The process of living thus inevitably incurred "regret" that required "consolation" to move nearer to God or to approach heaven.
[b] The ritual took various forms; some used the entire New Testament scripture whilst others relied on extracts such as the Gospel of John while administering consolation.
There were reportedly some remote cases where holy water was used as a cleansing agent during consolamentum being profusely poured over the recipient's head until he/she was completely wet (as opposed to sprinkling).
[1] In contrast to Catholic ceremonies, the form used by the majority of Cathars only required verbal blessings and scriptures administered to the person to be consoled, and did not involve tokens such as consecrated bread or wine, because these would pass through the body and become befouled.
Some historians have stated that incidents of ecstatic utterances during consolamentum was actually glossolalia, or "speaking in tongues", which demanded that the rite be guarded even more secretly, since this practice occurring outside of the Catholic Church was considered witchcraft, and was punishable by death.