2006年VOA标准英语-Thousands Still Flock to Lourdes in Search of M

By Lisa Bryant
Lourdes
26 June 2006
 
For nearly 150 years, millions of Christian¹ pilgrims from Europe and elsewhere have flocked to the small French town, Lourdes, where it is said the sick can be healed, miraculously³. The Roman Catholic church has also softened⁴ rules for other unexplained healings.

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Pilgrims and tourists walk by Virgin⁵ Mary shrine⁶ cave associated with miraculous² cures at Lourdes   
  
People pack a cavernous underground church in this vast Roman Catholic sanctuary⁷ at a recent afternoon mass - one of several taking place daily at Lourdes. On this recent weekend, thousands of pilgrims have come here to find spiritual solace⁸ - or perhaps, a miraculous cure.

Among the sick is Jim Quinn, an English man in his 50's. Quinn is nearly paralyzed from Parkinsons disease. As he is pushed to dinner in a wheelchair, he talks to a reporter about what draws him to Lourdes. It's hard for him to speak above a whisper.

"It's all about other people," he says. "You don't think about yourself. It's who you meet on the street or in church, or in the crowd that needs help. It's nothing about personal cures - although I'm sure there have been some."

Lourdes is perhaps Europe's most popular pilgrimage site. Not only because a local girl is said to have had apparitions⁹ of the Virgin Mary in 1858, but also because of miraculous healings that are said to be linked to this mountain town. There have been about 7,000 claims of miracle healings, to date. However, the Catholic church has only recognizes 67.

Under Vatican rules drafted nearly 200 years ago, miraculous healings must take place almost instantly - and people must be permanently¹⁰ cured. Those cured also cannot benefit from previous medical treatment. But these days most people go to doctors for treatment when they fall ill.

So in March, the regional diocese issued new rules - relaxing guidelines not for miracles, but for other, unexplained healings. The church now recognizes three types of surprising healings: Unexpected, confirmed and exceptional.

Skeptics suggest the new directives are aimed to counter the growth of rival evangelical churches and pilgrimage sites elsewhere. But Monseigneur Jacques Perrier, bishop¹¹ of Lourdes and Tarbes, dismisses such criticism.

Monseigneur Perrier says the church and Lourdes special medical committee have been discussing these changes for years. He says, what has evolved with the times is not faith, but medical science.

Nun¹² kisses wall of grotto¹³ where Roman Catholic tradition says St. Bernadette saw visions of Mary in 1858  
  
The Lourdes medical committee meets yearly to decide whether several dozen claims of miracles can be explained scientifically. If not, the committee recommends the claims to Perrier - who makes the final ruling over whether the claims meet religious criteria¹⁴ for miracles. Dr. Francois Bernard Michel is head of the medical committee.

Bernard Michel says people think nothing extraordinary is happening at Lourdes, any more. However, he says things are happening and they the sanctuary cannot reject declarations of cures made by people in good faith.

Church attendance may be plummetting in Europe, but Lourdes reputation for healing and meditation¹⁵ draws about six million pilgrims to the town, each year. And, the numbers are growing. Today, Lourdes is awash with hotels that offer services for the sick and tour shops selling religious memorabilia.

Along with tourists, the town has drawn¹⁶ new residents like 62-year-old Jean Marmon. A former butcher, Marmon moved to Lourdes six years ago. Today, he has a shop selling cured ham and sausages and a sharp-tasting local cheese called Tomme des Pyrenees.

Marmon says his clientele comes from many different cultures. People tell him about miraculous cures they have witnessed or heard about. Marmon believes they are sincere, but he is not sure he believes their stories are true.

But pilgrims here say miracles are not the only attraction at Lourdes. The handicapped and the sick, who are often marginalized in daily life, are revered¹⁷ at Lourdes. Pushed in wheelchairs and on stretchers, they are the ones leading candlelight processions that take place every day.

Father John Rice is a priest from Dorchester, England. Hes been coming to Lourdes regularly since the 1980's.

"There's a very deep spirituality here. A lot of people associate Lourdes with physical healing," Father Rice notes, "but, in actual fact, what happens is more a bonding of people who come together in the power of the holy spirit."

In fact, many pilgrims who come to Lourdes are healthy. And, most interviewed, like Odile Silve, say they were unaware¹⁸ of the Church's new changes on unexplained healings. Silve is from Ivory Coast, but she now lives outside Paris. This is her second visit to Lourdes.

Silve says she is at Lourdes to reflect on her life and her family and on the problems in the world. She believes in miracles - those that heal the soul as well as the spirit.

Christians¹⁹ like Silve are not the only pilgrims at Lourdes. The Apudharai family are Buddhist²⁰ from Sri Lanka. On a sunny Sunday morning, they strolled around the Lourdes sanctuary. One member, Santhya Apudharai , said her brother was cured of asthma²¹ here 15 years ago. The family has been coming to Lourdes ever since.

Apudharai says that, as religious people, her family comes to rest and pray. They find faith here, even if they are not Roman Catholics

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

3 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。

4 softened   

（使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰

参考例句：

• His smile softened slightly. 他的微笑稍柔和了些。
• The ice cream softened and began to melt. 冰淇淋开始变软并开始融化。

5 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

6 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

7 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

8 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

9 apparitions   

n.特异景象( apparition的名词复数 )；幽灵；鬼；（特异景象等的）出现

参考例句：

• And this year occurs the 90th anniversary of these apparitions. 今年是她显现的九十周年纪念。 来自互联网
• True love is like ghostly apparitions: everybody talks about them but few have ever seen one. 真爱就如同幽灵显现：所有人都谈论它们，但很少有人见到过一个。 来自互联网

10 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

11 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

12 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

13 grotto   

n.洞穴

参考例句：

• We reached a beautiful grotto,whose entrance was almost hiden by the vine.我们到达了一个美丽的洞穴，洞的进口几乎被藤蔓遮掩著。
• Water trickles through an underground grotto.水沿着地下岩洞流淌。

14 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

15 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

18 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

19 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

20 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

21 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。