By Joe Fitzgerald ‘19

“Field of Dreams” is a classic cinematic masterpiece about one man’s quest for closure years after his father’s death. He finally finds what he is looking for after his dad comes to his farm turned baseball field, and believes he is in heaven. I love “Field of Dreams” for multiple reasons, but it made me think instead of being in the sky or somewhere nobody can reach, could heaven be among us.

Maybe a building complex used to be a park where children played until sundown, or a shopping mall may have been a neighborhood at some point in time. In such a modern world, we rarely think of how times used to be before our generation. Places that mean so little to us can mean the world to somebody else.

I believe heaven is what you make of it – a time and place where you find the most joy with the people who make you the happiest. A place where nothing but happiness flows, and we live in a cozy, warm corner of eternal salvation.

Time doesn’t exist in heaven. Whether it’s riding your bike around the neighborhood as a child, staying out late at night with your friends, or just playing football with your old team. I find comfort believing I can experience all of these happy times in heaven without a worry in the world.

Much like Ray’s father in “Field of Dreams,” we experience times when there was no place in the world we would rather be. Nothing could convince you at that particular moment in time anything would be better than exactly where you were.

Family is one of the base foundations of Catholic identity. It isn’t just blood relatives; family is vast and anyone who you love genuinely.  I imagine meeting loved ones who have passed away. Living in the prime of their lives, someone like my grandpa who was one of the toughest men I’ve ever known. I wonder about what it would have been like to meet him when he was my age or meeting his parents and siblings.

I even just imagine a big celebration with everyone I have ever considered family, interacting and enjoying their company carefree.

I hope to meet with people I’ve looked up to throughout the course of time and just talk for a while. I wish to be able to live in harmony with all the saints and martyrs in heaven.

At the end of the day, none of us can possibly know what heaven is like. Maybe it is what you make it to be, or maybe it is just floating on clouds. It can be nostalgic times on earth enjoyed with those dearest to us or a simple eternal peace. All we can do is control the things we can control, and live out the best possible life. We must care for each other and always give more than you take. One thing I know for sure, God and all of our angels are always among us and will be for all eternity.

God Bless.