Each year, on the feast of Corpus Christi (in June), a procession is held that gives a public demonstration of faith in the true presence of our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. The Corpus Christi procession is a long-standing tradition at St. Peter's is one of the fefw parishes that has kept this tradition alive.
Members of the parish council carry the canopy "Himmel," under which the Blessed Sacrament (the ciborium) is carried by the pastor or celebrant. Lanterns are carried alongside the canopy. Members of the First Communion Class participate in the procession. The girls, wearing white dresses, strew fresh flower petals, while boys carry grapes and wheat sheaves. The beautiful banners representing each of the parish organizations are carried by officers of the various organizations. The choir marches in procession singing hymns.
The route of the procession includes the four chapels located on the church grounds. Each chapel is decorated with flowers and burning candles. In each of these, the Blessed Sacrament is reposed for a few minutes, while prayers are recited and songs are sung. At two chapels, alternate from the year before Benediction is given. The procession then heads back to the church, praying and singing.
In earlier years, the Stations of the Cross were recited outside, at the Stations that were erected on the church grounds, during Lent on Sunday afternoons. The Stations of the Cross continue to be held every Friday during Lent inside the church.
At one time, it was tradition that when the rosary was prayed in church, the men (who knelt on one side, and the women on the other, as was customary) would lead the first, third and fifth decade, and the women the second and fourth. During the second and the fourth decade, the whole congregation would stand, whule kneeling during the other three. Presently, the rosary is led by members of the parish. It is recited before each weekday Mass and before the 8:00 AM Mass on Sunday.
The First Fridays of every month are conscientiously observed by many parishioners who receive the sacraments on that day. A special Mass is held on Friday afternoons on the first Fridays of each month. Holy Communion is also received on the First Saturday of every month, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima.
In earlier days of the parish, in the afternoon of All Saint's Day and in the morning of All Soul's Day, the parishioners would march in solemn procession to the cemetery to pray for departed relatives and friends.
Later, it became tradition that a special memorial service remembering the Poor Souls be held the Sunday afternoon following All Soul's Day. Still held today, Benediction of teh Blessed Ssacrament, sermon and procession to the cemetery. People in the surrounding towns are notified of this service and come to participate, because they have parents, brothers, sisters, or other relatives buried here. Sacred Heart Parish in Muenster holds its service on All Soul's Day so that our parishioners can go to the service and they can come to ours.
Our Holy Mother Church is very generous in granting us many opportunities to be generous to the Holy Souls during the month of November. The Indulgences we can gain for them are numerous: To gain a Plenary Indulgence form noon Nov. 1 until midnight Nov. 2, visit the church, pray for the Holy Souls and also for the intentions of the Holy Father. On All Soul's Day and for a week afterward, a Plenary Indulgence for the Holy Souls is granted for a visit to the cemetery with devotion and prayer for the dead. All through November, you can gain partial indulgence every day you visit the cemetery and pray for the dead.
The Second Vatican Council of the Catholic Church (1962-1965) prescribed the revision of the Rite of Baptism of adults and decreed the catechumenate for adults, divided into several steps, should be restored. (Congregation of Divine Worship, Jan., 1972)
It was soon recognized that the form for an adult's entrance into the Catholic Church should be the model for the initiation of children, though adapted to the child's level of understanding and circumstances. It was seen that initiation into the Church is a conversion process and that formation for any of the Initiation Sacraments should emphasize and support this process.
Therefore, St. Peter's, like parishes nationwide, established a series of Sacramental Preparation classes: 1) for parents and sponsors of those to be baptized, 2) of those preparing to receive First Reconciliation and First Communion, and 3) of those preparing to receive Confirmation. These classes for adults are in addition to those given for children and adolescents preparing to receive one of the Initiation Sacraments, since it is the adult faith community which models Christian commitment to the newly initiated and provides the Christian environment in which the child's faith matures.
At this time, children are prepared to receive First Reconciliation and First Eucharist in the second year of elementary school; while the 11th grade of high school is the time for adolescents to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) was established in 1989. In the following year, two adults made their Profession of Faith at Easter and two at Christmas, having completed Catechumenate.