Catholic Faith and Gratitude: An Easter Letter of Blessings and Belief

An Easter Sunday reflection on Catholic faith, gratitude, and the spiritual journey that has quietly shaped everything.

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My Catholic faith and gratitude for God’s presence in my life are not things I wear on my sleeve — but on this Easter Sunday, they feel like exactly the right thing to write about. If you really got to know me, you’d discover that beneath everything else, I am a very proud Catholic woman. And if I’m being completely honest, over anyone or anything else in my life — including my dad, who means the world to me — God has had the single greatest impact on who I am.

Originally wrote April 8, 2012

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Where My Catholic Faith and Gratitude First Took Root

It started in childhood, at Holy Cross — a wonderful church full of memories, familiar faces, and Sunday school lessons that somehow stuck even when I wasn’t trying to let them. Going to church with my grandparents made it feel special in that particular way only grandparents can. I loved the old-school parishioners, the holiday plays, the community of it all. And every single Christmas, without fail, I was cast as an angel. Some things are just meant to be.

As I got older and the choice became fully mine, I stayed with faith. Maybe not in the pew every single week, but always in prayer — always turning to God first when life’s hardest moments arrived. Research on the role of faith in resilience consistently shows what believers already know: that spiritual practice provides a foundation that holds when everything else shifts. I’ve lived that truth more times than I can count.

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The Year My Catholic Faith and Gratitude Were Tested Most

Then came the year I got saved. I was in a dark, lonely place, and I needed something to hold onto — which meant a lot of prayer, a lot of reflection, and a level of intensity that was, admittedly, a lot for everyone involved. Eventually I found my way back to balance. Everything in moderation, as they say. Thank God for that, literally.

Through all of it, I kept finding myself drawn back to Catholicism. It felt familiar — close in spirit to the Episcopalian tradition I was raised in, but with its own beautiful depth. I loved the saints, the traditions, the specific rhythms of Catholic prayer and practice. I loved seeing the men in my life who practiced their Catholic faith with real conviction, and I loved learning from them.

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Father Roth and the Moments That Defined My Catholic Faith

Of all the gifts my Catholic faith has given me, Father Roth may be the most unexpected and the most treasured. He is, without question, the greatest priest I have ever had the privilege of knowing. He was the one who presided over my becoming Catholic. He was the one who counseled my husband Arnold and me through our pre-wedding preparation. He was the one who baptized Riley.

The sacraments of the Catholic Church are designed to mark the most significant passages of a life, and having the same person present for so many of mine made each one feel even more sacred. I only wish he hadn’t moved before Chase’s baptism — that’s the one moment I wish he could have been there for.

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Living With Catholic Faith and Gratitude Every Day

Let me be clear: I sin daily. Possibly hourly. I have faults I’ve been dragging around for years and will probably never fully shake. But Catholic faith and gratitude aren’t about perfection — they never were. They’re about knowing that regardless of all of it, you are still loved. Still protected. Still held.

That knowledge is everything to me.

Pope Francis has said that gratitude is at the heart of Christian life — a recognition that everything good is a gift. On this Easter Sunday, I feel that completely. I am grateful for the faith that has carried me, for the community that has shaped me, and for a God who has shown up in my life in ways both enormous and quiet.

I’ll close the way Father Roth always did, because no words have ever felt more right:

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May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

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Peace be with you, Angel

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Learn more about Angel Holmes and everything she’s passionate about at sipindipity.com/angel-holmes.