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12 Powerful Mother Teresa Quotes That Will Stay with You

Find daily motivation in this curated collection of quotes from Mother Teresa that celebrates her passion to ease suffering and spread peace.

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Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary

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 

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We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. (Try one of these nine creative ways to make a difference in your community.) But if that drop were not there, I think the ocean would be less by that missing drop.—Mother Teresa

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Stay where you are

Stay where you are. Find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, and the lonely right where you are—in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and in your schools.—Mother Teresa (These wise quotes from dads will make you appreciate your father even more.)

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It is not always easy to love those close to us

It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start.—Mother Teresa

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We can do not great things

We can do not great things. Only small things with great love.—Mother Teresa

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If we have no peace…

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.—Mother Teresa (Our advice columnist answers life’s 25 most difficult questions.)

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I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like…

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?—Mother Teresa

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Every time you smile at someone…

Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.—Mother Teresa (These are the science-backed reasons to smile more.)

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If you are humble, nothing will touch you…

If you are humble nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.—Mother Teresa

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Help one person at a time…

Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.—Mother Teresa

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We can cure physical diseases…

We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love.—Mother Teresa

Love and forgiveness go hand in hand, and here are a few quotes about forgiveness to help you let go of your grudges!

 

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Joy is the token of a generous personality

Joy is the token of a generous personality. Sometimes it is also a mantle that clothes a life of sacrifice and self-giving. A person who has this gift often reaches high summits. He or she is like sun in a community.—Mother Teresa

Reader's Digest
Originally Published in Reader's Digest