Mother Teresa, also known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary who dedicated her life to serving the poor and destitute.
Throughout her work and public speeches, she shared powerful quotes that reflected her profound compassion, selflessness, and faith.
The characteristics of Mother Teresa quotes can be summarized as follows:
- Compassion: Mother Teresa’s quotes are infused with a deep sense of compassion for the suffering and marginalized. She emphasized the importance of showing kindness, empathy, and love towards all individuals, regardless of their social status, religion, or background.
Example Quote: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
- Humility: Mother Teresa was known for her humility and believed in the virtue of serving others without seeking recognition or personal gain. Her quotes often encourage selflessness, modesty, and the eradication of pride.
Example Quote: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
- Faith and Spirituality: As a devout Catholic, Mother Teresa’s quotes frequently express her unwavering faith in God and the power of prayer. She believed in the significance of spirituality and its ability to bring comfort, strength, and guidance.
Example Quote: “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.”
- Action and Service: Mother Teresa believed that words alone were insufficient to make a real difference. She emphasized the importance of translating one’s beliefs into action and actively engaging in acts of service to alleviate the suffering of others.
Example Quote: “Love begins by taking care of the closest ones – the ones at home.”
- Simplicity: Mother Teresa lived a simple and frugal life, and her quotes reflect her appreciation for simplicity and the joy found in the little things. She highlighted the significance of finding contentment in a world often consumed by materialism and excessive desires.
Example Quote: “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
- Perseverance: Mother Teresa faced numerous challenges and obstacles throughout her humanitarian work, but she never wavered in her dedication. Her quotes often inspire perseverance, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to making a positive impact.
Example Quote: “I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
Overall, Mother Teresa’s quotes encapsulate her profound wisdom, love for humanity, and unwavering commitment to serving the most vulnerable.
Her words continue to inspire and guide individuals around the world to this day.
Mother Teresa Quotes
Here are various quotes attributed to Mother Teresa:
- “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”
- “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
- “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”
- “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
- “Peace begins with a smile.”
- “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”
- “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
- “The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth; is love.”
- “Intense love does not measure, it just gives.”
- “Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… but how much love we put in that action.”
- “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
- “There is more hunger in the world for love and appreciation than for bread.”
- “Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”
- “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
- “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”
- “The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.”
- “Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”
- “I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
- “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
- “It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.”
- “Love is a fruit in season at all times and within reach of every hand.”
- “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
- “The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.”
- “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”
- “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.”
- “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.”
- “Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depth of our hearts.
- “One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.”
- “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”
- “Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.”
- “The greatest poverty is not to know Christ.”
- “I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.”
- “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”
- “Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace.”
- “I know you are tired, but come, this is the way.”
- “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
- “Love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self.”
- “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.”
- “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
- “Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough; money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.”
- “We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
- “Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.”
- “Love is not patronizing and charity isn’t about pity, it is about love. Charity and love are the same—with charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead.”
- “I want you to be concerned about your next-door neighbor. Do you know your next-door neighbor?”
- “The success of love is in the loving—it is not in the result of loving.”
- “The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.”
- “If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.”
- “At the end of life, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in.'”
- “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
- “A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love.”
- “A life not lived for others is not a life.”
- “Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely, and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.”
- “The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.”
- “There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives—the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them.”
- “Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.”
- “If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.”
- “There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things that we could use.”
- “Love is a fruit in season at all times and within reach of every hand.”
- “Love cannot remain by itself—it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.”
- “Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.”
- “The success of love is in the loving—it is not in the result of loving.”
- “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for is the greatest poverty.”
- “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.”
- “We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love.”
- “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.”
- “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
- “A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, and must empty ourselves. Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your weakness.”
- “I try to give to the poor people for love what the rich could get for money. No, I wouldn’t touch a leper for a thousand pounds; yet I willingly cure him for the love of God.”
- “Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.”
- “The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth; is love.”
- “One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.”
- “We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
- “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”
- “God doesn’t require us to succeed; He only requires that you try.”
- “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.”
- “We are all pencils in the hand of God.”
- “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”
- “Give, but give until it hurts.”
Famous Mother Teresa Quotes
Here are some famous quotes by Mother Teresa:
- “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
- “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”
- “Peace begins with a smile.”
- “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”
- “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”
- “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
- “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
- “Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”
- “I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
- “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.”
- “Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”
- “Love begins by taking care of the closest ones – the ones at home.”
- “The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth, is love.”
- “It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving.”
- “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
- “We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.”
- “Do ordinary things with extraordinary love.”
- “The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.”
These quotes showcase Mother Teresa’s wisdom, compassion, and devotion to serving others, and they continue to inspire people to make a positive impact in the world.
Inspirational and Motivational Mother Teresa Quotes
Here are various inspirational and motivational quotes attributed to Mother Teresa:
- “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
- “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
- “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
- “Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”
- “Do small things with great love.”
- “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
- “Peace begins with a smile.”
- “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”
- “The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth; is love.”
- “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
- “Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… but how much love we put in that action.”
- “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”
- “Intense love does not measure, it just gives.”
- “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”
- “The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”
- “The success of love is in the loving—it is not in the result of loving.”
- “If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.”
- “We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.”
- “Give, but give until it hurts.”
These quotes serve as reminders to embrace love, kindness, and compassion in our actions and interactions with others, and to make a positive impact on the world around us.
Conclusion – Mother Teresa Quotes
Mother Teresa’s quotes resonate deeply with people around the world, transcending time and cultural boundaries.
They encapsulate the essence of her extraordinary life of service and selflessness.
Through her words, Mother Teresa inspires us to embrace compassion, humility, and faith.
Her emphasis on taking small actions with great love reminds us that even the simplest gestures can have a profound impact on others.
Mother Teresa’s quotes encourage us to overcome challenges, persevere in the face of adversity, and find joy in the service of others.
Her legacy lives on as a beacon of hope, reminding us of the transformative power of love and the importance of extending kindness to every human being.
Mother Teresa’s quotes continue to guide and inspire individuals, motivating them to make a positive difference in the world and embody the qualities of compassion, humility, and unwavering faith.
