Mother Teresa Quotes

Powerful Mother Teresa for Daily Growth

About Mother Teresa

Title: A Life Dedicated to Love and Service - The Biography of Mother Teresa Quotes Born as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje (then part of the Ottoman Empire), Mother Teresa was destined for a life of remarkable humanitarian service. At the age of 12, she felt a strong call to devote her life to God and help the poor, an inspiration that would shape her future. In 1928, she joined the Loreto Sisters in Ireland and changed her name to Teresa after Saint Therese of Lisieux. She was then sent to India, where she spent the rest of her life. In 1946, Mother Teresa received a spiritual call instructing her to leave Calcutta (now Kolkata) and serve 'the poorest of the poor.' With just INR 5 (Indian Rupees) and a promise from the Pope, she established the Missionaries of Charity. Over the next five decades, this organization grew into an international network of over 5,000 sisters who run homes for the dying, orphanages, leprosy clinics, and soup kitchens around the world. One of her most recognized quotes is "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love." This sentiment reflects her belief that every act of kindness matters and has the power to transform lives. Mother Teresa's tireless work earned her numerous accolades, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, but it was her unwavering dedication to the less fortunate that truly defined her legacy. On September 5, 1997, Mother Teresa passed away in Kolkata, leaving behind an extraordinary body of work and a spirit of selfless service that continues to inspire millions around the world. Her wisdom and teachings remain as relevant today as they were during her lifetime, serving as a powerful reminder of the transformative power of love and compassion.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love."

This quote emphasizes the idea that one doesn't need to achieve grand feats to make a significant impact. Rather, by performing small acts with immense love and dedication, individuals can create a profound difference in the world around them. It suggests that every action, no matter how insignificant it may seem, has the potential to be meaningful when infused with genuine affection and compassion.


"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

Mother Teresa's quote emphasizes that judging others is incompatible with loving them. By passing judgement on people, we focus on their perceived flaws or mistakes instead of seeing the inherent goodness within them. This prevents us from truly connecting, understanding, and empathizing with others, which are essential elements of love. Instead, focusing on love allows us to accept people as they are, fostering compassion, tolerance, and unity among all individuals.


"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."

Mother Teresa's quote suggests that no individual has the power to transform the world singlehandedly, but small actions or ideas can have far-reaching effects. By doing something positive, one creates an initial impact (the stone cast into the water), which then causes numerous ripples of change throughout the community or society. The message is to never underestimate the potential influence of our actions, even if they seem insignificant at first.


"Love is a fruit inseason at all times, and within reach of every hand."

This quote by Mother Teresa emphasizes that love, as a powerful emotion and fundamental human capacity, is always ripe for expression and accessible to everyone, regardless of time or circumstances. It suggests that each individual has the ability to cultivate and share love at any given moment, making it a universally available resource for humanity. This idea underscores the significance of empathy, compassion, and understanding in fostering connections between people and building stronger communities.


"If you want to change the world, go home and love your family."

This quote emphasizes that meaningful change often begins at home, within our immediate families and close relationships. By showing love and care for our loved ones, we can foster a positive environment where growth, understanding, and compassion thrive. These qualities, when nurtured in the family, can spread outwardly into the wider community, impacting the world in a profound yet gentle manner. In essence, Mother Teresa suggests that if we aim to change the world, we should start by loving our families, as it is from this love that larger acts of kindness and positive influence may naturally spring forth.


Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

- Mother Teresa

Small Things, Small, Faith

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

Work, Humble, According, Ashamed

If you 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.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Relationship, Putting, Lamp

Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Peace, Raising, Kingdom

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. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.

- Mother Teresa

Think, Kind, Sometimes, Homeless

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

- Mother Teresa

Peace, Other, Belong, Forgotten

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.

- Mother Teresa

Think, Everybody, I Think, Forgotten

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Found, Hurts, Hurt

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Inspirational, Times, Hand

Love begins by taking care of the closest ones - the ones at home.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Home, Begins, Taking

The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.

- Mother Teresa

Disease, Rather, Biggest, Leprosy

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

Ocean, Doing, Drop, Missing

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.

- Mother Teresa

God, Flowers, Grows, Grass

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.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Money, Need, Enough Money

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Bread, More, Love Is

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.

- Mother Teresa

Own, Nothing, Abortion, Between

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.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Give, Could, Leper

I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?

- Mother Teresa

Door, Next, Concerned, I Want You

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.

- Mother Teresa

Loneliness, Unwanted, Most, Terrible

There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Work, Always, Beautifully

Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.

- Mother Teresa

Give, Christ, Which, Increase

Intense love does not measure, it just gives.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Relationship, Measure, Intense

Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Own, Having, Cared

Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Happiness, Which, Net

Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself. Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Will, Necessary, To Love

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.

- Mother Teresa

Reason, Waste, Some, Some People

Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Happier, Ever, Leaving

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

- Mother Teresa

Food, Just One, Hundred, Feed

Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.

- Mother Teresa

Love, Mistake, Jesus, Vocation

One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.

- Mother Teresa

Great, Anybody, Diseases, Nobody

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.