Reiser's Ramblings
by Fr. Bernard Reiser
Reiser Relief

book review by C.D.

Fr. Bernard Reiser is clearly a man who loves God, family, the church community, and a good bowl of ice cream. For nearly forty years, Reiser served as the beloved founding pastor at Epiphany parish in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, where he penned his thoughts and life stories for a column in the weekly bulletin. His words were so well received, that after his retirement he purposefully assembled the best of his writing into a collective volume.

The resulting Reiser’s Ramblings is a quiet and easy read. Each included column is like a shared meditation as Reiser touches on topics as varied as nature's beauty, baseball, gratitude, teamwork, marriage, and eternity. The author's musings and personal reminiscences are often thought-provoking and infused with simple messages meant to inspire each reader’s own spiritual ponderings. From life on the family farm, to a life in the priesthood, Reiser draws on a wealth of experience for his writing. Valuable life lessons were extracted from both common everyday situations, as well as those related to his ecclesiastical duties.

Inspiration also came from Reiser's journey around the globe. In particular he reflects on his visit to Haiti, a country whose poverty he classifies as "Fourth World." The author was so moved by Haiti's plight that in a selfless gesture he founded Reiser Relief, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the people of the impoverished Caribbean country. Indicative of Reiser's generous heart and spirit, all profits from the sale of his Ramblings will go to the Haitian relief effort. While Raiser's reflections understandably come from the perspective of a man enmeshed in the Catholic faith and devoted to God, his Ramblings are thematically universal enough to be applicable to any reader contemplating the spiritual connections in our daily life.

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