The way to plan the family is natural family planning not contraception. In destroying the power of giving life, through contraception, a husband or wife is doing something to self, and so it destroys the gift of life in him or her
Mother TeresaRead
God has identified himself with the hungry, the sick, the naked, the homeless; hunger not only for bread, but for love, for care, to be somebody to someone; nakedness, not for clothing only, but nakedness of that compassion that very few people give to the unknown; homelessness, not only just for a shelter made from stone but for that homelessness that comes from having no one to call your own.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the deep connection between human suffering and divine identification with the vulnerable.
Mother Teresa's quote reflects her belief that God empathizes with those who are marginalized and suffering in society. She highlights that true need extends beyond physical necessities like food and shelter; it encompasses emotional and relational needs such as love, compassion, and belonging. By recognizing and addressing these deeper forms of poverty, we affirm the dignity of every individual and nurture a sense of community.
Themes
CompassionLoveBelongingCommunityService
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing homelessness, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of community support.
More from Mother Teresa
All quotes →I believe in person to person; every person is Christ for me, and since there is only one Jesus, that person is only one person in the world for me at that moment.
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Purity is the fruit of prayer.
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If your Eyes are Positive, You will Love the World. _x000D_ But if Your Tongue is Positive, The World will Love you.
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The poor are great! The poor are wonderful! The poor are very generous! They give us much more than what we give them.
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The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.
Mother TeresaRead
Similar quotes
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When you deal with something like compassion for physical pain, which we know is very, very old in evolution - we can find evidence for it in nonhuman species - the brain processes it at a faster speed. Compassion for mental pain took many seconds longer.
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Unless you have suffered and wept, you really don't understand what compassion is, nor can you give comfort to someone who is suffering. If you haven't cried, you can't dry another's eyes. Unless you've walked in darkness, you can't help wanderers find the way. Unless you've looked into the eyes of menacing death and felt its hot breath, you can't help another rise from the dead and taste anew the joy of being alive.
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