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
Today it is fashionable to talk about the poor. Unfortunately, it is not fashionable to talk with them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the superficiality in discussing poverty without engaging with those who are affected by it.
Mother Teresa's quote emphasizes the discrepancy between talking about the plight of the poor and the actual act of listening to their experiences and needs. It reflects a common tendency in society to engage in conversations about social issues from a distance, rather than fostering real connections and understanding with those who live in those circumstances. True compassion and support require genuine dialogue rather than mere acknowledgment of their struggles.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a charity event, someone might use this quote to inspire volunteers to engage more deeply with the community.
More from Mother Teresa
All quotes βI 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.
Purity is the fruit of prayer.
If your Eyes are Positive, You will Love the World. _x000D_ But if Your Tongue is Positive, The World will Love you.
The poor are great! The poor are wonderful! The poor are very generous! They give us much more than what we give them.
The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.
Similar quotes
Child labor perpetuates poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, population growth and other social problems.
Many unhoused people work full time but earn starvation, unlivable wages. Some struggle to access mental health services or substance use treatment, making earning a consistent and stable wage nearly impossible.
Black women usually don't get the luxury of faking their way through life and still succeeding, but when a white guy does it, he may even get to be the president of the United States.
India's sex ratio is 1000 boys for 940 girls. Who creates this disparity? It isn't God. Don't fill your coffers by sacrificing the mother's womb. People feel that sons will take care of them when they are old. But I have seen aged parents in old-age homes. I have seen families where one daughter serves parents more than five sons.
For every R. Kelly or Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein, there's, you know, the owner of the grocery store, the coach, the teacher, the neighbor, who are doing the same things. But we don't pay attention until it's a big name. And we don't pay attention 'til it's a big celebrity.
Good care is taken that each state shall have its prisons . . . and other asylums; but not one building is erected nor one law enforced that would teach the people how not to contribute to these over-crowded receptacles of human misery . . . . All of our politicians are ready to deal with the effects, but not one of them is brave enough to penetrate the substratum of society and deal with the cause.