"St. Francis didn't necessarily go to churches, he went to the city streets to preach where people were, and he preached a language they could understand." - Fr. Casey Cole

The Bleacher Brothers – Fr. Casey Cole and Br. Tito Serrano, associate campus minister – are on a 17,000 mile, 11-week tour of all 30 Major League Baseball parks. They're spreading the Franciscan message "where people are."

In the 1989 classic baseball film Field of Dreams, character John Kinsella asks Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, "Is this Heaven?" Costner responds, "It's Iowa." It's unlikely two Franciscan friars would conflate heaven with the Hawkeye State, but there's no doubting a feeling of magic (or spirituality) while standing on the actual Field of Dreams.

The baseball diamond in Dubuque, Iowa was built for the film, and is preserved as a tourist attraction along with the famous farm house and mystical cornfields from the film. "If you build it, they will come," and more than 100,000 fans flock to the ballpark each year. Fr. Casey and Br. Tito stepped on the hallowed dirt on June 30, taking a slight detour from St. Louis to Chicago. 

At the emotional core of the film is the challenging and time-warping relationship between the Kinsellas, father and son. Walking in Costner's footsteps, Br. Tito reflected on the message in the movie, and its intrinsic place in baseball.

"There is something about baseball that lends itself to relationship. When you watch a game, even an exciting one, there is always time for conversation. Baseball is a sport for quality time and sharing. 

Field of Dreams focuses on Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella as he builds a baseball diamond in the middle of his corn field, while discussing his complicated history with his father. Child-parent relationships are complicated, and none of us are perfect. Baseball, which was the source of their division, becomes the source of their reconciliation.

Reconciliation is about healing relationships. In our Catholic faith it takes the form of a Sacrament, and our relationships with God and our community are restored. Baseball is a pastime; it literally helps pass-the-time, and during that time we can build and heal relationships."

 Hey, dad? You wanna have a catch? 

The Bleacher Brothers are wrapping up their Texas swing tonight in Houston. Next, they jet out to California and will make their way up to Seattle by next Friday. They've got eight games and three speaking engagements left on their three-month odyssey visiting the parks and history that have shaped America's past-time. Their final game of the summer is in Colorado on July 30. After the Rockies game, they'll spend a day hiking the Rockies, and then fly home on August 3.