Rice Knights of Columbus Council 9138 is pleased to offer two $500.00 scholarships to high school seniors that are active members of Immaculate Conception Church or children of a member of the Rice Knights of Columbus Council 9138. The scholarships are for candidates who are attending a 4-year college or a 2-year technical/college during the 2025-2026 academic year. Applications are available in the gathering space at the Immaculate Conception Church or you can email Dan Durant at huskydog@jetup.net. Applications must be completed and returned by April 25, 2025.

The 2nd Grade Religion Class at Holy Trinity is hosting a food and clothing drive for Catholic Charities Emergency Services. 

They are in need of:

-Non-perishable foods

-Gently-used or new clothing (all sizes and either gender)

-New personal care/hygiene items

-Gently-used or new towels, bedding, and blankets

-Gently-used or new kitchen items

Items can be dropped off and placed in the boxes in the entryway of Holy Trinity each day of the week between 8:00am-5:00pm, March 19th - April 2nd.

Mark your Calendars… Future ACC Events  

March 21: Royalton - Stations of the Cross at 7:00pm

March 23: Bowlus - St. Gregory the Great Knights of Columbus Breakfast and Raffle at 9:00am

March 23: St. Cloud - Confirmation at 2:00pm at St. Mary's Cathedral

March 27: Royalton - Reconciliation at 4:30pm and 5:30pm

March 27: Royalton - Evening Prayer at 5:00pm

March 27: North Prairie - Reconciliation at 8:00pm

March 28: Bowlus - Stations of the Cross at 7:00pm

March 31: Bowlus - Reconciliation at 6:00pm

April 1: North Prairie - Reconciliation at 6:00pm

April 3: Rice - 40 Hour Devotion Opening Mass at 6:00pm

April 3: Rice - Reconciliation at 7:00pm

April 4: Rice - Stations of the Cross at 7:00pm

April 5: Rice - 40 Hour Devotion Closing Mass at 10:00am

April 8: Royalton - Penance Service at 6:30pm

April 11: Cross Rock ACC - Stations of the Cross at 6:00pm

Cross Rock ACC Board Members

St. Stanislaus, Bowlus:  Gene Bechtold and Dave Waletski 

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Opole:  Katie Knettel & Pat Maciej 

Holy Cross, North Prairie:  Peter Borash & Rich Zabinski 

Immaculate Conception, Rice:  Chris Van Heel & Natalie Schmitt 

Holy Trinity, Royalton:  Gary Opatz & Steve Bishop

St. Gregory the Great Knights of Columbus Council will have their next meeting in Elmdale on April 8 at 7:30pm (note the date change).

March is FoodShare month. For every dollar or food donated in the month of March the Rice Food Shelf will receive allocation checks based on their total donations reported. Please consider a food or cash donation in the month of March. Baskets will be set up in the gathering space in the back of the church for your donations. The Rice Area Food shelf helps feed 40-50 families a month and distributes approximately 44,795 pounds of food. The Rice Food Shelf cannot accept expired food or food with the Date Hand Written on the container. Thank you in advance for your support of the Rice Food Shelf.

Immaculate Conception in Rice is once again holding our annual Calendar Cash Raffle.  We are a week away from the Raffle Drawing!! Please have all tickets turned in by March 30th by 9:00am. If you are in need of more tickets please reach out to the office.

As we begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday, we will be implementing some minor changes into the Sunday Masses. One of those changes is singing the Communion Antiphon. What is a Communion Antiphon? A Communion Antiphon is a specific liturgical chant or text that is sung or recited during the Communion rite of the Mass. If you have attended daily Mass, it is the text that I say before distributing communion. It is a short verse or phrase, often derived from the Psalms or the Gospels, that is sung or recited while the faithful receive the Holy Eucharist. Since the early 20th Century there has been a growing interest in bringing greater beauty to the music that is sung at Mass. Vatican II attempted to continue the restoration of chant by giving churches several options that can be sung. There are now myriad sources of simple chants that are relatively easy to sing. When we worship God at Mass, it is not so much about how each of us as individuals want to worship God, but rather how God wants us to worship him. While we cannot know for certain what God wants in this manner, the best that we can do is to follow what the Church gives us for guidelines. Beginning in Lent, we will be singing the Communion Antiphons. There are several different ways that they can be sung, so it may vary a little between our parishes. It doesn’t mean that we will be getting rid of singing hymns, but that we will also be singing the antiphons. I encourage you to join the choir in singing the antiphon each Sunday. I hope it will bring greater beauty, deeper reverence, and a more prayerful experience at Mass as we worship God. Another thing that you might notice during Lent is a greater focus on silence and that musical instruments are only played to support the singing of the congregation. This is because Lent is a penitential season and fosters an atmosphere of reflection and solemnity as we prepare for Easter. ~Fr. Sauer

RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) / OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults)

RCIA to OCIA

In Advent, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops introduced the “Order of Christian Initiation of Adults” (OCIA) which is the revised process by which adults (anyone over the age of 7) will enter the Church or receive sacraments outside of the usual religious education program. This update to the former Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) comes with some notable changes. The most significant is that OCIA will take no less than one year for any person who is not already a baptized Christian. With this in mind, OCIA classes will begin the first week of Lent this year and continue until Easter of 2026. These classes will continue year-round and individuals are welcome to join at any point, but the process will take at least one year from the time an individual begins. If you know anyone who is interested in entering the Church or receiving sacraments such as confirmation, please have them contact Ben Borash at (320) 412-9342 or crossrockaccpa@gmail.com.

Lenten reminder: You are invited to stay for Morning Prayer after Daily Mass with Father Sauer in North Prairie on Tuesday, in Opole on Wednesday, in Royalton on Thursday and in Bowlus on Fridays. You are also invited to join Father Sauer for Evening Prayer on Thursdays during Lent in Royalton at 5:00pm.

Bowlus Prayer Line Leader: Rita Trettel 

Royalton/North Prairie Prayer Line Leader: Janice Breth

Rice Prayer Line Leader: Colleen Burton 

*Bulletin Prayer List: Let Jean in the Office know. We need permission from the individual or family to list in bulletin.

Immaculate Conception Parish is looking for a person to do Adoration in Rice on Wednesdays from 3pm-4pm. If you are able to help even sometimes with this, please reach out to the Office.

Rice Area Senior Citizens will meet on the first Tuesday of each month at 12:00pm at the Creamery Cafe in Rice. All are Welcome.

ACC Office Reminders: 

*Office hours are Mon-Fri 8:00am-4:30pm 

  Lunch from 12:00pm-12:30pm 

*Bulletin Information: If you would like something in the bulletin, please have it to Michelle Stevens at crossrockbulletin@gmail.com by Tuesday of the week that you want it in the bulletin. 

*When writing a check for giving, please write it out to the individual parish, as the bank will NOT cash/deposit a check written to Cross Rock ACC 

*If you are mailing something to one of the parishes please use the ACC Office Address. This assures that contributions and correspondents are taken care of in a timely manner. 

Cross Rock ACC Office, PO Box 189, Rice, MN 56367

*Mass Intentions - $10.00 each. If you are writing a check for Mass Intentions for any of the parishes, the check can be made out to the individual parish. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to the office at 320-393-2725. THANK YOU for your help with this. 

*If you have any changes to your household such as a phone # change, address change, member change please contact the office so we can update our programs. 

*We keep children on their parents' registration until they are 24. If they want to remain members, they will need to contact the office or they will be taken off the census program.

Baptismal Certificate Reminder: CONFIRMATION & FIRST COMMUNION

If you have a Confirmation Student or a First Communion Student please remember that the Office needs a copy of their baptismal certificate if they were not baptized in one of the five ACC parishes. 

All Sacraments are recorded in the baptism register so that the records can be easily accessible when needed. So when receiving a sacrament in a parish other than the one you were baptized in, a notification needs to be sent to the parish that holds your baptismal record. Your baptismal record holds valuable information for later sacraments. A sacrament cannot be official without proof of Baptism.

• Baptisms 

• Baptism Preparations 

• Weddings 

• Communion at Home 

• Home Visits 

• Funerals 

Contact: Ben Borash, Pastoral Associate crossrockaccpa@gmail.com or 320-412-9342.

Parish Trustees 

Immaculate Conception:  Dan Durant and Paul Goebel

Holy Trinity:  Jim Anderson and Natalie Spencer

Our Lady of Mount Carmel:  Jim Guck and Deb Determan

Holy Cross:  Gerald Pasch and Bernie Fussy 

St. Stanislaus: Rich Fussy and Tom Fussy

We are excited to be able to offer Fish Fry's during Lent. Worker Sign-Up sheets are in the gathering space in the back of the church. Working a Fish Fry is a great way to get to know your fellow parishioners while having fun and making a difference. This is also a great opportunity for the Confirmation Students who need to get their service hours in.

Mass Intention Reminders: Just a reminder that Mass Intentions can only be scheduled out 6 months in advance. If you are writing a check out for Mass Intentions please write it out to the parish that the intention will be said in. 

Thank you for your understanding as we navigate the new policies.