All profits from the sale of Reiser’s Ramblings go to Haitian relief efforts sponsored by Reiser Relief Inc.

Father Bernad Reiser is a "retired" Catholic priest, Reiser brings a seminary degree with a major in theology and 50+ years of ordained experience to his writing.

He has volunteered his time to parishes in and around the Twin Cities of Minnesota.  Father Bernard Reiser was born in 1924 to Aloys and Ottilia Reiser, farmers living in, Medina, Minnesota.

Father Reiser was ordained to the priesthood on June 4, 1949 and was assigned to St. Mary of the Lake parish in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. 

In 1964, Archbishop Leo Binz asked Father Reiser to start a parish in the quickly-growing Minneapolis suburb of Coon Rapids located in Anoka County. Seventy acres of farmland was acquired for the new church, which was named Epiphany after one of the great feast days of the Lord.

Under Father Reiser’s leadership, Epiphany grew to become one of the largest Catholic communities in the state.

In addition to a spacious sanctuary, the Epiphany campus includes an elementary school, a Perpetual Adoration chapel, a senior housing complex, an assisted living facility, a cemetery, and several outdoor shrines.

In 1996, Father Reiser traveled to Haiti. “I had seen slums in China, Egypt and Mexico City,” “he wrote. “None of them compare to the tragic realities of the slum outside Port au Prince.”

In time, Father Reiser established Reiser Relief Inc., a non-profit organization that funds relief and development projects in Haiti.

Father Reiser is now retired from Epiphany, but he remains actively involved in helping the world’s poorest citizens as chairman of Reiser Relief..

 "I don’t intend to retire," he said. "As long as I can work I will. As long as you can work why sit around gathering dust."

More About The Book

These ramblings memoirs are composed of  moving, funny, and profound vignettes that  blur the line between sermon and a story.  Like a homily, father will share a little scripture with a story that helps readers understand
that verse and, even more, learn to live it. 

Fr. Reiser was on  Relevant Radio  "City Winds" hosted by Paul Sadek that aired on January 21  2011 Listen to Father Reiser

Table of Contents

Early Life and Key Influences

The Wonder of God’s Creation

Our Place in God’s World

Counting Our Blessings

God’s Grace at Work Within Us

All Eyes on Heaven

The Blessings of My Priesthood

All profits from the sale of Reiser’s Ramblings go to Haitian relief efforts sponsored by Reiser Relief Inc.






































Reiser Relief Inc. is a volunteer run non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation founded by Father Bernard Reiser, who has been involved with Haiti outreach programs for over 13 years; Bringing Hope To Haiti. Reiser Relief is based in Coon Rapids, MN and its mission is to help the impoverished people of the Caribbean country of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  The social and environmental problems are the greatest challenges the people of Haiti are facing today.

In the midst of these problems, we are compelled to provide the essential services to aid in day-to-day survival.  The services we provide include: fresh water delivery, food centers, and housing, primary grade education and eldercare facilities. Many projects are in or near Cite Soleil; the suburb of the Haitian capital of Port au Prince.

Sample page Recollections: The Pastor and Important Early Influences My first memories go back to the farm where my parents, Aloys and Ottilia Reiser, raised me, my brother, and my three sisters during the Great Depression. My father was a truck farmer, meaning the vegetables and meat he raised was trucked into the Minneapolis Farmers Market for sale every day. Farming was a difficult way to support a family during the Great Depression yet my father never faltered in his faith that God would provide for us. My father never said, “We’ll try” when telling us something needed to get done. Instead, he told us, “We will!” This lesson in perseverance was one all of his children took to heart. The little parish we attended in Medina, Minnesota, was called Holy Name, a small country parish of seventy families with a parish school of about eighty students, divided into two classrooms. We attended Holy Name through eighth grade and learned our lessons so well that we outpaced our public school classmates once we moved onto Wayzata High School. It was at home on our family farm and at events in our small parish where I developed my love for God and the Catholic faith. My parents worked hard, fed us well, loved us  and loved each other. Never once did I hear my parents quarrel. I was ordained in 1949 and have devoted the remainder of my life to the faith, serving God’s people, ministering,  presiding over baptisms, marriages and funerals, lifting up the needy, helping the poor. Since my ordination, I have traveled around the globe, witnessed dramatic world events, built up God’s church to the best of my ability, and paused once a week to jot down my thoughts on it all. In this first section, I share some of my columns to give you an idea about the early influences that shaped me.

More About the Book Quote  "It typically was late each Sunday before I'd have an opportunity to set down on paper my thoughts for the columns that would become the weekly Reiser's Ramblings.  Often, it was midnight and the only sound in the rectory was the hum coming from the refrigerator.  I would sit at the kitchen table - always with a bowl of ice cream because that is my favorite treat - and look at the blank page.  Before I'd start I'd offer this quick prayer:  "God, what will we write about this week?"   An inspiring and moving book compiled from some of the best and most memorable ramblings of Fr. Reiser Father offers in everyday language, explaining how to live a life of holiness and to recognize there is good and evil in this world.  Reiser literally pulls you into a scene from his boyhood youth on the farm and relate it to events in the world today and weave in a Christian meaning or concept, and injects an idea that makes you ponder.   And with words of love; Father Reiser shares his trust and God and to let the reader know there is hope for humankind and discovering that hope can be an exciting adventure. Following Christ is full of ups and downs and this book helps fellow believers be all that God wants them to be on their journey with God. Reiser’s Ramblings would make a nice addition to a Catholic book club or Catholic literature consortium.  Fr. Reiser was the Founding Catholic pastor of Church of the Epiphany and the columns he wrote in the bulletin can be considered a Catholic prayer book good for daily devotional reading for anyone in the family and would make a nice gift for a Catholic seminarian.  Reiser Relief Inc is Catholic publisher founded by Fr. Reiser to help the poor and suffering in Haiti.

Put God first when filling up your day True success in life is gained by keeping our priorities straight and giving those priorities a first position in our daily lives. They need be focal points and give direction to our daily life. The following was left in my mail box by someone, and I really don’t know who it was. I made a few adaptations of what was given me and here is the result. I was reading about an expert on the subject of time management. One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and professionals. To drive home a point, he used an illustration I’m sure those students and professionals will never forget. After I share it with you, I hope you’ll never forget it either. As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers, he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a half dozen rocks that just fit through the jar’s mouth and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked the class “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he smiled and asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it.” “No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point.” The truth this illustration teaches us is: if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.” What are the “big rocks” in your life? The goals of your life that YOU want to accomplish? To gain the eternal joys of Heaven, to daily walk with God, to be faithful in church attendance and reception of the sacraments, to build a strong family life by time and dedication, to be unselfish, to give and be kind to your loved ones, to be responsible in your job? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll never get them in at all. So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself these questions: What are the “big rocks” in my life? What are my priorities? Are they the correct priorities? Do those priorities fulfill the great purpose of why God made me — to know Him, love Him, serve Him and to be with Him forever in the next life? Those are the Big Rocks; put them first into your jar of life!

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