Photo: YourTango
Iconic quotes from the Mother herself.
By Izzy Casey — Written on Aug 31, 2020
Acclaimed for dedicating her life to aiding the sick and poor, Saint Mother Teresa was a world-renowned missionary, humanitarian, and Roman Catholic nun, and many of the famous Mother Teresa quotes and writings have been used as inspiration for people around the world for decades.
Born in 1910 under the name of Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, her parents were of Albanian descent. On September 4th, 2016, she was canonized as a saint under Pope Francis’ rule.
She was the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to taking care of the ill and dying. In addition to managing homes for victims of tuberculosis, leprosy, and HIV/AIDS, it administers orphanages, schools, mobile clinics, dispensaries, soup kitchens, and counseling programs to this day.
Mother Teresa opened several hospices, orphanages, and leper houses all over India and assisted earthquake victims in Armenia and radiation victims at Chernobyl. Her work confronted entrenched notions of caste and gender roles in India. In the 1982 siege of Beirut, she traveled through a war zone to evacuate children.
As a recipient of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, she donated the entirety of her prize-winnings to charity.
Nobody’s perfect, however, not even the saints. Although Mother Teresa is well known for her dedication to helping communities around the world, some of her ideas were controversial as well. From her efforts to ban abortion to her voiced opinions on pain and suffering, the Nobel Peace Prize winner faced heavy opposition at times. But while her contributions to society should be applauded, it just reminds us that even our idols are only human and should be looked at with a critical eye.
Take a look at our collection below of some of the most famous and inspirational Mother Teresa quotes:
1. I think I’m more difficult than critical. ― Mother Teresa
2. I’m not a social worker. I don’t do it for this reason. I do it for Christ. I do it for the Church. ― Mother Teresa
3. Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love. ― Mother Teresa
4. Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. ― Mother Teresa
5. We cannot give what we have not got. ― Mother Teresa
6. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin. ― Mother Teresa
7. Good works are links that form a chain of love. ― Mother Teresa
8. There is more hunger in the world for love and appreciation in this world than for bread. ― Mother Teresa
9. We must never be afraid to be a sign of contradiction for the world. ― Mother Teresa
10. Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own. ― Mother Teresa
11. We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace, we need love and compassion. ― Mother Teresa
12. I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness. ― Mother Teresa
13. I fear just one thing: Money! ― Mother Teresa
14. Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. ― Mother Teresa
15. Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you. ― Mother Teresa
16. Poverty was not created by God. It is we who have caused it, you and I through our egotism. ― Mother Teresa
17. Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without being tired. ― Mother Teresa
18. The greatest mistake is to think you are too strong to fall into temptation. Put your finger in the fire and it will burn. So we have to go through the fire. ― Mother Teresa
19. If you are discouraged, it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own powers. ― Mother Teresa
20. How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers. ― Mother Teresa
21. If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one. ― Mother Teresa
22. 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. ― Mother Teresa
23. If you judge people, you have no time to love them. ― Mother Teresa
24. 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. ― Mother Teresa
25. Never travel faster than your guardian angel can fly. ― Mother Teresa
26. A life not lived for others is not a life. ― Mother Teresa
27. Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. ― Mother Teresa
28. I think that before people were speaking much about the poor but now more and more people are speaking to the poor. That is the great difference. ― Mother Teresa
29. The trees, the plants, the flowers grow in silence. The stars, the sun, the moon move in silence. Silence gives us a new perspective. ― Mother Teresa
30. The poor are very generous! They give us much more than what we give them. ― Mother Teresa
31. Love is a fruit in season at all times and within reach of every hand. ― Mother Teresa
32. We have only today. Let us begin. ― Mother Teresa
33. People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. ― Mother Teresa
34. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it. ― Mother Teresa
35. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. ― Mother Teresa
36. Whatever religion we are, we must pray together. ― Mother Teresa
37. Charity isn’t about pity. It’s about love. ― Mother Teresa
38. All works of love are works of peace. ― Mother Teresa
39. I love all religions, but I am in love with my own. ― Mother Teresa
40. We do not need bombs and guns to bring peace, we need love and compassion. ― Mother Teresa
41. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence. ― Mother Teresa
42. I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness. ― Mother Teresa
43. If you are kind people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.” ― Mother Teresa
44. Peace begins with a smile. ― Mother Teresa
45. I want you to be concerned about your next-door neighbor. Do you know your next-door neighbor? ― Mother Teresa
46. If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are. ― Mother Teresa
47. Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. ― Mother Teresa
48. God doesn’t require us to succeed; he only requires that you try. ― Mother Teresa
49. 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. ― Mother Teresa
50. It is a kingly act to assist the fallen. ― Mother Teresa
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Izzy Casey is a writer who covers pop culture and body positivity.