Catholic English

In my podcast about St Francis of Sales, due to be published next Sunday, 22 December, I mentioned that I adopted (chose) St Francis of Sales as my patron saint at my confirmation.

I started to explain something about the sacraments, but it seems like this information should be shared here so that it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the podcast.

If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you will know at least something about the sacraments in your language. Therefore I will concentrate here on the language, and leave the history and theology for your own study if you’re interested.

1 – Baptism

Usually these days we receive the sacrament of baptism as babies. Babies are taken to be baptised usually a week or two after their birth, although the timing may vary. Some people, like me, are baptised as adults.

2 – Confirmation

Where I live, young people usually receive the sacrament of confirmation at the age of 13 or 14. If you are baptised as an adult, you are usually confirmed during the same ceremony. We can say ‘I was confirmed as a teenager’ or ‘I had my confirmation when I was a teenager.’

In modern English, to confirm means to make something more certain, to show proof or evidence. For example:

• Click the button to confirm your purchase.
• Have you got any document to confirm your age?
• We will email you a confirmation of your booking.

3 – Holy Eucharist

Sometimes this is called communion, or holy communion.

We say we receive communion.

4 – Penance and reconciliation

This has a few names: the sacrament of penance, the sacrament of reconciliation, or the sacrament of confession (old).

We go to confession. We confess our sins to our confessor (a priest) who sits in a confessional (the enclosed seat with little windows).

We are then usually blessed, our sins are forgiven, and we get a penance: to say a prayer for example. A penance is an act that we must perform to show that we’re sorry.

This whole process reconciles us with God. To reconcile means ‘to become friends again,’ or ‘to forgive or forget differences and become reunited (together again).’

The process reconciles us with God – this is its action, its effect.
The process is called reconciliation – it’s a noun, so it has a name.

5 – Anointing of the sick

Anointing refers to pouring oil on someone, in this case holy oil of course. Messiah literally means ‘anointed one,’ one who has been anointed with oil.

This was historically called the sacrament of extreme unction, and was commonly known as the last rites. A rite is a religious ritual, and it was called the last rites because it was given to people just before they died.

Unction is the Latin word for anointing, and extreme here refers to the end (the end of life).

6 – Matrimony (marriage)

A man and a woman can be united by the holy sacrament of matrimony, called marriage in everyday English.

7 – Holy Orders

The final sacrament of holy orders is received on entering the priesthood, and makes a man a priest.

I’ve found useful material for this post, and my other work, on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals

Of course the USCCB website is quite formal, which means it should be reliable, but not always easy to read and understand. Any mistakes on this page are mine.