“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1

 The glorious Season of Easter draws to a close this blessed Sunday as we joyfully approach the Feast of Pentecost. On this sacred day, we commemorate the wondrous descent of the Holy Spirit upon us and the Apostles, who were gathered in the upper room in the holy city of Jerusalem. It is a momentous occasion that marks the birth of the Church, heralding a new era of faith and divine grace.

May the Feast of Pentecost be a time of spiritual awakening and renewal for each of us, as we fervently pray for the Holy Spirit to fill us with His grace, wisdom, and fortitude. May our lives be transformed by the power of the Spirit, enabling us to fulfill the great commission entrusted to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. With hearts aflame and minds enlightened, let us go forth and be witnesses of the Resurrection, proclaiming the saving message of Christ to all who seek solace, salvation, and eternal life. Amen.

Yours in Christ,

Your Devon and Lumen Mundi Team

Dear Friends,

As we welcome the light of March, and spring’s promise of new beginnings, our 2023 Spring Catalog is finally ready for you and your customers, so it is time to look at all the amazing items our brands have to offer for this season! Our new Spring Catalog is full of existing products you know and love, as well as new and exciting products – the perfect combination for Spring Sacramentals and Easter celebrations. You’ll notice some of these items are available as “last chance” items; due to our purchase of Devon last year, we will have to reduce inventory, so there are items that will not be returning to our inventory!
 
Lumen Mundi and Devon offer everything you need to keep your stores well-stocked, from beautifully crafted Italian medals, tokens and exquisitely crafted rosaries that make the perfect gift for any special occasion, to cost effective items from around the world to share with your customers as we enter the season of resurrection, renewal, and rebirth! And remember, this spring supplement, though 44 pages in length, only scratches the surface on what we have available in our inventory; with tons more on our website; and, as most of you know, custom designs are our specialty; and our customer service and sales team remain available to assist you with any/all of these needs!
 
We are excited to provide you and your customers with a wide array of items designed to make your customers spring celebrations truly memorable.
 
We invite you to explore everything we have to offer online, or with your sales representative! We’re sure you’ll discover items that will bring you and your customers joy both during this springtime and beyond!

 
Yours in Christ,
 
The Devon and Lumen Mundi Teams

Dear Friends,

As we enter the season of Lent, it is important that we all should pause to reflect on what this time of year represents. Lent is a period of fasting, prayer, and reflection that lasts 40 days and commemorates Jesus' temptation in the desert. The historic roots of Lent can be traced back to the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., when Lent was established as part of Catholic tradition.

The symbolic meaning behind Lent is one of transformation—as Jesus was tempted in the desert, so too are we called to transform our hearts and minds during this period. We take time to commemorate Lent by participating in prayer, alms-giving, and abstaining from certain luxuries like sweets or alcohol. Additionally, many will attend special services and events during the season, such as soup suppers or morning vigils.

Lent serves an important purpose for Catholics throughout the world—it is a reminder to focus on our spiritual growth and work to become closer to God through personal sacrifice. We hope that you find ways to look inwardly during this season and use it as an opportunity for reflection and personal growth: and that your hearts will be filled with the love of God as we seek to transform our hearts and minds.

Lumen Mundi and Devon are proud to offer a wide selection of sacramentals and religious items to help your customers celebrate this Holy time. Our selection includes thousands of items, including crucifixes, rosaries, prayer books, jewelry items, and artwork, perfect for displaying year-round, but especially during Lent. We take pride in offering the finest products that reflect the beauty and richness of our faith, making it easier for all to celebrate with friends and family. In addition, our customer service team is always ready to answer any questions about how best to use our products for upcoming celebrations.

Yours in Christ,

Gabrielle, Steve and the entire Devon/Lumen Mundi team

We must never forget those who give so much!

There is a saying amongst those who serve in combat, “There are no atheists in the foxholes.” Faith is essential to all who serve. Faith in their cause, in their nation, in their fellow service members, and faith in their God. Faith that their purpose is noble, and that God will provide for their safety, comfort, protection of those they love, and faith that they will return home safely, especially when they serve far from home.

As Catholics, we need to pray for all, but, specifically for those who serve. We need to ask the Saints to intervene on our behalf, to protect and fortify those who sacrifice for us and for our nation. We need to pray for the comfort of those who serve, and for comfort and protection for their families.

Veterans Day in the United States, on November 11th, has beginnings in the armistice that ended World War I hostilities in 1918. The armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed thereafter that November 11th be observed as "Armistice Day." In 1954, Congress passed legislation that renamed the federal holiday "Veterans Day" in recognition of the service of veterans in all U.S. Wars.

On this day, we honor the sacrifices of all Veterans. We remember their willingness to answer the call of service, and pray that we may honor their commitment with our own commitment to remember them, not just on Veterans Day, but always.

The Lumen Mundi and Devon families thank our veterans – not only for their service, but also for their undying commitment to each of us and our nation! Blessings to them and their families today and always.

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, we were fortunate enough to acquire the remaining inventory and assets of Devon Trading Company in late May of this year. As such, we wanted to provide an update on the status of the integration and let you know how much we appreciate your unending patience as we have been working through this process.

Our team has been working diligently to replenish inventory on both sides of the business, as well organize and prepare for resuming full shipping of the Devon product line. Products are arriving daily, but unfortunately, supply chain issues have continued to cause challenges, not only with inventory, but also, with supplies for our warehouse, including ladders, shelving and other things we need to be able to streamline this inventory and get product out the door to you, our valued customers! The good news is that we are expecting multiple shipments and have begun limited shipping of Devon products. We are confident that in the near future, we should have most of the inventory you want and need on hand and will be ready to resume full shipping.

Your sales representative or our customer service team is your best resource to see if a particular product is discontinued, back in stock and available for shipping, or on the way to our Florida warehouse, and to get status updates on any outstanding orders you may have placed.

We are excited about our new products (and the addition of Devon to our family of products) and want to thank you again for your patience as we continue to familiarize ourselves with, restock and integrate the Devon product lines into our warehouse and our business.

Again, if you have a particular need or request, please feel to reach out to us so we can address these for you as quickly as possible.

Yours in Christ,

The Lumen Mundi and Devon Teams

Dear Friends,

As we embark on our Labor Day weekend, we wanted to drop you a short note to say Happy Labor Day! Thank you for your hard work, your contributions to the communities of which you are a part, and, for giving us the blessings to help you in your businesses and ministries.

Have a blessed, fun, and safe weekend! And remember, even though we will be closed on Monday so our team can enjoy some time off with family and friends, we are always here to help you; we will be back in the office at 9am on Tuesday.

Yours In Christ,

The Devon and Lumen Mundi Teams

Dear Friends,

We are so excited to share our 2022 Fall Catalog with you. We have been very busy here at Lumen Mundi with our acquisition of Devon Trading Company and the expansion of our product lines.

We are excited to introduce many new products in this digital catalog, with even more new items coming soon. You can expect us to deliver the same great quality with even more products. Today we offer more than 10,000 items across the Holyland Treasures family of companies: Tuscan Hills, Lumen Mundi and now Devon Trading.

While we do appreciate your patience as we continue to integrate these new products into our line, our fall 2022 catalog is our first opportunity to feature some of the Devon products that we have access to, and have recently added; but please know, all the Devon products you know and love are currently in production and we hope to have them in our warehouse and ready for shipment shortly.

We encourage you to reach out to your sales representative or our customer service team if you have any questions, and, as always, our websites are available to you 24 hours a day.

Click here: https://7b1e0775.flowpaper.com/2022LMFallcatalog/

Yours in Christ,

Gabrielle and the Lumen Mundi/Devon teams

From an article, originally published in Church Supply magazine 8/29/2006

“In America, there a chance for everyone” was David Orzech’s motto when he founded Devon Trading Corporation in 1951.  A Holocaust survivor for Poland, David came to America in 1948 and began working for is uncle and aunt who owned a Catholic goods business.  After a few years, David decided to go out on his own with twin partner, Sol Gorki and Joseph Speisman.

Their business was originally located in Manhattan and specialized in importing rosary beads, and rosaries and selling them to stores across the country.  David and Joseph worked as salesmen, covering the Eastern Seaboard/Midwest and Western states, respectively, while Sol took care of the warehouse and shipping.  David’s wife Sophie sometimes worked for the company was well, assembling rosaries at home while she cared for their daughters Fran and Susan.

In character with David’s eagerness to change and develop, Devon was the first company to being importing Italian pewter in the 1960’s and eventually expanded to include items such as nativities and statues. David was also a pioneer in the development of rosary styles and variety. Being the first to import rosaries from Czechoslovakia, a glass capital of the world, David greatly expanded the selection of rosary styles available to the public.  This remains a hallmark of the company.

In the early 1970’s Devon encountered a series of changes when Joseph Speisman suddenly passed away.  It was around this time that Devon hired it’s first salesmen.  Dr. Stephen Felegy joined the company and began covering the Southeast and Western states.  He was an extraordinary salesman who was on the road for about ten months each year.  David also cut back on his travels because he needed to spend more time in the office and Dick McAllister was hired to cover the mid-west. David busied himself with traveling to Europe to look for more suppliers often spending over a month abroad each year.  In 1979 Devon published its first catalogue.

During the 1980’s, Fran, Susan, and Sol’s son Martin began to work in the business, benefitting from the experience they had gathered working at Devon during the summers as teenagers.  They were soon joined by Susan’s husband, Andy Leichter.  In 1985, Sol Gorki retired and his son left to pursue other interests. 

The 1990’s brought many changes and a large expansion of the Communion line.  Recognizing a void in the market, Devon contracted an artist and undertook the task of developing a brand new Communion book with original artwork and text.  In 1996, Devon published a unique Communion book, which was the first new book to come out on the market in many years.

The booming business had expanded and found larger quarters in New Jersey.  Devon bought its own building in North Caldwell, New Jersey in 1995. The beautiful building’s exterior has even been shown on the popular television show, The Sopranos. Devon developed an innovative line of statues depicting Jesus playing various sports with children.  These statues were featured on the Today Show with Jay Leno, several afternoon TV Talk shows and appeared as a recurrent theme on the Conan O’Brien show.  Devon was also honored to be chosen to provide religious souvenirs for all of the recent Papal visits to New York.  When John Paul II las visited the New York area, Devon was selected to provide over 150,000 special commemorative rosaries.  The promoters of the event noted that all the various official souvenirs offered for sale at that time, the rosaries were the only items that were successful.

David continued to work hard at Devon for years until he passed away in in early 2000, leaving the business to Fran and Susan.  The women along with Andy continue to run the business in keeping with David’s hard-working qualities.  As they look ahead to the future, they will strive to continue David’s guiding principles of always providing their customers with excellent products and outstanding service at the best prices.

On August 15th, we, as Catholics around the world, celebrate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. This feast day commemorates the day when Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken up ('assumed') into heaven after her earthly life came to an end. It affirms the belief that Mary was sinless and that she was taken into heaven both 'body and soul'. The Assumption teaches us that we too, through perseverance and faithfulness, can be united with God after our earthly life comes to an end.

The Assumption is a significant doctrine in the Catholic Church, and it is a Holy Day of Obligation and celebrated as a feast day and Public Holiday in many parts of Europe and South America (and further afield!). It is a time of joy and celebration reflected in the many colorful and exuberant pageants and processions and private family gatherings which take place on that day.

In some countries, such as Italy and Spain, there are huge parades and feasts in honor of the Virgin Mary. Statues of the Blessed Virgin, crowned and garlanded, are carried through the streets while onlookers worship and venerate her through the act of throwing scented rose petals. These processions draw in many tourists and are attended by those of all faiths due to the carnival atmosphere and festivities.

Many traditions are associated with this holiday. One is for children to wear blue, which is the color of Mary's mantle, white to symbolize purity or gold to reflect her crown. Some people choose to attend mass and say special prayers to Mary. Reflecting earlier Pagan festivals, crops and harvests are blessed by local clergy and baskets of fruit can be exchanged between neighbors and relatives. Some people also like to visit Marian shrines or take part in processions on this day. The merriment can often extend late into the evening with people dancing around bonfires and enjoying nocturnal fireworks.

If you are not fortunate enough to be able to attend a celebration, why not make your own at home? How about setting up a small Marian altar, with a statue of Our Lady, a Blessed candle and some lilies (associated with chastity) in a vase. Perhaps say a Decade of the Rosary or other favorite prayer with meditative hymnal music playing in the background. Give thanks for the sustenance and nourishment you (and your family) receive on a daily basis.

No matter how you choose to celebrate, this is a day to honor Mary and her importance in our lives. Many Catholics believe that the Assumption guarantees Mary's role as the queen of heaven and intercessor for humanity. This doctrine is a source of great joy for us as Catholics, who believe that Mary is now in the presence of God and that she prays for all the living and the dead.

We give thanks to God for His gift of Mary and we reflect on her example of duty and humility. We also remember that, like Mary, we too are called to a life of holiness.

“ Independence Day will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.” - John Adams

John Adams believed the Fourth of July should be forever remembered with pomp, parades, and “Bells, Bonfires, and illuminations”. The Fourth of July should be viewed as a significant day for every American; a day that celebrates our hard-earned and long-cherished freedom from Great Britain. Through parades, feasts, and fireworks, Americans across the country will commemorate its heroes and honor their sacrifices to bring forth and sustain our nation, under God and endowed with unique blessings for our country and our people.

As each of us takes time with family and friends, we wish each of you the joy and prosperity that was earned this day, over 246 years ago, and may you celebrate and remember the deliverance that was secured and announced to the world on this fateful day.

From the Lumen Mundi and Devon Family, Happy Fourth of July to all! May this day be a symbol of peace, prosperity, and happiness in your lives. God bless America and the people who live here!

Yours in Christ,

Gabrielle

*The Lumen Mundi and Devon offices will be closed on Monday, July 4th, in observance of Independence Day.

As those of us blessed with children know, fatherhood does not come with a manual; but we are blessed with loving examples of fatherhood from Saint Joseph and, more importantly, the father of us all. Our loving God, who gives us life and teaches us love, who will always teach justly and grant us boundless mercy.

As we honor fathers next month, we also pray for them. A father’s love gives us security and safety. Dads are works in progress, and we hope and pray, saints in the making! They have taught us persistence and the power of love.

A father’s example is critical to all children and, whether our fathers are ours from by birth or adoption, they are men who love us and support us throughout our life.

So, as we head into this important day, take the time to order today so you can help your customers celebrate those special men who hold the title of father. Father’s come in many forms and are called in a special way: whether they are our priests and bishops who act as spiritual fathers, those fathers through birth or adoption, or simply those that fill the important role as uncles, brothers, or any other important man in a child’s life, we should celebrate all fathers on this special day in June!

Yours In Christ,

Gabrielle and the Lumen Mundi and Devon Team