VOA常速英语2016--特蕾莎修女:圣人之路始于科索沃小教堂

Mother Teresa: Road to Sainthood Started in Small Kosovo Church 特蕾莎修女:圣人之路始于科索沃小教堂

LETNICA, KOSOVO — 

On September 4, the world will watch as Mother Teresa - a woman whom the world has come to know as a humanitarian 1 and founder 2 of the Missionaries 3 of Charity, will be canonized by the Catholic Church. A small community in Kosovo, where she spent time in her youth, is celebrating this momentous 4 occasion and remembering the role their congregation played in inspiring the young woman to a life of devotion.

To the world, Mother Teresa came to be known as the mother of the poor and the needy 5, a symbol of a life of service to mankind. She began her charity work in India, where she was sent in 1929 by her religious congregation, the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. But she embraced her calling in the small Kosovo village of Letnica. Then a young woman of 18, she lived in Kosovo, where her family had resettled from her native Macedonia.

对整个世界来说，特蕾莎修女开始为人所熟知，是以自己困苦穷乏之人母亲的身份，她一生致力于服务人类，她就是这种人生的象征。特蕾莎修女的慈善工作从印度起航，1929年，她被送到这里，送她来的正是她所在的修会——都柏林洛雷托姐妹。不过，她是在科索沃的小莱特尼察村接受了天主的召唤。于是，作为一个18岁的年轻姑娘，她在科索沃定了居，她的家庭也从马其顿搬了过来。

A devout 6 Catholic from an early age,she would later reveal that it was in the Church of the Blessed Lady of Letnica that she decided 7 to adopt a life of religious devotion.

从很小的时候开始，特蕾莎就已经是一名虔诚的天主教徒了，后来她透露说，就是在莱特尼察的Blessed Lady教堂她决定选择一种虔诚奉献的生活方式。

Father Marjan Lorenci of the Letnica Church leads the congregation in prayers in anticipation 8 of Mother Teresa’s canonization.

Marjan Lorenci是莱特尼察教堂的神父，他带领祈祷者进行集会，希望能够追封特蕾莎修女为圣者。

The church serves a community of 500 Catholics, in a village populated mostly by Albanians, with a small Croatian minority.

如今这间教堂能容纳500名天主教徒，教堂位于一个村庄里面，村子中主要是阿尔巴尼亚人，还有一小部分克罗地亚人。

“This is where Mother Teresa felt the holy calling,after she arrived here from Macedonia, from Skopje.She came here because God brought her here with her family,and it is here that she heard God’s word.This is where she took her steps on the path to serve God,and what’s more important, to serve her brother man,” Lorenci said.

“就是在这个地方，特蕾莎修女感受到了圣召，当时她刚离开马其顿和斯科普里到了这。之所以到这里来，是因为上帝在指引着她和家人，也正是在这里，她听到了上帝说的话。还是在这里，她踏上了侍奉上帝的征程，更重要的是，为她的兄弟服务。”Lorenci如是说道。

For the local community, Mother Teresa’s canonization is a source of pride and a chance to share the famous missionary 9 of Albanian origin with the world.

对于当地社区来说，追封特蕾莎修女为圣者，会让他们感到十分自豪，同时这也是一次机会，让他们与世界共同分享这位有阿尔巴尼亚血统的著名传教士。

“I was born and raised here,and I am very proud to have received my religious teachings at the same church where Mother Teresa first felt her calling,”

“我生在这里，长在这里，我真的非常自豪，因为我接受宗教教义的地方，就是特蕾莎修女感受到圣召的那个教堂。”

Father Lush Gjergji, who first met Mother Teresa in 1968 and has written extensively on the Nobel laureate,says Letnica was always in her itinerary 10 every time she visited Kosovo.

Lush Gjergji神父第一次见特蕾莎修女是在1968年，关于这位诺贝尔奖获得者，他记述了大量资料。他表示，特蕾莎修女每次来科索沃，必定会造访莱特尼察。

“The one place which she always visited was Letnica; it was her spiritual sanctuary,”

“特蕾莎修女最常去的地方就是莱特尼察，那是她精神的避难所。”

Mother Teresa visited Kosovo five times after she became a nun 11.But it is her charitable work around the world that garnered 12 her international fame and the adoration 13 of millions.

特蕾莎后来又去过科索沃5次，那是在她成为修女之后。是特蕾莎在全世界做的慈善为她赢得了国际声誉和数百万人的喜爱。

On September 4, the Catholic Church will formally declare her a saint,immortalizing a life of dedication 14 that got its first inspiration in a church in a small Kosovo village.

9月4日，天主教教堂将正式宣布特蕾莎为圣人，9月4日，天主教教堂将正式宣布特蕾莎为圣人，这将使她奉献的一生永垂不朽，特蕾莎修女这伟大的一生，最初获得鼓舞的地方，就是在科索沃一个小山村的教堂。