Although the people in the medieval times were very religious, the mass was said in Latin, a language most people did not understand. Village or parish priests were poorly educated. They did not preach effectively. Many village priests could not read or write. The people could not read or write either.  The Catholic Church firmly believed in labor and in prayer. People were taught that "to labor is to pray".  The church also made it very clear that if you wanted to get to heaven, you had to participate in the sacraments. But what were the sacraments? The sacraments were a simple set of steps that, if followed, would open the doors to heaven.  This was very comforting to people in medieval times. They did not understand a word of the mass, but they did understand that if they followed the sacraments, they would get to heaven. The life of most people in medieval times was a harsh one. The thought of escaping to heaven was most attractive.  The Catholic Church charged people money for some of the sacraments and accepted (required) donations to feed the poor and to build new churches.  The Sacraments: Baptism Confirmation Marriage Penance. You had to confess your sins to a priest, and you paid money to do this. Penance  also included acts of "good" behavior. For example, you might ask a visiting monk to dine with you. You might enjoy his company, but the invitation was an act of penance, an act of kindness.   Communion. This was the most important sacrament. Each mass, those who had confessed all their sins and had not yet committed new ones could participate in communion. During mass, people taking communion would receive a blessed wheat wafer and a sip from a specially blessed cup of wine. If you had not done ample penance in the eyes of the church, you could not participate in communion. If you did not participate in communion frequently, you could not go to heaven. Taking Care of the Sick Holy Orders. You could take holy orders at any time. A woman might have been married several times, yet she could still become a nun, provided she could find a convent to accept her. Once accepted into a monastery (monks) or a convent (nuns), you could not return to your former life. Not everyone took holy orders. But that was allowed as long as you balanced this by acts of penance.   The sacraments controlled daily life. Some like baptism were done once, others - like penance - were done many times. Since there was a charge for each sacrament, the sacraments generated enormous wealth for the church. The local priest and other church officials worked very hard. The church kept reading and writing alive. It's not that the church did not earn their success, but wealth flowed into the church because Christianity was at the core of medieval life. Everything revolved around religion.    To return to the index,   click on the castle