very close to my work and I could easily attend the weekday morning masses before work. It is also very active, something is going on every night. They have an excellent school. My son will be starting kindergarten soon. I want him to get the best education possible but I believe that education should also include God. Though I can’t afford the tuition yet, I’m trying to work it out.
 
I promise you won’t look foolish…just set ,and stand ,and kneel ,when everyone else does…They only thing you may not do is receive communion, but I am sure you already know that…🙂
 
The first thing you have to let go of is the fear of looking foolish. Just start going to Mass, and do your best.

I think it was either the Mass or Confession that G. K. Chesterton was talking about when he said, “Some things are worth doing badly.” 🙂
 
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