Biography      Fr. Donald Blaeser, O.F.M., was born and raised in Chicago. After studying at John Carroll Univ., Cleveland, OH, he entered the Franciscan Order, Sacred Heart Province, in June, 1962. He studied at the Franciscans’ seminaries, professed his final vows in 1966, then earned his M.Div. in theology at Catholic Theological Union, and was ordained a priest on June 13, 1970. During his years in the seminary he pursued studies in music and completed a B. Mus. degree in Music Education at Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY, in 1971.    Following his ordination, Fr. Don served as chaplain at Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton, IL, for ten years. From 1980 to 1983 he was a confessor at St. Peter's Church in Chicago’s Loop, and served briefly as an associate pastor, and then as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in St. Paul, MN, from 1984-1992. Fr. Don was co-director of novices at the Franciscan inter-provincial novitiate in Cedar Lake, IN from 1993 to 2000.    Since music has always been a vital part of his life, Fr. Don has played trumpet with the Naperville Municipal Band and the Highland, IN, Community Band, and has sung with the Apollo Music Club of Chicago, and with the Northwest Indiana Symphony Chorus. He has also put his music talents to use playing the organ, piano and trumpet for liturgy during his years on the novitiate staff and elsewhere.    He has been serving on the “Ministry of the Word” Team since 2000, giving numerous parish missions, retreats to sisters and priests, and novenas, and taking on a variety of preaching assignments. Fr. Don also holds a Certificate in Preaching from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MO, and his enjoyment of singing, humor, stories, and human nature, lead Fr. Don to weave these through his homilies.

Franciscan Ministry of the Word   PARISH MISSIONS   WE ARE FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF THE SACRED HEART PROVINCE ENGAGED IN PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD. OUR APPROACH IS SHAPED BY THE DIRECTIONS OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL AND THE SPIRIT AND LOVE OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI AND HIS DEDICATION TO THE GOSPEL LIFE. Awakening Our Faith in Challenging Times In a time when violence and evil have visited our lives how does the Gospel message of Jesus Christ call us to respond? How is God present to us? How do we live His message of love and reconciliation and at the same time seek justice? How do we find healing for our pain? DAY ONE: Living in the embrace of God's Love. In the face of violence and injustice it is indeed tempting to abandon our belief in a God of Love. We proclaim that God does indeed hold us in a loving embrace, giving us both the strength to carry on and the ability to reach out to all those in need. DAY TWO: Forgiveness as the path to Peace. In a world that more and more seeks to resolve conflict through retaliation, punishment and violence, we proclaim a God who is merciful and always seeks to forgive. In accepting his gift of mercy for ourselves, we are then called to be peacemakers by forgiving those who have wronged us. At the same time we must wrestle with the truth that real peace and reconciliation cannot come about without justice. DAY THREE: Healing the human heart. In spite of the advances made in medicine and technology, suffering and sorrow still afflict the human heart, due to sickness, injustice, or the violence that is so rampant in today’s world. We proclaim that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ people of today will find healing and restoration. DAY FOUR: Called to be witnesses of the Good News at the dawn of a new millennium. Renewed and restored to life through Love, Forgiveness and Healing, we are called to share this life with all by spreading the Good News to men and women of today. WHAT The Franciscan Ministry of the Word offers a four-day Parish Mission. We focus our attention on the mystery of Jesus. Each morning we offer a Mass with a homily; in the evening a service of preaching and prayer to further develop the theme of the day (God's love, reconciliation, healing, evangelization). We also have presentations for the Religious Education and Parochial School children, the teenagers, and we visit your shut-ins. WHY The Mission is an opportunity for the parish community to heal hurts and divisions to experience what it means to be a parish to develop a spiritual vision to prepare for deeper participation and commitments to gather in the inactive to offer forgiveness to anoint the sick to encourage the lonely to revitalize itself WHEN A team of two friars (one friar for smaller parishes) presenting the Mission would arrive on Saturday to preach at all the weekend Masses. The Mission lasts from Monday through Thursday. At least a month before the Mission, the friars will meet with the parish staff to help in the publicity and preparation. WHO We hope to involve as many as possible in the Mission: Music Ministry, Ushers, Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers, Altar Servers, Publicity, Hospitality, Witnesses, and Drivers. In this way the Mission becomes more a parish effort. THE FEE We charge the parish no fee, but on the last day ask for a donation from those attending the Mission. RETREATS      Since the Summer of 2000, Fr. Don has been a full-time preacher.  In addition to giving Parish Missions, which are usually done as part of the Ministry of the Word Team together with Fr. Dennis Koopman, O.F.M., Fr. Don offers a variety of retreats.      Fr. Don offers preached retreats for both lay people and religious, whether at retreat houses or at convents or motherhouses.  He also offers retreats for religious men and for diocesan priests.  As a Franciscan he has specialized in giving retreats that are particularly based on Franciscan spirituality.      He is happy to offer retreats on a variety of subjects that are broad-based, and are appropriate for religious, priests and laity.      The titles of some of the retreats he offers are: Franciscan Themes “Communion of Life in Fraternity” “A Franciscan Spirituality Retreat” “Fraternity:  Agony and Ecstasy” “A Journey into the Paschal Mystery with Francis and Clare” “Relationships of Love” “A Secular Franciscan Retreat” General Themes “Discipleship:  Living the Good News” “Living the Gospel Today” “Marriage Spirituality - A Retreat for Married Couples” “The Paschal Mystery - A Triduum Retreat” “Our Priestly Calling in Challenging Times -  A Retreat for Diocesan Priests” “Wrestling with Restlessness”   Fr. Donald can be reached at: ST. GRATIAN FRIARY 5536 So. Edgewood Ave. Countryside, IL 60525-3426 (708) 482-4546 FAX: (708) 482-8676 Blaeser, Fr. Don: trailblaeser at aol.com