Blood and wood

 

 

The attached picture is one of the decorations at the Shrine during the Christmas season.  It is the baby Jesus lying in a manger and underneath it, is a cross.   I feel it is very appropriate that both these images were placed together under the lectern.  The lectern is where we proclaim the Word of God.   The message the Church is announcing this season from the Word is the message I have been speaking about in my recent posts.  The message is this; Christ incarnated Himself for us, so that He could be sacrificed for us.  Both elements of that message are symbolized here.

 

Christmas is indeed a joyous season because of this message, but it should not be a sappy one.  There is blood, sweat, and sacrifice involved every step of the way.  We have spoken of this already.  The Church is aware of this.  Almost as if to prevent Christmas from becoming too sentimentalized, the Church has the Feast of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, today, the day immediately after Christmas.  Two days later, which for us will be Monday, She has the Feast of the Holy Innocents.   Stephen and the Holy Innocents both spilled blood for Our Lord.   What is the color of Christmas?  Red.  What is the color of blood?  Red.  As we see the decorations around us this week, when we see the red, let us remind ourselves that Christmas must be in our blood. 

However, as Archbishop Sheen once said, sin is in the blood, too, and that is why Christ had to bleed for our salvation, and why we have to fight a battle, as well.   There is a war inside us between sin and Christmas, in our blood, and we have no choice but to wage it.   To "reign with Christ", to live in His Kingdom, we have to die to ourselves, and some of us maybe even have to die physically as a martyr.   (We know there are plenty of people dying for the faith throughout the world today, so we should never think it is a remote possibility.)  To accept Christ as King, we have to accept His teachings, His values, and above all, His Holiness, which forces to us to choose things the world may not think highly of, things like loving the sinner, but hating the sin, simplicity, control of our appetites, and so forth.   None of this is easy for anyone to accept or live out.  Therefore, for most of us, it will be an ongoing battle in our blood until the day we die, and some of us may have to spill some blood to achieve final victory.

 

There is internal struggle, yes.  However, there may be external struggle, as well, like it was for Stephen and the Holy Innocents, whose stories show us that there may be a price to pay for believing in Our Lord.  There are Christians being martyred still today, too, and Our Holy Father prayed for them today.  Many in the word today, including unfortunately some rulers of nations, are like Herod and want to be their own kings and queens, instead of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and King.  They are making life difficult for people to practice their Faith to various degrees.  We need to pray for them daily, especially on a today such as today, devoted to the first Christian martyr, and during the Christmas season.

 

Finally, going back to our original picture, there is something else in common between the two components of the scene.  What was the manger made of?  Wood.  What was the Cross made of?  Wood.  The manger scene, the infant Jesus laying in a manger,  is a foreshadowing of Christ giving His life for us, laying on a Cross.   Yes, the manger scene cannot ever be all tender and sappy.  It involves sacrifice, and foretells sacrifice, sacrifice that involves the shedding of blood.  There is nothing sappy about that.

 

Saint Joseph, Diligent protector of Christ, pray for us.

 

 

Saint Joseph, the Eucharist, and Christmas

In the last several posts, we have been reflecting on Christmas and its deep connection to the Mass, because Christmas is "Christ's Mass".   We have reflected on the Eucharistic elements of Jesus and Mary.  Now we will do the same for the patron of this blog, Saint Joseph.  Again, here, as I did last time, I will post a selection from a previous post I did back in August on the Eucharist.  At that time, one of things I spoke of was how Joseph shares Mary's qualities of faith and sacrifice, two vital dispositions that we need, with God's help, to bring to and develop in our celebrations of the Eucharist.

Where is our friend Saint Joseph in all this?  Well, Joseph had his own moment of faith when an angel appeared to him and told him to take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:20), as we have discussed.   Later on in his life, an angel appeared to him again and told him to take his family and flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13).  This involved both faith and sacrifice.   He was with Mary at the Presentation when she made her offering of Jesus (Luke 2:22) .  Joseph, we can say, shared in the same sacrificial and faith dispositions as the Blessed Mother.    Therefore, he can be a role model and an intercessor to help us have a greater love and devotion for the Eucharist, the Bread of Life.

Saints, the ones who live closest to the Lord, sometimes come up with the most profound of sayings that can only come from a life deep in reflection and prayer, and close union with Him. Here is a great quote from a Saint that speaks of Joseph and his relationship with the Eucharist. 

"At Nazareth Joseph's days were filled with work which necessarily took him away at times from his Infant God. During these hours Mary replaced him, but when evening brought him home again, he would pass the entire night in adoration, never tiring, only too happy for the chance to contemplate the hidden riches of Jesus' divinity. For he pierced the rough garments the Child wore, until his faith touched the Sacred Heart. In profound adoration he united himself to the special grace of each one of the events in the life of Jesus. He adored our Lord in His hidden life and in His Passion and Death; he adored in advance the Eucharistic Christ in His tabernacles: there was nothing that our Lord could hide from Saint Joseph. Among the graces which Jesus gave to His foster-father -- and He flooded him with the graces attached to every one of His mysteries -- is that special to an adorer of the Blessed Sacrament. That is the one we must ask of St. Joseph. Have confidence, strong confidence in him. Take him as the patron and the model of your life of adoration."

- St. Peter Julian Eymard

As with Mary and Jesus, loving Joseph will necessarily lead one to a greater love of the Eucharist, and vice versa.   Through their example, we not only learn to contemplate the Eucharistic Christ at Mass, but also in His Real Presence in the tabernacles throughout the world where He sits and waits for us to visit.  I pray this Christmas season, everyone finds time to do just that.   It is good to spend time with family and friends, but please spend some time visiting Our Lord, as well.  Please go to Mass, and also try to spend some quiet time with him in the Blessed Sacrament.   Remember, He incarnated Himself to offer Himself as a sacrifice, so we could be saved.  That is what this season is all about!  And He remains incarnate in His Real Presence, both at Mass, and outside of Mass in the tabernacle.  Let's show our gratitude for all that by giving Him a little bit of our time this Christmas.

I wish all the readers of this blog, and all of your friends and families, a very Merry Christmas!

Joseph, diligent protector of Christ, pray for us.

Mary, the Eucharist, and Christmas

Yesterday, I spoke of how central the Mass is to a proper understanding of what Christmas is all about because Christmas is "Christ's Mass" . One must go to Mass to experience Christmas in its fullness.

"Mass" is just one of several terms that are used to refer to the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is so full of inexhaustible meaning that there are many terms used to refer to it ( "Lord's Supper", "Holy Sacrifice"," Memorial", just to name a few).  "Mass" is just one of those terms.   A list of all those terms and their meanings can be found in paragraphs 1328-1332 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  

Eucharist means "thanksgiving" and Mass means "sent forth" (missio).  At Mass, we give thanks by participating in the one sacrifice of Christ for our salvation and because we unite ourselves to Him in that Sacrifice, we also rise with Him into heavenly glory.  We are then sent forth (missio)  from this Sacrifice to live the Paschal Mystery by our dying to self and rising to Him in our daily life, and to announce this Mystery to others, and invite them to experience the realness of it in the Eucharist, where it is experienced in a way it is not anywhere else.

 

As I said yesterday, all this wonderful stuff would not be a reality if Christ did not incarnate Himself among us so He could be sacrificed.   We cannot exclude the reality of the sacrifice on the Cross from our celebration of Christmas, (which Catholics do not because they go to Mass on Christmas). We are not just throwing a birthday party for His birthday.  We are celebrating the reality that He incarnated Himself for us, so He could sacrifice Himself for us.     Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said that Christ was the only person ever born to die.  The rest of us were born for life, but Jesus was born to die.  This is what Christmas is all about, Christ coming down to be sacrificed, His Mass!

 

The Blessed Mother, whose Magnificat (Luke  1:46-55) ,we heard at Mass today (and which I have rendered in its fullness at the end of this post) , is another figure we all know is tied intimately with Christmas.  However, just like I said yesterday regarding Christmas and its Eucharistic symbolism and connection,  I also do not think the Eucharistic character of Mary is fully understood and appreciated.  Back in August, I wrote a post that discussed a little bit the connection between Mary and the Eucharist.  I feel it fitting to repost a portion of it here.

 

There is a tremendous connection between Mary and the Eucharist.   Saint John Paul II in 2003 in his Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia (Church from the Eucharist)  wrote:

"Mary is present, with the Church and as the Mother of the Church, at each of our celebrations of the Eucharist. If the Church and the Eucharist are inseparably united, the same ought to be said of Mary and the Eucharist" (n. 57).

The Holy Father pointed out three specific ways there is a connection between the two.

1) The Eucharist in an invitation to obedience in faith, and there is no one better than Mary to help us acquire this disposition.   Mary had to take a leap of faith when the angel told her of her pending giving of birth (Luke 1:30).  She also told the people at the wedding at Cana  "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:5)  (They were doubting that Our Blessed Lord could provide wine, but she told them to have faith.)   It takes a measure of faith to believe in the Real Presence and Mary can help us with that better than anyone.

2) The Eucharist is a sacrifice, a re-presentation of the Passion, and Mary was more intimately tied to the Passion than anyone.   From the beginning of Our Lord's life, when Mary offered him at the Temple (Luke 2:22) , to being at the foot of the Cross (John 19:19), to being a recipient of Our Lord in Communion at the first Eucharistic celebrations of the apostles, Mary lived a life of sacrificial desire and offering, and she can help us more than anyone to unite ourselves with the Sacrifice of the Mass.  On Calvary, Our Lord told John "Behold, your mother!" (John 19:27) .  Since the Mass is a representation of Calvary, you can say He says the same thing to us at every Mass.

3) The Eucharist means "thanksgiving" and the perfect prayer of thanksgiving is Mary's Magnificat; she can help us with this disposition better than anyone.   The Magnificat refers to that hymn of praise Mary proclaimed at the Visitation (Luke 1:46-55).  It is said every evening by the Church. The most relevant line from that beautiful hymn, in my eyes at least, is "He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty."   What better thing could He fill us with than His Own Body and Blood?

Devotion to Mary, then, will naturally lead one to the Eucharist.   Going to Mass, and participating in the sacrificial offering that is the Eucharist, can only lead one to appreciate Mary more and more.  If anyone says that he or she has a love for one, but not the other, I ask that you be open to the Lord to develop your faith more deeply, or perhaps the faith you have is not authentic and you need to start over down a better path.

 

So, if you really want to love Christmas, you must learn to love the Mass.  If you really want to love Mary, you must learn to love the Mass.   Love the Mass, and watch the many other "loves" of your life grow and blossom like they never have before.

 

I will conclude this post with a full rendering of the beautiful Magnificat.  

 

Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.

 

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

for he has looked upon his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

and has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.”

 

 

 

 

 

"Christ's Mass"

Christmas means something for everyone.  It means something for people of all faiths, and no faith.  However, and I apologize if this does not sound ecumenical, but I speak the truth.  If you are not Catholic, or are Catholic and do not practice your faith, you are missing out on the full meaning of Christmas.

Let's take a look at a few things:

 

1) Christmas literally means "Christ's Mass".    If one does not go to Mass at Christmas, he or she misses the center of the entire day.   It would be like visiting a beautiful scene of nature, but on a cloudy day.  There is something there, but there is no light to illuminate the fullness of it.

2) Christ was born in Bethlehem.  Bethlehem literally means "City of Bread".  Christ is the Bread of Life.  He says that whoever does not eat His flesh and drink His blood, has no life in him. (John 6:53).   If one does not consume the Eucharist on Christmas Day, again he or she misses out on the full meaning of the day.

3) Christ was born in a manger.  A manger is where animals eat from.  There is some symbolism to this.  This points to the reality that we are all destined to eat from Our Lord's Body and Blood.  We are called to consume Him.  We are called to the Sacrifice of the Mass.

 

I heard a homily tonight at the Shrine in which the priest politely challenged us to re-think the accuracy of the phrase "Jesus is the reason for the season."   He said that rather, we are the reason for the season.   At first, that sounds a little selfish, but if you think about it, Our Lord became man for us, not for Himself.  He had all His glory.  He desired to share it with us.  We needed Him, He didn't need us, but He loved us anyway, and became man to draw us into His Divine life.  So, really, the season is about us because Our Lord did what He did 2000 years ago for us.

 

So let's go back to the first point above.  Christmas does not mean Christ's birth, it means Christ's Mass.  So, really we are celebrating going to Mass today to honor our Lord's birth, not so much the birth itself.   What happens at Mass?  We go to heaven!  Through the Mass, we enter the glory of the eternal Kingdom, where there is always praise and worship of God.   Through the Mass, the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is represented, and we participate in that Sacrifice.  Our Lord became man so that He could be sacrificed, to pay the price for our sins, and in doing so, raise all human nature to glory. 

Again, Our Lord comes down to become man, and in the Mass, we rise up to His glory! What an exchange!   And really, despite what seems the contrary, it is really the latter we celebrate at Christmas more than the former.  Christmas is Christ's Mass!  Christ's Mass is for us!  Therefore, Christmas is about us!  We, the redeemed by the Blood of Christ, are indeed the reason for the season!

 

In what humility we must recognize this truth.  This is Catholic truth.  Catholic means "universal".  This means this truth is universal for everyone.   Christ becomes bread for us, and we must eat His bread and drink His blood to have life.

 

Come to Mass this Christmas!  

 

Saint Joseph, Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.

 

 

 

Pilgrimage

One of the blessings of my life now is, as I have posted previously, being able to walk to Mass from where I live, which is under a mile away from the Shrine.   I like walking to Mass.  It is like going on a pilgrimage.  A "pilgrimage" is a spiritual journey.  The word "pilgrim" derives from the Latin word "peregrinum" which conveys the idea of wandering over a distance.  However, a pilgrimage is a wandering with a purpose, to find and honor God.

"Pilgrimage" can refer to when one makes a journey to a sacred space, and it can also refer to our life journey in general to the Father's House.   Spiritual writers often refer to our lives as a pilgrimage.  Making smaller, tangible pilgrimages to holy places such as the Shrine can help remind us of that reality, and thus, they can help our lives be a successful in reaching our end goal, the Father's House.

As part of this Year of Mercy, all Catholics are being encouraged by the Holy Father to make a pilgrimage, to again, remind us of our overall life journey to the Father.  Pilgrimages teach us values that we need on the overall life journey. When we make a pilgrimage, we have to make sacrifice.  When we make a pilgrimage, it takes time and effort.  All good things in life take time and effort.   Pilgrimages teach and remind us of those realities.  Therefore, there is value in making a pilgrimage. 

However, in this Jubilee of Mercy, there is more.  By making a pilgrimage to a holy place, such as the Shrine, and doing a few other things which I specified last post, one can not only attain the usual fruits of a pilgrimage (conversion, growth in the Lord), but also, an indulgence (which I spoke of last post).  The attached picture shows a sign advertising that the Shrine is a designated Center of Mercy this year, and it is one place that one can make a pilgrimage to, that helps fulfill the conditions for an indulgence.

I encourage everyone to make a pilgrimage this year for all the above reasons.

 

When we make our pilgrimages, we may have opportunity to practice the corporal works of mercy along the way.  Around the Shrine, there are many poor people who ask for things.  About half the time I go there, I am approached by someone asking for something.   Also at the Shrine, there is a Saint Anthony Fund box for the poor where one can donate money that goes directly to them.  Every trip to the Shrine, because of all this, there are opportunities to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked.  In all our life journeys, there are opportunities to do those, plus the other corporal works of mercy; visit the sick, ransom the captive, and bury the dead.  This Year of Mercy, in addition to making a pilgrimage or two, we should consider how we can better serve the poor in our midst.  Our Holy Father, as I have spoken previously, wishes us to be a Church of the poor, for the poor.  His example last week of opening a Holy Door, not just in his Cathedral church, but also at a local shelter, is an example of his devotion to the poor, which we all should seek to emulate.

 

Christ not only humbled Himself to come as a man, not only Humbled himself to come as an infant, but also humbled Himself to come as poor.  Saint Joseph and Mary were not rich.  If they were, Our Lord would not have been born in a stable.  Our Lord, Saint Joseph, and Mary, were poor, but look where they are now; exalted.  If we cling to them, and make ourselves poor, our destiny can lie with them, which would fulfill all our desires, hopes, and dreams.

Mary and Joseph made many pilgrimages in their lives.  They traveled to Judah, to Nazareth, to Bethlehem, to Egypt, and to Jerusalem.  As we know, transportation was not easy in those days, so while they may not seem long distances to us now, they were then, and so, we can say, the Holy Family were frequent makers of pilgrimages. 

We need to get of our own comfort zones sometimes ourselves, and make a pilgrimage.  Let's resolve to do so during this Year of Mercy.  In doing so, let us make ourselves poor, see the poor, and in doing so, see the face of Christ.

 

Saint Joseph, Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.

 

 

 

 

The Year of Mercy

This past Tuesday was a joyous day in the Church.  I sensed a permeated joy that I had not experienced in the Church overall for some time.  It was the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, which is always a joyful day, but this year, it was also the start of the Jubilee of Mercy, which the Holy Father has set this liturgical year to be.  The Holy Father sensed that the world was in need of mercy, and even in the Church, he sensed perhaps we needed to practice and understand mercy better, and so he decided to make God's Mercy a special focus this year. 

During this year, ideally we will hear a lot about the different aspects of mercy from the pulpit from our priests.  We will hear how God is merciful, how it is demonstrated by Him in the Old Testament, by Christ in the New, by the Blessed Mother (who is the "Mother of Mercy"), by the Saints, in the life of the Church, and how we should receive and live it, especially in the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and by going to Confession.   However, our priests cannot do it all; we need to become better educated and merciful ourselves.  We need to study the Bible and the Tradition of the Church on Mercy (plenty of resources available), commit ourselves to go regularly to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, practice the works of mercy, to forgive ourselves and others, and seek to be reconciled to God and our neighbors.  

Also during the year, indulgences (which mean some or all punishment for sin is remitted) will be granted to those who, between one and 20 days, do all of the following; pass through a designated Holy Door (I am happy to say Saint Joseph the Worker Shrine in Lowell is one such place in the Archdiocese of Boston!), perform one of the seven spiritual and/or seven corporeal works of mercy, go to Confession, receive the Eucharist, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.   All of this must be done with a firm resolve not to sin, even the most venial of sins.  Again, more information on this is available out there which I encourage everyone to avail themselves of.

 

Besides all of what I just mentioned, it is also the liturgical season of Advent, which is always a season of hope. (I have attached a picture of the Advent candles at the Shrine.)  In a certain sense, Advent is more real to us than Christmas, because here in life as live it, there is often more waiting and yearning (Advent focus) than there is receiving and fulfillment (Christmas focus). In Advent, we focus both on Christ's coming at the end of time, as well as the Christmas mystery of Him becoming man,  and plan to receive Him in our hearts as we focus on both mysteries. 

 

So right now, there is a understandably, and rightly, a lot of joy in the Church.

 

Now, as one might expect this blog to do, I have to add my own two cents to this, my own sense of sober realism.  I pray, though, that as I do so, that none of the joy of the Jubilee nor of Advent will be taken away in those who read this.  That is not the intended effect.  But here it goes, here is my thought. 

 

This may be our "last chance".  I  just have a sense that God, through this Jubilee, is giving humanity one final chance to turn to Him and be saved before the necessary purification begins, faith is shaken, and those who are not strong in the faith are lost forever.

 

Some could say the chastisement has already begun seeing all the tragedies in the world recently.  Scripture and the Tradition of the Church are clear that an Antichrist will arise.  Paragraph 675 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that the Church "must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers". 

I feel that after this Jubilee, there will be real tough times for the Church.  It could very well be the final trial that the Catechism speaks of, or it might just be another age of persecution.  I do not know, and anyone who pretends to should not be heeded because Our Lord said that no one knows the hour except the Father (Matthew 24:36) .  

I could be wrong.  I pray I am, and that any chastisement or purification will be withheld until the whole Church and the whole world receives the mercy of God, and is living it.   I just do not feel that will be the case.  I guess, we shall see.

 

In closing, I will once again turn to Saint Joseph.  I have spoken in many previous posts about lines from the Litany to him.  Any litany, though, in the Catholic tradition, begins with lines that seek the intercession and mercy of God.  It is these beginning lines of the Litany with which I will conclude this post.   May this Jubilee year be a year of grace and growth for all of us.

 

Lord, have mercy

Christ, have mercy

Lord, have mercy

Jesus, hear us; Jesus, graciously hear us

God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us

God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us

Holy Mary, pray for us

Saint Joseph, pray for us

 

 

 

 

 

Work of the devil

There was another shooting this week in California, and it appears there may be another one now going on in Wisconsin. There was also the shooting in Colorado, the bombing in Paris, and the spree of shootings in Chicago. 

There is evil in the world.

There is a movie out now that is forcing us to relive the tragedy of the priest sex abuse scandal in the early 2000's. 

As the movie shows, there is evil in the Church.

Satan is at work, but I fear we are not noticing it.

 

There has been debate about other things besides the devil.  For example, there has been debate about gun control.  This blog does not have a strong feeling one way or the other on that issue. I respect those who want more gun control.  I do not feel that will really solve much. ( Perhaps that is a topic for another post.)   However, I do respect and will listen to any legislative push for more gun control, even if I may not support it.  There has been debate about religion, and this blog has and will continue to express thoughts on that.   There has also been debate about immigration, and as stated in a previous post, this blog does not have strong feelings one way or the other on that issue.

However, there has not been a lot of discussion about the devil.   There should be.

There are four common tactics the devil likes to use, and they can be easy to remember because they all begin with the letter "d".   They are deception, division, diversion, and discouragement. 

Deception. Think of how he worked with abortion and homosexual sex.   He deceives people into thinking they are good things.  Instead of "murder", he teases us by calling abortion a "reproductive right".  Instead of "sodomy", he calls homosexual sex "gay", which, in other meanings, means happy.  Now, perhaps, he is the one who is alluring people to militant Islam,  deceiving many with the promise of the 72 virgins for the male martyrs, and a faithful husband forever in heaven for the female martyrs.

Division.  Instead of fostering patience and fortitude to work through issues, Satan instead says, "The Church is corrupt, look at all the scandals; leave the Church.  Your family is boring; leave your wife and children. Your nation with its materialism and corruption is flawed; leave it, or fight against it from within."  He promises an easy way out.   When people leave a noble group or cause struggling to persevere, it is a sign that the devil is successfully fostering division.  Where are these people leaving going?  Many places, but surely, many of them are going to militant Islam.

Diversion. The devil may be successfully diverting our attention, using these tragedies, to really smaller issues, like gun control and immigration, when in fact, we should be focusing on the big picture, and be turning to Almighty God and strengthening our moral and spiritual lives as individuals, families, and as a nation.  The more we are distracted on smaller issues, the more he can work undetected.  The larger issue is a relaxation of our moral standards, a lack of a spiritual life, and a lack of reverence and awareness of the just, yet merciful God.

Discouragement.  He wants us to give up.  He wants us to give up on each other, give up on family life, and give up on the Church.   All these tragedies may be tempting some of us to give up on humanity.  That is exactly what he wants.  He wants us to be anxious.  He wants us to fear raising children in a world such as this, and not even consider starting families.   He loves the fact that our birthrate is so low (reasons discussed in a previous post), and we are being left defenseless against these acts of terror. 

Yes, the devil is at work.  We cannot defeat him by our own power.  We need, rather, to turn to Christ, especially Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament.   The attached picture was taken at the Shrine yesterday.  As I mentioned in a previous post, every First Friday (in addition to every Saturday), they have Eucharistic Adoration.  

Only the light of Christ can cast out the darkness of the devil.

Devotion to Saint Joseph can also help.  Think of some lines from the litany to him:

Light of patriarchs  (his light, joined with that of Christ, can cast out the darkness of the devil)

Diligent protector of Christ  (he can protect us from the devil who wishes to harm us)

Joseph most prudent  (the devil definitely does not want us to act prudently, he rather wants us to act rashly and impulsively; Saint Joseph can help us not give in to his temptations)

Joseph most strong (we need to be strong in faith to fight the devil)

Mirror of patience (when times are tough, we need to be patient, and not just give up on things as the devil tries to tempt us to do)

Pillar of families (family life is a big target of the devil, as is the Church and our nation; Joseph can help us remain rock firm)

Terror of demons  Satan has his army of demons; if we cling to Saint Joseph and Christ, we can scare them away from us

Now is not the time to give up on the Church, to give on family life, to give up on humanity, to give up on our nation.   The devil wants us to.   Let's not ignore him, and let him do so.   Let's, rather, in humility, recognize his presence, but at the same time, recognize the presence of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the One Church that He founded, whose protector is Saint Joseph (another line in the Litany).  Let's fight the devil with the tools of real religion. 

Saint Joseph, pray for us.