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.
Mother TeresaRead
Purity is the fruit of prayer.
Mother TeresaRead
If your Eyes are Positive, You will Love the World. _x000D_ But if Your Tongue is Positive, The World will Love you.
Mother TeresaRead
The poor are great! The poor are wonderful! The poor are very generous! They give us much more than what we give them.
Mother TeresaRead
The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.
Mother TeresaRead
Similar quotes
Let's be the people who look at the hurting until we hurt with them. No hurrying past, turning away, or shifting of eyes. No pretending or glossing over. Let's look at the face until we see the person.
Max LucadoRead
One does not ask of one who suffers: What is your country and what is your religion? One merely says: You suffer, that is enough for me.
Louis PasteurRead
I had a vivid imagination. Not only could I put myself in the other person's place, but I could not avoid doing so. My sympathies always went out to the weak, the suffering, and the poor. Realizing their sorrows I tried to relieve them in order that I myself might be relieved.
Clarence DarrowRead
It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal.
Joaquin PhoenixRead
For arousing compassion, the nineteenth-century yogi Patrul Rinpoche suggested imagining beings in torment - an animal about to be slaughtered, a person awaiting execution. To make it more immediate, he recommended imagining ourselves in their place. Particularly painful is his image of a mother with no arms watching as a raging river sweeps her child away. To contact the suffering of another being fully and directly is as painful as being in the woman's shoes.
Pema ChodronRead
For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.
Gautama BuddhaRead