Last Updated: January 1, 2024 by Quote.cc Team

Mother Teresa, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She is revered worldwide for her selfless work in helping the sick, poor, and dying, primarily in India.

In 1950, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation devoted to caring for the “hungriest, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society.” The organization grew from a single house in Kolkata (Calcutta) to a global network of over 4,500 sisters running orphanages, hospices, and charity centers worldwide.

Her work expanded beyond the borders of India, leading to international recognition and numerous awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Mother Teresa’s approach was not merely to alleviate pain but to provide love and dignity to those who were often forgotten by society.

Throughout her life, Mother Teresa remained committed to her faith and her calling to serve the poorest of the poor. She passed away on September 5, 1997, but her legacy continues through the ongoing work of the Missionaries of Charity and the countless lives she touched through her compassion and dedication.

Mother Teresa’s life story is a powerful testament to the impact one person can have on the world by showing unconditional love and selfless service to humanity.

Here are 55 powerful quotes about her faith and philosophy:

Mother Teresa Quotes

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Teresa

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa

“Peace begins with a smile.” – Mother Teresa

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” – Mother Teresa

“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” – Mother Teresa

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” – Mother Teresa

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” – Mother Teresa

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.” – Mother Teresa

“I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.” – Mother Teresa

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.” – Mother Teresa

“Love begins by taking care of the closest ones – the ones at home.” – Mother Teresa

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” – Mother Teresa

“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” – Mother Teresa

“Live simply so others may simply live.” – Mother Teresa

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” – Mother Teresa

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” – Mother Teresa

“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” – Mother Teresa

“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

“I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.” – Mother Teresa

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” – Mother Teresa

“Intense love does not measure, it just gives.” – Mother Teresa

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.” – Mother Teresa

“The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.” – Mother Teresa

“Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.” – Mother Teresa

“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” – Mother Teresa

“Give, but give until it hurts.” – Mother Teresa

“Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary.” – Mother Teresa

“The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for.” – Mother Teresa

“I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?” – Mother Teresa

“God doesn’t require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.” – Mother Teresa

“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.” – Mother Teresa

“A life not lived for others is not a life.” – Mother Teresa

“We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace, we need love and compassion.” – Mother Teresa

“I see God in every human being.” – Mother Teresa

“We fear the future because we are wasting today.” – Mother Teresa

“Profound joy of the heart is like a magnet that indicates the path of life.” – Mother Teresa

“One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.” – Mother Teresa

“The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.” – Mother Teresa

“Good works are links that form a chain of love.” – Mother Teresa

“We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.” – Mother Teresa

“If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive.” – Mother Teresa

“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.’” – Mother Teresa

“Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it.” – Mother Teresa

“I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?” – Mother Teresa

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa

“Some people come in our life as blessings. Some come in your life as lessons.” – Mother Teresa

“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.” – Mother Teresa

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.” – Mother Teresa

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” – Mother Teresa

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” – Mother Teresa

“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” – Mother Teresa

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa