“Restore the Roots: Cultivating Your Domestic Church” is a liturgical living initiative from the Diocese of La Crosse aimed at reviving traditional Catholic customs, prayers, and saints’ feast days within the home. It provides resources to help families build “deep roots” in faith through ancient traditions.

Key Aspects of Restore the Roots:
  • Goal: To help the faithful live out the liturgical year at home, fostering a “domestic church” (the home as a small church).
  • Content: Monthly materials often include litanies (e.g., St. Joseph), prayers, and guides for specific feast days.
  • Focus: It encourages bringing back traditional Catholic customs that have been held for centuries, fostering a deeper connection to local devotions and the history of the Church.
  • Context: It is an initiative supported by the Diocese of La Crosse.

**It is not a physical restoration of the building, but a spiritual and cultural restoration of family-focused Catholic life.*CLICK THIS LINK to view entire newsletter–

Diocesan Restore the Roots Newsletter pdf

November is dedicated to prayer for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. 
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NOVEMBER IS DEDICATED TO THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY

The Church dedicates November to remembering all her faithful children who have departed from this life, but have not yet attained the joys of heaven. 

There are several feast days in November and opportunities to pray for ourselves and for those who have gone before us. 

  • All Saints’ Day (November 1): A solemnity honoring all known and unknown saints who have attained heaven, grounded in the Beatitudes. St Gertrude’s Prayer is a powerful prayer to say every day during November to release souls from purgatory.
  • All Souls’ Day (November 2): A day dedicated to remembering, praying for, and offering Masses for all the faithful departed. November 2 is designated as a holy day set aside for honoring the dead. We are all called to perform works of mercy. Praying for the dead is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy. Saint Pope John Paul II stressed the need to pray for the souls in Purgatory at several points throughout his papacy.
  • Plenary Indulgences for the Dead: Indulgences do not forgive sins. They only deal with the remission of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven by the sacrament of Penance. An indulgence is partial or plenary according to whether it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due for sins. The Holy Souls cannot reach heaven by their own efforts, but only through our intercessory prayers and sacrifices. Here are some ways to obtain indulgences for the souls in purgatory. Read more to learn how to pray to obtain a plenary indulgence. Click here: All Souls day prayers
  • And finally–we look forward to the Solemnity of Christ the King (Last Sunday of Ordinary Time): Celebrates Jesus Christ as the King of the Universe, marking the final authority of Christ over human history before the season of Advent begins. 
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Pray the Holy Rosary 

PRAYER is an incredible piece of the jigsaw puzzle of life.  And teaching your children to turn to the Lord will give them a foundation of faith for the rest of their lives. 

The Rosary is an extraordinary way to pray. It is a meditative prayer that honors Mary and asks for her intercession. There is just something about it that settles our hearts and minds. It puts everything in perspective and allows us to see things as they really are. It reaches deep down into our souls and puts us at ease, creating a peace that is rare and beautiful.

You can pray the Rosary for a special intention. You can pray for each other or whatever intention is close to your heart. You can pray the Rosary to deepen your love and understanding of the Gospels. And it only takes about 20 minutes of your time!

Pope St. John Paul II prayed all four sets of the mysteries DAILY. He famously revitalized the devotion by creating a new set called the Luminous Mysteries (Mysteries of Light) in 2002, bringing the total from 15 to 20 decades. There are four sets of mysteries—Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious, and Luminous.  Pope St John Paul  encouraged Catholics to meditate on the life of Christ through all twenty decades. 
 

The Rosary works! But don’t take our word for it. Try it yourself! Help your children learn to pray by following your example and praying with them. Teach them how to pray so they learn that they have our Blessed Mother–their Spiritual Mother–to intercede for them.

Just click the image to the right–Pray the Rosary. 

You will find here all the Holy Mysteries of the Rosary. You can simply pray the prayers or you can follow the devotional reflective readings for a deeper, more spiritual prayer. 

May God bless you and your families, and may God look on your intentions with favor. Amen.