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New Miles Jesu Members and Their Marian Gift Seventy-nine years old. Both of them. They have four children, twelve grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. For the past seventeen years they have owned and operated the Marian Center of Milwaukee, Inc., what at first glance appears to be an ordinary Catholic book and gift shop. They didn’t know much about Miles Jesu, but they knew enough from the time a couple of Miles Jesu priests visited their Center and another time when they interviewed one of our priests on their Catholic Radio program. I’m referring to Phil and Mary Lou Dreis, an amazingly Catholic and apostolic couple who called our Miles Jesu house in Chicago last April to ask if we were interested in accepting their Marian Center of Milwaukee, Inc., as a gift. They said they wanted to retire and provide for the future of the Marian Center by leaving it in the hands of someone who would be sure to maintain the Catholic orthodoxy of all the books and other sale items at the Center. They invited us up to Milwaukee for an interview, so Mary Pat Cross, MJ, and i went; and we continue to praise God for what we discovered. What is now the largest and most visited shop of its kind in Wisconsin certainly did not start out that way. The Marian Center is the crowning glory of Phil and Mary Lou Dreis’ own faith journey together. Phil was for many years the director of the Milwaukee County Children’s Home. During those years Phil and Mary Lou began an antique business on the side, which later became a full-time business. Sincerely seeking the Lord as they always did, they told us they unwittingly got caught up in some of the “un-Vatican II” reforms of the post-Conciliar decades. For example, they used to participate in communal confessions as a replacement for sacramental confession. Their priestly instructor of that time said sacramental confession was only needed in case of mortal sin. Then, in 1985, Phil and Mary Lou made their first trip to Medjugorje. “We felt we were always close to Our Lord,” says Mary Lou, “but going to Medjugorje really changed our lives. Following the message of Our Lady, we began to attend daily Mass, say the Rosary and fast.” That’s not all. Mary Lou continues: “We started the Marian Center on August 15th, 1988, Feast of the Assumption, because during another trip to Medjugorje Phil felt Our Lady told us to start it. We began with one table in our antique shop. Within a year we took all the antiques out, and it became a Catholic bookshop.” The original name of the Dreis’ unique evangelization endeavor was the Medjugorje Center, but the name was later changed to the Marian Center. Slowly but surely following years brought increases in the rented space until four adjacent shops in a north side Milwaukee strip-mall, some 3,000 square feet, were being used by the Marian Center. “The mission of the store,” Mary Lou and Phil explain, “is evangelization faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church, pro-life and helping the poor. No profits or salaries have ever been kept by us. All is given away.” This is not your average Catholic book and gift shop. With Phil and Mary Lou managing the store full-time, two salaried employees, Darlene Fisher and her daughter D’Ann Fisher, plus some 30 or more dedicated volunteers who donate anywhere from four to eight work hours a week, there reigns a spirit of cheerful and dedicated service. Every day the Center opens at 9:00 a.m. with the staff praying together, and they gather again at 3:00 p.m. to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet. Aside from the sale of a well-rounded selection of books and gifts, the Marian Center is always buzzing with one kind of activity or another. For example:
The Marian Center was officially turned over to Miles Jesu this past July, and Mary Lou and Phil have been invaluable in continuing to volunteer their time several days a week at the Center. I say “invaluable” because of their deep faith and all the knowledge—not to mention the vision—they have which makes all the difference in our task of assuming the responsibilities of the Center. In their “retirement” Phil and Mary Lou also continue to lead a weekly prayer group they started 25 years ago. The mission and activities of the Marian Center continue as before but with a Miles Jesu twist added on. All profits of the Marian Center now go to support the Miles Jesu Missions, especially in Eastern Europe, India and Nigeria. The new manager of the Center is Mrs. Karen Lewinski, a member of Miles Jesu from the Milwaukee area. And it is just recently that Phil and Mary Lou themselves applied for membership in our growing Miles Jesu faith family “to become closer to Jesus”. I would like to also make special mention of the gentleman who for years has been the landlord of the Center’s facility providing an incredibly low rental fee. His name is Ewald Sawall, and he is a Pentecostal Christian who is in love with the mission of the Marian Center. He told us that this Center is important for the salvation of souls. Ewald, by the way, is awaiting a much-needed kidney transplant. You would never know it by looking at him because of the peace, energy and goodness of Our Lord that he radiates in his daily life activities. Please pray for Ewald. Also, please pray for Phil and Mary Lou. The members of Miles Jesu remain indebted to them in prayer. Perhaps you or someone you know would like to visit the Marian Center? It’s located at 3712 N. 92nd St., Milwaukee, WI 53222; Tel. (414)464.7288, Fax (414)464.2206 or visit them online at www.mariancenter.com. (The Marian Center handles mail orders, too.) Remember, all profits go to the support of the Miles Jesu Missions. |