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Mother Teresa Quotes

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Famous Mother Teresa Quotes

“If sometimes our poor people have had to die of starvation, it is not that God didn't care for them, but because you and I didn't give, were not an instrument of love in the hands of God, to give them that bread, to give them that clothing; because we did not recognize him, when once more Christ came in distressing disguise, in the hungry man, in the lonely man, in the homeless child, and seeking for shelter.”

PeopleIfsMenGivingChildrenSometimesHandsCareDiesChristPoorLonelyInstrumentsSeekingHungryBreadClothingsShelterDisguiseHomelessPoor PeopleStarvationHands Of GodDistressingHungry ManLonely Man
Author:Mother Teresa
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“The first time I received an award, I was very surprised. I did not know whether to accept it or not. But I came to the conclusion that I should accept awards in the name of the poorest poor, as a form of homage to them. I think that basically, when awards are given to me, the existence of the poor in the world is being recognized.”

ThinkingKnowsWorldShouldFirstsFormNamesGivenPoorExistenceAcceptingPovertyFirst TimeConclusionAwardsPoorestHomage
Author:Mother Teresa
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“Our vow of chastity is nothing but our undivided love for Christ in chastity, then we proceed to the freedom of poverty-poverty is nothing but freedom. And that total surrender is obedience. If I belong to God, if I belong to Christ, then he must be able to use me. That is obedience. Then we give wholehearted service to the poor. That is service. They complete each other. That is our life.”

IfsGivingUseAbleReligionChristPoorPovertyOur LivesSurrenderObedienceVowChastityUsing MeUndivided Love
Author:Mother Teresa
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“If our poor die of hunger, it is not because God does not care for them. Rather, it is because neither you nor I are generous enough. It is because we are not instruments of love in the hands of God. We do not recognize Christ when once again He appears to us in the hungry man, in the lonely woman, in the child who is looking for a place to get warm.”

IfsMenChildrenDoeEnoughHandsCareDiesChristPoorLonelyInstrumentsHungerWarmHungryGenerousHands Of GodHungry ManLonely Women
Author:Mother Teresa
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“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.”

LoveInspirationalFeelingsPoorPovertyLonelinessTerribleSolitudeHeartbreakLonelyParentingTrue LoveBeing AloneFeeling LonelyUnwantedFamous WomenBeing LonelyCalcuttaUnlovedLoneliness And SolitudeHelp The PoorFeeling AloneLonely FeelingHunger PovertyLonely And AloneAlone LonelyCauses Of PovertyLonely LifePoor LifeHunger For LoveLoneliness In LifeBeing UnlovedSolutions To Poverty
Author:Mother Teresa
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“Our life of contemplation shall retain the following characteristics: —missionary: by going out physically or in spirit in search of souls all over the universe. —contemplative: by gathering the whole universe at the very center of our hearts where the Lord of the universe abides, and allowing the pure water of divine grace to flow plentifully and unceasingly from the source itself, on the whole of his creation. —universal: by praying and contemplating with all and for all, especially with and for the spiritually poorest of the poor.”

HeartSoulWholeSpiritUniverseWaterPoorLordGraceOur LivesCreationDivineSourcePrayingPureFlowUniversalFollowingContemplationCharacteristicsAllowingMissionaryContemplatingGoing OutGatheringPoorestContemplativeDivine GracePure Water
Book:Mother Teresa: Contemplative in the Heart of the World
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“Do we know our poor people? Do we know the poor in our house, in our family? Perhaps they are not hungry for a piece of bread. Perhaps our children, husband, wife, are not hungry, or naked, or dispossessed, but are you sure there is no one there who feels unwanted, deprived of affection?”

PeopleKnowsFeelsChildrenFeelingsHousePoorPiecesWifeHusbandOur ChildrenAffectionHungryBreadNakedOur FamilyBroken HeartPoor PeopleDeprivedHurt FeelingsUnwantedHurt My FeelingsHusband WifeI Was HurtI Am Hurt
Book:No Greater Love, Commemorative Edition
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“Without out suffering, our work would just be social work, very good and helpful, but it would not be the work of Jesus Christ, not part of the Redemption. All the desolation of the poor people, not only their material poverty, but their spiritual destitution, must be redeemed. And we must share it, for only by being one with them can we redeem them by bringing God into their lives and bringing them to God.”

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Author:Mother Teresa
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“Like her [Mary], let us be full of zeal to go in haste to give Jesus to others. She was full of grace when, at the Annunciation, she received Jesus. Like her. we too become full of grace every time we receive Holy Communion. It is the same Jesus whom she received and whom we receive at Mass. As soon as she received Him. she went with haste to give Him to John. For us also. As soon as we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, let us go in haste to give Him to our sisters, to our poor, to the sick, to the dying, to the lepers, to the unwanted, and the unloved. By this we make Jesus present in the world today.”

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Author:Mother Teresa
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“There is but one love of Jesus, as there is but one person in the poor - Jesus. We take vows of chastity to love Christ with undivided love; to be able to love him with undivided love we take a vow of poverty which frees us from all material possessions, and with that freedom we can love him with undivided love, and from this vow of undivided love we surrender ourselves totally to him in the person who takes his place.”

LovePersonsAbleJesusChristPoorPovertyMaterialsPossessionSurrenderOne LoveVowChastityMaterial PossessionsUndivided Love
Author:Mother Teresa
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“If there are people who feel that God wants them to change the structures of society, that is something between them and their God. We must serve him in whatever way we are called. I am called to help the individual; to love each poor person. Not to deal with institutions. I am in no position to judge.”

PeopleIfsWayWantLoveFeelsPersonsHelpingIndividualPoorDealsPositionJudgingInstitutionsStructureReform
Book:Mother Teresa: Essential Writings
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“The way to plan the family is natural family planning, not contraception...This (use of contraceptives) turns the attention to self and so it destroys the gift of love in him or her. In loving, the husband and wife must turn the attention to each other as happens in natural family planning, and not to self, as happens in contraception. Once that living love is destroyed by contraception, abortion follows easily . . . And abortion, which often follows from contraception, brings a people to be spiritually poor, and that is the worst poverty and the most difficult to overcome.”

PeopleWaySelfUseHappensTurnsDifficultNaturalLove IsPoorAttentionPovertyWifePlansWorstHusbandOvercomingPlanningDestroyedAbortionHusband And WifePro LifeContraceptionContraceptivesFamily PlanningGift Of Love
Author:Mother Teresa
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“I choose the poverty of our poor people. But I am grateful to receive it (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.”

PeopleFeelsNamesPoorPovertyBlindGratefulBurdenHungryNakedHomelessPoor PeopleNobelUnwantedCrippledI Am GratefulUnlovedLeper
Author:Mother Teresa
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“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. ---Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart. Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well.”

GivingWellsHeartMayEyeCarePainFacesSpeakPoorSilenceKindnessOur LivesLonelinessTerribleHungerYour FaceWarmthCheerfulGreetingsYour SmileBlessed MotherSilence Of The HeartHunger For Love
Author:Mother Teresa
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