Quotes from Mother Teresa

Love, to be real, must cost - it must hurt - it must empty us of self.

It is impossible to walk rapidly and be unhappy.

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

We cannot do great things on this Earth, only small things with great love.

When you look at the inner workings of electrical things, you see wires. Until the current passes through them, there will be no light. That wire is you and me. The current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, to produce the light of the world, Jesus, in us. Or we can refuse to be used and allow darkness to spread.

One must really have suffered oneself to help others.

Each of us is merely a small instrument; all of us, after accomplishing our mission, will disappear.

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

Loneliness and the feeling of being uncared for and unwanted are the greatest poverty.

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

Don't look for big things, just do small things with great love.

I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, he will not ask, "How many good things have you done in your life?" Rather he will ask, "How much love did you put into what you did?"

The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.

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

Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

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

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.

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.

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.

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.

What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.

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.