cierge
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The self-serve candle machine at Lourdes.
Audio File: The sign in the photo, above, says "Un cierge c'est une prière qui se prolonge." (A candle is a prolonged prayer.) Hear today's word and the above quote: Download cierge.mp3 .Download cierge.wav
le cierge (see-airzh) noun, masculine
: candle (votive); cereus (a kind of cactus)
Do you know the word for candle in another language? Thank you for sharing it here.
French definition of cierge from Le Petit Larousse:
Longue chandelle de cire que l'on brûle dans les églises.
Long wax candle that one burns in church.
...and from French Wikipedia: "Un cierge est une bougie utilisée dans les cérémonies religieuses." (A cierge is a candle used in religious ceremonies.")
***
I did not write an illustrative story for the French word cierge today... but a reader, or lectrice did! Merci beaucoup to Pamela for sharing her account of visiting Lourdes with her son -- and the "mini miracle" that occured on the road out of the sacred French town.
Pamela writes:
Years ago... we were in France on vacation for the first time, and I had always
promised myself if I ever went to France, I would go to Lourdes. It was more
important than ever, because my son has autism.
We went there, not expecting a
miracle, but to ask for grace and strength throughout our lives (and I believe
that request has been granted!). When you light a candle at Lourdes, apparently
the volunteers extinguish them, and relight them later. As I was turning away,
the volunteer got my attention and showed me he was not extinguishing our
candle. That was sweet.
We did have our minor miracle while leaving. My
husband was driving, my aunt was in the passenger seat. I was in the back of the
van with mother and son. My nonverbal son turned to me, touched my hair and said
"hair". I almost jumped out of my skin. This boy cannot talk. I tried to stay
calm and smiled and said "yes, that's my hair".
No big cures happened for us at
Lourdes, but we did receive the smallest of graces, and my son did speak, one
word, one day.
***
Pamela lives on a small ranch in the Pacific Northwest where
she and her family raise Norwegian Fjord Horses. Here is a picture of Pamela and
her son, and more pictures of her horses, here, which she trains for dressage, handicapped riding and also search and rescue. More info here.
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For more online reading: The Lost Gardens: A Story of Two Vineyards and a Sobriety
What a beautiful story =) Pamela, thanks so much for writing that. And thanks to Kiristin for sharing it with us all!
Posted by: Stacey | Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 04:28 PM
cierge in spanish is 'vela' or 'veladora' (vela, we use it more for any regular candle... veladora is the one you light at a church with an intention)
Posted by: Andrea | Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 03:56 AM
This story gave me goosebumps. Beautiful!
Posted by: Diane | Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 07:09 AM
Cierge in Spanish is: Cirio.
Posted by: Armando zetina | Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 04:43 PM
le petit histoire est grand. merci pour nous partager, Kristin.
le cierge en chinois c'est 蠟燭
Posted by: ameinnoc | Friday, August 22, 2008 at 10:14 AM
cierge en chinois simplifie:
蜡烛, prononcee làzhú
Posted by: steve | Monday, August 25, 2008 at 02:33 AM
In Italian, candle is candela, in German, it's Kerze.
Posted by: rosa | Monday, August 25, 2008 at 10:02 PM
I went to Lourdes in 1971. I'm not religious, but I go to religious sites if I've read about them or heard about them. I had seen a film called the "Song of Bernadette" that sparked my interest. I particularly liked the theme song, which when I was there, they sang in the evening procession.
When I got back to my hotel, there was a storm in the mountains. The lightening seemed to be jumping from peak to peak. It was an awsome sight.
Posted by: Joan | Wednesday, September 03, 2008 at 03:32 PM