The Catholic Journey with Deacon Pat

The Catholic Journey with Deacon Pat Deacon Pat Kearns | Catholic Deacon, U.S.

Navy veteran (Marines), author, spiritual director, psychiatric nurse, husband, father, host of The Catholic Journey—bringing faith, clarity, and courage to modern life.

08/24/2026

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Me

Some crosses are visible. Others are carried quietly in the heart.

In this episode of The Catholic Journey with Deacon Pat Kearns, we reflect on Jesus’ challenging words: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” — Matthew 16:24

Through an emotional story of a father who would give anything to take away his child’s suffering, we discover an important truth: faith does not promise us a life without crosses. It promises that we will never carry them alone.

Jesus does not ask us to understand every cross, like it, or pretend it doesn’t hurt. He simply asks us to trust Him enough to take the next step and follow.

Whatever you are carrying today, remember: there is another set of hands beneath your cross—His.

🎙️ The Catholic Journey with Deacon Pat Kearns
A Catholic Podcast about living life to the fullest.

🌐 www.TheCatholicJourney.NET

08/24/2026

Why Does the Church Use Different Liturgical Colors?

Green. Violet. White. Red. Rose. Even black.

We see these colors throughout the Church year—but have you ever wondered why the Church uses them and what they actually mean?

The colors we see at Mass aren't simply decoration. Each one tells part of the story of our faith. They call us to grow, prepare, rejoice, sacrifice, persevere, and hope.

In this episode of The Hidden Meanings Behind Catholic Traditions, we'll explore the meaning behind the Church's liturgical colors and discover how the Church is communicating something to us even before the first word of Mass is spoken.

Sometimes the Church speaks through bells.
Sometimes through incense.
Sometimes through silence.
And sometimes… she speaks through color.

Join me for another episode of The Catholic Journey with Deacon Pat Kearns as we discover the deeper meaning behind the Catholic traditions we often see but don't always understand.

🙏 Helping Catholics see life through the eyes of faith.

08/24/2026

🏍️🎶 Ride Through the Pines — The Kearns Boys

Some trips are about the destination. Others are about who you're riding with.

This Labor Day weekend, my brother Tim, my son Sean, and I are heading out for a four-day motorcycle camping adventure through the mountains of Northern California.

We'll meet up in Shingletown and then make our way through places like Burney Falls, McCloud, Mount Shasta, Castle Lake, and Hat Creek—motorcycles, tents, mountain roads, campfires, and hopefully a lot of laughs along the way.

As I was thinking about the trip, I decided it needed its own song.

So here is “Ride Through the Pines.”

The song isn't really about motorcycles. It's about something much more important: two brothers, a father and son, and taking the time to make memories together while we still can.

Life moves quickly. We get busy, we get older, and it's easy to tell ourselves, “We'll do it someday.”

Sometimes you just have to pick a date, pack the bikes, and go.

Two brothers. One son. One road.

🏍️ Pat • Sean • Tim
🌲 Northern California
📅 September 4–7, 2026

🎧 Here's “Ride Through the Pines.”

08/23/2026

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

This Sunday’s Gospel asks one of the most important questions Jesus ever asked His disciples:

“But who do you say that I am?” — Matthew 16:15

Peter responds with a declaration of faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

But Jesus’ question wasn’t only meant for Peter. It is a question each of us must answer.

We may know what the Church teaches about Jesus. We may recite the Creed every Sunday. We may have been Catholic our entire lives. But eventually faith becomes personal:

Who is Jesus to me?

Is He simply someone I believe in—or is He truly the Lord of my life?

In this homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, we reflect on Peter’s profession of faith, Christ’s promise to build His Church upon the rock, and what it means to follow Jesus not simply with our words, but with the way we live.

🎙️ The Catholic Journey with Deacon Pat Kearns

Faith. Truth. Encouragement for the Journey.

08/23/2026

🎵 The Long Way Home 🎵

This song is very personal to Liz and me.

For nearly 20 years, Redding was home. It was where we raised our children, built lifelong friendships, and where I served as a deacon at Our Lady of Mercy Parish.

Then God called us onto a different road.

When our youngest left for college, Liz and I left Redding and spent a missionary year in San Lucas Tolimán, Guatemala. From there, life took us to Idaho, Texas, and eventually Sacramento. Each place brought new people, new experiences, new ministries, and blessings we never could have anticipated.

And now, after all these years and all those miles, we're going home.

In just a couple of weeks, we'll return to Redding—to old friends, familiar places, Our Lady of Mercy, and a community that has always held a special place in our hearts.

I wrote "The Long Way Home" to tell that story.

It's about Liz and me, but it's also about something I've come to believe more deeply through the years: sometimes God has to take us a long way before we understand where He's been leading us all along.

Every road mattered. Every season had a purpose. Every place changed us.

And somehow, through it all...

God led us back home. ❤️

I hope you'll take a few minutes to listen.

— Deacon Pat Kearns
The Catholic Journey

08/22/2026

Why Do Catholics Strike Their Breast at Mass?

“Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault…”

We say these words during the Confiteor at Mass while striking our breast—but have you ever wondered why?

This small Catholic gesture has deep biblical roots. In Luke 18:13, the tax collector beats his breast and prays, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus tells us that this humble man went home justified before God.

In this episode of The Catholic Journey with Deacon Pat Kearns, we uncover what this gesture really means. It isn't about shame or believing we're unworthy of God's love. It's about having the humility to stop pointing at everyone else and look honestly at our own hearts.

When our hand touches our chest, we're saying:

“Lord, start with me.”

Show me where I have failed to love. Forgive what is sinful. Heal what is wounded. Strengthen what is weak. And make my heart more like Yours.

🎧 Join me for another episode of The Hidden Meanings Behind Catholic Traditions and discover why even the smallest gestures at Mass can carry profound spiritual meaning.

Humility. Repentance. Mercy. A heart turned toward God.

08/22/2026

Start With Me

It’s easy to look at the world and see everything that needs to change. But real change begins much closer to home.

Start With Me is a song about asking God to begin His work in us—in our hearts, our choices, our forgiveness, and the way we love others.

Before I ask God to change the world, I need the courage to pray:

“Lord, start with me.”

🎵 Start With Me
Deacon Pat Kearns | The Catholic Journey

08/21/2026

🎵 “Six Boys on Jeffery Court” — The Kearns Boys, Version 2 🎵

Before we became husbands, fathers, veterans, professionals, and grandfathers, we were simply six Kearns boys growing up on Jeffery Court.

This second song inspired by our book takes us back to where it all began—driveway basketball, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, drinking from the garden hose, Santa Cruz vacations, a pillowcase for a backpack, Navy adventures, sports, laughter, struggles, faith, and eventually realizing how quickly the years passed.

We didn't have everything growing up, but Tom and Betty Kearns gave their six sons something far more valuable: faith, family, character, and each other.

Kevin, Tim, Terry, Pat, Mike, and Dan took six very different roads through life, but somehow those roads have always led us back home.

The older we get, the more we understand just how blessed we were.

❤️ Six boys became six men. Six different lives. One family.

And no matter how far we've traveled...

There's still a little bit of Jeffery Court in every one of us. ❤️🙏🇺🇸

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