Mother Teresa Quotations
(  Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu 1910-1997  )

A beautiful death is for people who have lived like animals to die like angels.

Abortion is murder in the womb ... A child is a gift of God. If you do not want him, give him to me.

A day alone with Jesus is apt to spur us on in the vigorous pursuit of holiness through personal love for Jesus. Jesus desires our perfection with unspeakable ardor. " For this is the will of God, your sanctification. "

A joyful heart is like a sunshine of God's love.

A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.

All glory and honor are His. We must let Jesus use us as He sees fit.

All of us must cling to God through prayer and sacrifice. Only then will we be able to see Christ in the needs of our neighbors.

Am I convinced of Christ's love for me and mine for Him? This conviction is like sunlight which makes the sap of life rise and the buds of sanctity bloom. This conviction is the rock on which sanctity is built. What must we do to get this conviction? We must know Jesus, love Jesus, serve Jesus.

As Christians, we have been created for great things. We have been created to be holy since we have been created in the image of God.

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.' Hungry not only for bread - but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing - but naked of human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a home of bricks - but homeless because of rejection.

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. It doesn't matter who it is, and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.

Be not afraid of the life of sacrifice.

Before we share the gospel with the poor, this is what we must do: we must first satisfy the needs of the body, so we can then bring them Christ.

Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.

Believe in Jesus--trust in Him with blind and absolute confidence because He is Jesus. Believe that Jesus and Jesus alone is life-- and sanctity is nothing but that same Jesus intimately living in you; then His hand will be free with you. Give yourself unswervingly, conforming yourself in all things to His holy will.

Both humility and prayer grow from an ear, mind, and tongue that have lived in silence with God, for in the silence of the heart God speaks.

Bring prayer in your family, bring it to your little children.
Teach them to pray.
For a child that prays is a happy child.
A family that prays is a united family.

Christ must be the light that shines through you, and the people looking at you must see only Jesus. You have a challenge from Jesus to meet: He has shed the light, and you will take His light and lighten every heart you meet.

Christians are the light for everyone else, for the whole world. If we are Christians, we must look like Christ. We must be like Him.

Christians need to learn to forgive. How do we learn to forgive? By knowing that we too need to be forgiven.

Do I give the Christ who is full of zeal, love, joy, and sunshine? Do I come up to the mark? Or am I a dark light, a false light, a bulb without connection, having no current and therefore shedding no radiance? Put your heart into being a bright light.

Do not allow yourselves to be disheartened by any failure as long as you have done your best.

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.

Each one of us is what he is in the eyes of God.

Every human being comes from the hand of God, and we all know something of God's love for us.

Every time we need to make a decision concerning our families, we need to pray. Jesus said, "Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened." Nothing will be denied you.

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

Every time we need to make a decision concerning our families, we need to pray.
Jesus said, "Ask and you will receive.
Seek and you will find.
Knock and the door will be opened."
Nothing will be denied you.

Every time you sacrifice something at great cost - every time you renounce something that appeals to you for the sake of the poor - you are feeding a hungry Christ. You are clothing His nakedness. You are offering shelter to a homeless Christ. Every time we are concerned about the poor - whether they are near or far away - we do it all for Him.

Faith in action through prayer, faith in action through service: each is the same thing, the same love, the same compassion. This is something that should encourage us and should be strength for us, that we complete each other more fully.

Faith is a gift from God. When God comes to you or you go to God, then you will have the chance to accept Him or reject Him.
Accepting Him is the gift of faith.

Find Jesus, and you will find peace.

Give the world the best you have, and the best will come back to you.

Give until it hurts.

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

God gives each soul that He has created an opportunity to find itself face to face with Him, to accept or reject Him.

God hasn't called me to be successful. He's called me to be faithful.

God has His own ways of working in the hearts of men, and we do not know how close He is to each one.

God has invested all His love in creating human life. That is why we are not entitled to destroy it, especially we who know that Christ has died for the salvation of that life. Christ has died and has given everything for that child.

God is always there.
He never leaves our prayers unanswered.

God is in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds, I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?

God is the friend of silence. See how nature -- trees, flowers, grass -- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. . . . We need silence to be able to touch souls.

God loves people and provides for them. They are more important to Him than the lilies of the field and the sparrows.

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Jesus said, " As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. " The Father's love, the Son's love, and our love is but a giving until it hurts.

God speaks in the silence of the heart, and we listen. And then we speak to God from the fullness of our heart, and God listens. And this listening and this speaking is what prayer is meant to be: oneness with God, oneness with Jesus.

God wants our will and our desire to be for him, for our family, for our children, for our brethren, and for the poor.

God wants to show his greatness by using nothingness.

God wants our will and our desire to be for him, for our family, for our children, for our brethren, and for the poor.

God will find another person, more humble, more devoted, more obedient to him, and the society will go on...on retirement.

Happiness can't be found without prayer.

He taught us to learn from Him, to be meek and humble of heart. If we are meek and humble, we will love each other as He loves us.

His love for us led Christ to Gethsemane and to Calvary.

Holiness consists of doing the will of God with a smile.

Holiness is the greatest gift that God can give us because for that reason He created us.

How can we love God and His poor, if we do not love each other with whom we live?

How can you love God whom you do not see, if you don't love the neighbor whom you do see - the neighbor you know and live with every day?

How poor we would be if God had not given us the power of giving ourselves to Him; how rich we are now!

I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.

I am for God and God for me. I live for God and give up my own self, and in this way God lives for me.

I believe in person to person. Every person is Christ for me, and since there is only one Jesus, that person is the one person in the world at that moment.

I believe that God has created each soul, that that soul belongs to God, and that each soul has to find God in its own lifetime and enter into His life. That is what is important. All of us need to seek God and find Him.

I believe that the most important thing is for us to love Jesus, then to love one another - ourselves and the members of our families - and to show our love for the poor.

I choose the poverty of our poor people. But I am grateful to receive it (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone.

I believe we must look for holiness, joy, and love in our own homes. We must make our home like a second "Nazareth" where Jesus can come and live with us.

I do not pray for success. I ask for faithfulness.

I don't think there is anyone who needs God's help and grace as much as I do. Sometimes I feel so helpless and weak. I think that is why God uses me. Because I cannot depend on my own strength, I rely on him 24 hours a day.

I find the rich much poorer--sometimes they are more lonely inside.

If we admit that we are sinners and we need forgiveness, then it will be very easy for us to forgive others. But if we don't admit this, it will be very hard for us to say, " I forgive you " no matter who comes to us.

If we approach others with the desire to give them God, He will bless our work. If we desire to bring them the joy of Christ which is our strength and help, bring Christ into their homes, He will be with us.
If we give them the chance to find Jesus and His loving kindness in us, soon the world will be overflowing with peace and love.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

If we pray, we will believe; If we believe, we will love; If we love, we will serve.

If we really mean to pray and want to pray we must be ready to do it now. This is only the first step towards prayer, but if we never make the first step with determination, we will not reach the last one:
the presence of God.

If we really want to love, we must learn to forgive before anything else.

If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.

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

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

If you love God, then you will love those around you.

If you try, you will find it impossible to do one great thing. You can only do many small things with great love.

If you want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it.

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.

I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.

I have never been in a war before, but I have seen famine and death. I was asking (myself) what do they feel when they do this? I don't understand it. They are all children of God. Why do they do it. I don't understand. -- Beirut, 1982.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

I must not attempt to control God's actions; I must not count the stages in the journey He would have me make. I ask Him to make a saint of me, yet I must leave to Him the choice of that saintliness itself and still more the choice of the means which lead to it.

In loving and serving, we prove that we have been created in the likeness of God, for God is love and when we love we are like God. That is what Jesus meant when He said, " Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect."

In silence we will find new energy and true unity. The energy of God will be ours to do all things well, and so will the unity of our thoughts with His thoughts, the unity of our prayers with His prayers, the unity of our actions with His actions, of our life with His life. All our words will be useless unless they come from within.

Intense love does not measure; it just gives.

In the developed countries there is a poverty of intimacy of spirit, of loneliness, of lack of love. There is no greater sickness today than that one.

In the silence of the heart, God speaks and you have to listen. Then in the fullness of your heart, because it is full of God, full of love, full of compassion, full of faith, your mouth will speak.

In time, they will start killing grown-up people, disabled people and so on. -- On abortion

I praise the tenderness and the love of God, because every little one, in a poor family or a rich family, is a child of God, created by the Creator of all things.

I pray for you that the Holy Spirit may fill you with His purity. I ask the Holy Spirit to free you of all impurity--body, soul, mind, will, and heart-- that each one of you become the living tabernacle of God Most High, and so become a carrier of God's love and compassion.

I prefer you to make mistakes in kindness than work miracles in unkindness.

I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper's wounds I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?

I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy, I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy.

Intense love does not measure; it just gives.

In the silence of the heart, God speaks and you have to listen. Then in the fullness of your heart, because it is full of God, full of love, full of compassion, full of faith, your mouth will speak.

In the name of the hungry, of the naked, of the crippled, of the homeless, of the blind, in their name, I accept the award.

In the West there is loneliness, which I call the leprosy of the West. In many ways it is worse than our poor in Calcutta.

I think I'm more difficult than critical.

I think there is something that can make us live joyfully. It is that Jesus is with us and loves us. If each one of us would simply remember that God loves us and is giving us the chance to love others in that love - not so much in big things but in the little things of life - our countries could become full of God's love.

It is a kingly act to assist the fallen.

It is a poverty to decide that an unborn child must die so that you may live as you like.

It is a wonderful thing that God Himself loves us tenderly. Knowing this should give us courage and joy for living.

It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

It is easy to love those who are far away. It isn't always easy to love those who are right next to us. It is easier to offer a dish of rice to satisfy the hunger of a poor person, than to fill up the loneliness and suffering of someone lacking love in our own family.

It is impossible to walk rapidly and be unhappy.

It is only by being transformed in spirit, by recognizing both our total inadequacy and the almighty power of God, that we can find the door to His Kingdom.

It is necessary that the Word live in you, that you understand the Word, that you live the Word. You will not be able to live that Word unless you give it to others.

It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.

It is only by being transformed in spirit, by recognizing both our total inadequacy and the almighty power of God, that we can find the door to His Kingdom.

It is possible that i may not be able to keep my attention fully on God while i work, but God doesn't demand that i do so. Yet i can fully desire and intend that my work be done with Jesus and for Jesus. This is beautiful and what God wants.

It is very important that right from the beginning we simply live the gospel. Live the gospel in prayer; live the gospel in words. You won't be able to give what you don't have.

It is possible that i may not be able to keep my attention fully on God while I work, but God doesn't demand that I do so.
Yet I can fully desire and intend that my work be done with Jesus and for Jesus.
This is beautiful and what God wants.

It takes humility to recognize the greatness of God shining through us.
Boasting of our greatness before men is pride. Great humility arises when we recognize that it is God's kindness and His greatness that shows through our hands, our work, and our love because that is the simple truth.
Jesus is the Truth that must be shared.

I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?

I want you to fill your heart with great love. Don't imagine that love, to be true and burning, must be extraordinary. No; what we need in our love is the continuous desire to love the One we love.

Jesus came to earth to give charity its rightful place in the hearts of men. " By this," He said, " men shall know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another " And this commandment will last for all eternity.

Jesus' good news was God's peace to all men of good will. That peace is something which is fundamental to the satisfaction of our most basic desires. It is a peace of the heart.

Jesus has chosen us for Himself; we belong to Him. Let us be so convinced of this belonging that we do not allow anything, however small, to separate us from this belonging--from this love.

Jesus is the Light
Jesus is the Truth
Jesus is the Life .
We too must be:
the Light of Charity
the Truth of Humility
the Life of Sanctity

Jesus knows the countless hungers of man, and He gives of Himself. What a gift!
What proof of His love!
What assurance for us!

Jesus loved and still loves the unwanted and the unloved. He loves them deeply. He died for them, and He doesn't stop saying:
" Love one another as I have loved you. As the Father loves me, love one another. "
This is the spirit of Christ.

Jesus said, " Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart. "

Jesus offers His lifelong, faithful, and personal friendship, embracing us in tenderness and love.

Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world.

Jesus taught us how to forgive out of love, how to forget out of humility. Let us be sincere and ask to be forgiven. Is my love for others so great, so real as to forgive, not out of duty but out of love?

Jesus, you have given everything, life, blood, all. Now it is my turn. I put everything into the field also. The common soldier fights in the ordinary lines, but the devoted one tries to be near the captain to share his fate.
This is the spirit of Christ.

Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.

Joy is prayer - Joy is strength - Joy is love - Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.

Keep close to Jesus. He loves you. Let us pray God bless you.

Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet especially your family. Be holy – let us pray."

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.

Learn to obey. It will lead you straight to God. There is a very straight way to the heart of Jesus. You will never, never go astray, never make a mistake, if you obey.

Let Jesus use you without consulting you, and you will be holy because you belong to Him.

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.
Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.

Let none glory in his success but refer all to God in deepest thankfulness; on the other hand, no failure should dishearten him as long as he has done his best.

Let the love of God once take entire and absolute possession of a heart; let it apply itself continually to increase this love of God by seeking to please Him in all things and refusing Him nothing that He asks; let it have a firm determination never to commit any fault deliberately and knowingly; or if it should fall, to be humble for it and to rise up again at once. Such a heart will pray continually.

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.

Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.

Let's do something beautiful for God.

Let us free our minds from all that is not Jesus. If you find it difficult to pray, ask Him again and again, " Jesus, come into my heart, pray in me and with me, that I may learn from you how to pray. "

Let's concentrate on a worthwhile goal: that no child be unwanted, that no person go unloved. And let's not stop smiling at whomever we meet, especially when it's hard to smile.

Let us keep the joy of loving Jesus in our hearts. And let's share that joy with everyone we meet. Passing on joy is something which is very natural. We have no reason for not being joyful, since Christ is with us. Christ is in our hearts.

Let us make one point, that we meet each other with a smile, when it is difficult to smile. Smile at each other, make time for each other in your family.

Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. The rest will be given.

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.

Let's not live distracted lives. Let us know ourselves so that we can better understand our brothers and sisters. If we want to understand those with whom we live, we need to understand ourselves first of all.

Let's not pray long, drawn-out prayers, but let's pray short ones full of love.

Let us pray for one another. Let us pray that we may accomplish our life's mission, which is to be holy. Let us pray that we will be the love and kindness of God in today's world.

Life is the greatest gift that God has bestowed on mankind. Since man is created in the image of God, it belongs to Him. We have no right to destroy it.

Like Jesus we belong to the world living not for ourselves but for others. The joy of the Lord is our strength."

Listen in silence, because if your heart is full of other things you cannot hear the voice of God.

Look at the cross and you will know what one soul means to Jesus.

Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in little things is a great thing.

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the worst poverty of all.

Loneliness is the most terrible poverty.

Lord Jesus, We know that you became poor for our sake. We ask that you make us to be poor in spirit, to imitate your own confident dependence on your Father.

Lord Jesus, We want to imitate you, who told us: " I am meek and humble of heart. " We ask you that, day by day, you lead us in this path. We wish to bring you, dear Christ, to others.

Love begins at home.
Everything depends on how we love each other.
Do not be afraid to love until it hurts, for this is how Jesus loved.

Love begins by taking care of the closest ones-the ones at home.

Love cannot remain by itself--it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service. Whatever form we are, able or disabled, rich or poor, it is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing; a lifelong sharing of love with others.

Love has a hem to her garment that reaches the very dust. It sweeps the streets and lanes, and because it can, it must.

Love has to hurt to be true. It hurt Jesus to love us. It truly hurt Him.

Love is a fruit, in season at all times and within the reach of every hand. Anyone may gather it and no limit is set.

Love is not something that fossilizes, but something that lives. Works of love, and declaring love, is the way to peace.
And where does this love begin?
Right in our hearts.

Love Jesus generously.
Love Him trustfully, without looking back and without fear. Give yourself fully to Jesus--He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your weakness.

Love Jesus with a big heart. Serve Jesus with joy and gladness of spirit, casting aside and forgetting all that troubles and worries you. To be able to do all these, pray lovingly like children, with an earnest desire to love much and make loved the Love that is not loved.

Love, tenderness, and compassion are real justice. Justice without love is not justice. Love without justice is not love.

Love to pray. Feel often during the day the need for prayer, and take trouble to pray. Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of Himself. Ask and seek and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him.

Love until it hurts; it takes deep sacrifice to proclaim the word of God.

Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus.

May the joy and love of the Risen Jesus be always with you, in you, and among you, so that we all become the true witnesses of His Father's love for the world: " For God loved the world so much that He gave His Son. "

May the joy of Our Risen Lord be your strength in your work, your way to the Father, your light to guide you and your Bread of Life.

May the joy of the risen Jesus Christ be with you, to bring joy into your very soul. The good God has given Himself to us. During His life here on earth, Jesus wanted to share His joy with His apostles, " That my joy may be in you. " Joy was the password of the first Christians. " Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say to you, rejoice. "

May we all have hearts overflowing with love as a reflection of God's love. God's love is what can save our families, our country, and the world.

Nakedness is not only for a piece of clothing; nakedness is lack of human dignity, and also that beautiful virtue of purity, and lack of that respect for each other.

One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.

Only in heaven will we see how much we owe to the poor for helping us to love God better because of them.

Our holy faith is nothing but a gospel of love, revealing to us God's love for men and claiming in return man's love for God.

Our ideal is no one but Jesus.
We must think as He thinks, love as He loves, wish as He wishes; we must permit Him to use us to the full.

Our lives, to be fruitful, must be full of Christ; to be able to bring His peace, joy, and love we must have it ourselves, for we cannot give what we have not got.

Our ideal is no one but Jesus. We must think as He thinks, love as He loves, wish as He wishes; we must permit Him to use us to the full.

Our prayers should be burning words coming forth from the furnace of a heart filled with love. Devoutly, with great sweetness, with natural simplicity, without any affectation, offer your praise to God with the whole of your heart and soul.

Our total surrender will come today by surrendering even our sins. We need humility to acknowledge our sin. The knowledge of our sin helps us to rise. " I will get up and go to my Father. "

Our vocation is to belong to Jesus. The easiest way and the simplest way of belonging is this: the Holy Spirit makes us do that giving of self, that total surrender to God, without any reflection, without any counting the cost. We call that " blind surrender. "

Our vow of chastity is nothing but our undivided love for Christ in chastity, then we proceed to the freedom of poverty-poverty is nothing but freedom. And that total surrender is obedience. If I belong to God, if I belong to Christ, then he must be able to use me. That is obedience. Then we give wholehearted service to the poor. That is service. They complete each other.
That is our life.

Peace begins with a smile.

People who are unloved and unwanted are, just like us, children of God. Even more, they are Christ in our midst and they belong to us. They are our brothers and sisters.

Perfect prayer does not consist in many words but in the fervor of the desire which raised the heart to Jesus. Jesus has chosen us to be souls of prayer, and our actions are fruitful only if they are the true expression of earnest prayer. We must fix our gaze on Jesus, and if we work together with Jesus we will do much better.

Please choose the way of peace... In the short term there may be winners and losers in this war that we all dread. But that never can, nor never will justify the suffering, pain and loss of life your weapons will cause.

Poverty comes into our homes to give us the chance to love. Here is where love finds its place. Are we there, open and willing to offer support and affection?

Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of Himself. Ask and seek, and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him and keep Him as your own.

Prayer is the breath of life to our soul; holiness is impossible without it.

Prayer, to be fruitful, must come from the heart.

Prayer unites us with Christ. Simply open your hearts to Him. Also, simply accept what He sends you. With a big smile, generously give Him what He asks of you. God will do the rest, never fear.

Real prayer is union with God, a union as vital as that of the vine and the branches, which is the illustration Jesus gives us in the Gospel of John.
We need prayer.
We need that union to produce good fruit.

Remember that the Passion of Christ ends in the joy of the Resurrection of Christ! When you feel in your own heart the suffering of Christ, remember the resurrection has to come, the joy of Easter has to dawn.

Remember that when your heart feels restless, when your heart feels hurt, when your heart feels like breaking - then remember, " I am precious to Him. He has called me by name. I am His. He loves me. "
And to prove that love He died on the cross.

Sacrifice and prayer complement each other. There is no prayer without sacrifice, and there is no sacrifice without prayer. That is what Jesus has shown us. Jesus' life was spent in intimate union with his Father as he passed through this world doing good. We need to do the same.

Sacrifice, to be real, must cost; it must hurt; it must empty us of self.

Service means an unceasing and wholehearted labor in making ourselves available to Jesus so that He may live, in and through us, His life of infinitely tender, compassionate and merciful love, for the spiritually and materially poorest of the poor.

Silence gives us a new outlook on everything. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say but what God says to us and through us. Jesus is always waiting for us in silence. In that silence, He will listen to us; there He will speak to our soul, and there we will hear His voice.

Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other -- it doesn't matter who it is -- and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other.

Souls of prayer are souls of great silence. We cannot put ourselves directly in the presence of God if we do not practice internal and external silence.

Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well.

Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house... let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.

Strive to soak up the simplicity and purity of Christ. Try to be more in tune with God and more open to Him, so that you will be able to see His face.

Suffering in and of itself is useless, but suffering which is a share in the passion of Christ is a marvelous gift for human life.

Suffering is a sign of love, because it was chosen by the Father to show us that He loved the world when He gave up His Son to die for us. In that way, through Christ's life, suffering proved to be a gift, the greatest gift of love, because through His suffering our sins were atoned for.

Surely if God feeds the young ravens which cry to Him, if He nourishes the birds which neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, if He vests the flowers of the field so beautifully, how much more will He care for men whom He has made in His own image and likeness and adopted as His children, if we only act as such.

Take God at His Word.
Jesus said, " You are more important to my Father than the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. " God continually provides.

Thanks be to God for your families. Try to find room for God in your families. If you are capable of bringing prayer back into your homes, you will be equally capable of overcoming all of the hardships that afflict the world.

The aim of taking a retreat is to advance in the knowledge and love of God, to purify ourselves, and to reform and transform our lives according to the life of our model, Jesus Christ. It is not so much a looking back on the achievements and failures of the past, as a looking forward to a more generous imitation of our Lord Himself.

The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.

The commitment spouses profess in their marriage vows is important. They accept each other in good times and in bad times. I think that this is something that we should always try to do with a smile.

The Cross will be for us as it was for Christ: proof of the greatest love.

The dying, the cripple, the mental, the unwanted, the unloved-- they are Jesus in disguise.

The first step to becoming holy is to will it. St. Thomas says, " Sanctity consists in nothing else than a firm resolve, the heroic act of a soul abandoning himself to God. By an upright will we love God, we choose God, we run toward God, we reach Him, we possess Him." O good, good will which transforms me into the image of God and makes me like Him!

The fullness of our heart is expressed in our eyes, in our touch, in what we write, in what we say, in the way we walk, the way we receive, the way we need. That is the fullness of our heart expressing itself in many different ways.

The fruit of Silence is Prayer.
The fruit of Prayer is Faith.
The fruit of Faith is Love.
The fruit of Love is Service.
The fruit of Service is Peace.

The Gospels remind us that Jesus, before he taught the people, felt compassion for the multitudes that followed after him. Sometimes he felt it even to the point of forgetting to eat. How did he put his compassion into practice?
He multiplied the loaves of bread and the fish to satisfy their hunger. Only then did he tell them the good news.

The humbler the work, the greater should be your love and efficiency. Be not afraid of the life of sacrifice.

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.

The first step to becoming holy is to will it. St. Thomas says, " Sanctity consists in nothing else than a firm resolve, the heroic act of a soul abandoning himself to God. By an upright will we love God, we choose God, we run toward God, we reach Him, we possess Him." O good, good will which transforms me into the image of God and makes me like Him!

The fullness of our heart is expressed in our eyes, in our touch, in what we write, in what we say, in the way we walk, the way we receive, the way we need. That is the fullness of our heart expressing itself in many different ways.

The fruit of our work, as well as the ability to carry it out, comes from prayer. The work that we accomplish is the fruit of our union with Christ. We have been called to give Jesus to the peoples of the world, so that they can look at Him and discover His love, His compassion, and His humility in action.

The fruit of Silence is Prayer.
The fruit of Prayer is Faith.
The fruit of Faith is Love.
The fruit of Love is Service.
The fruit of Service is Peace.

The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between.

The humbler the work, the greater should be your love and efficiency.

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.

The mission of proclaiming Christ, through action or through words, is one mission, the mission of love and compassion.

The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.

The more we empty ourselves, the more room we give God to fill us.

The more you have, the more you are occupied, the less you give. But the less you have the more free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is not a mortification, a penance. It is joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. But we are perfectly happy.

The most important medicine is tender love and care.

The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.

The poor give us much more than we give them. They're such strong people, living day to day with no food. and they never curse, never complain. We don't have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.

The other day I dreamed that I was at the gates of heaven. And St. Peter said, 'Go back to Earth. There are no slums up here.'

There are so many little things we can do for others that are so small many people forget about them. But these aren't small things. They show our love for Christ.

There are so many religions and each one has its different ways of following God. I follow Christ:
Jesus is my God,
Jesus is my Spouse,
Jesus is my Life,
Jesus is my only Love,
Jesus is my All in All;
Jesus is my Everything.

There is always the danger that we may just do the work for the sake of the work. This is where the respect and the love and the devotion come in - that we do it to God, to Christ, and that's why we try to do it as beautifully as possible.

There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives-- the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them.

There is great humility in God. He can stoop down to people like us and become dependent on us for His work to live, to grow, to bear fruit. And He could easily have done it without us. Yet He stooped down and called us to do it.

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.

There is no limit to God's love. It is without measure and its depth cannot be sounded.

There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I've always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic.

There should be less talk. A preaching point is not a meeting point.

The Scriptures tell us, "I have called you by name. You belong to me. You are precious to me. I love you." God Himself declares that we are precious to Him. He loves us, and He wants us to respond to His love.

The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done.

The time we spend in having our daily audience with God is the most precious part of the whole day.

The trouble is that rich people, well-to-do people, very often don't really know who the poor are; and that is why we can forgive them, for knowledge can only lead to love, and love to service. And so, if they are not touched by them, it's because they do not know them.

The true way and the sure way to friendship is being open to each other, accepting each other just as we are, knowing each other.

The very fact that God has placed a certain soul in your way is a sign that God wants to do something for him. It is not chance--it has been planned by God.
We are bound in conscience to help. If a soul desires God, he has the right to be given the means to go to Him. No one has the right to stand between.

The whole of our life must come to that one word "yes." Yes to God: that is holiness. We allow God to take from us whatever He wants and we accept whatever He gives with joy. That is yes in action.

The world today is hungry not only for bread but hungry for love; hungry to be wanted, to be loved.

This is a sign of the joy of loving God: sharing that love with others.

This is what people expect from us: that we fully live out our Christianity.

Through prayer I become one in love with Christ. I realize that praying to Him is loving Him. For me, prayer means being united to the will of God twenty-four hours a day, to live for Him, through Him, and with Him.

To be holy doesn't mean to do extraordinary things, to understand big things, but it is a simple acceptance, because I have given myself to God, because I belong to Him - my total surrender.
He could put me here. He could put me there. He can use me. He can not use me.
It doesn't matter because I belong so totally to Him that He can do just what He wants to do with me.

Today let us recall the love of God for you and for me.
His love is so tender.
His love is so great, so real, so living that Jesus came just to teach us that-- how to love.

To keep a lamp burning we have to keep putting oil in it.

To possess God we must allow Him to possess our souls.

Total surrender consists in giving ourselves completely to God. We must give ourselves fully to God because God has given Himself fully to us. If God owes nothing to us and is ready to impart to us no less than Himself, shall we answer with just a fraction of ourselves?

Total surrender to God must come in small details just as it comes in big details. It's nothing but that single word, " Yes, I accept whatever you give, and I give whatever you take. " And this is just a simple way for us to be holy.

True love for our neighbor is to wish him well and to do good to him.

Trust in the good God who loves us, who cares for us, who sees all, knows all, can do all things for my good and the good of souls. One thing Jesus asks of me: that I lean upon Him; that in Him alone I put complete trust; that I surrender myself to Him unreservedly.

Understand the tenderness of God's love. You are precious to Him. He loves you, and He loves you so tenderly that He has carved you on the palm of His hand. " I have inscribed you on the palms of my hand. " (Isaiah 49:16)

" Unless you become like a little child, you cannot enter into heaven. "
And what is being a little child?
It is having a clean heart, a pure heart, a heart that holds Jesus, a heart that can say again and again,
" Jesus in my heart, I believe in your tender love for me. I love you. "

Vocation, for a Christian, is Jesus. Our means, how we spend our time, may be different, but it is still our love for Jesus in action.

We can do no great things, only small things with great love.

We are all called to be saints. We all have been created in the image of God to love and to be loved.

We are all pencils in the hand of God.

We are at Jesus' disposal. If He wants you to be sick in bed, if He wants you to proclaim His word in the street, that's all right, everything is all right. We must say, " I belong to you. You can do whatever you like. " And this is our strength and this is the joy of the Lord.

We are but instuments that God deigns to use; these instuments bring forth fruit in the measure that they are united to God...... We obtain grace in proportion to our sanctity, to our fervor, and to our degree of union with our Lord.

We are at Jesus' disposal.
If He wants you to be sick in bed, if He wants you to proclaim His word in the street, that's all right, everything is all right.
We must say, " I belong to you. You can do whatever you like. "
And this is our strength and this is the joy of the Lord.

We are to be all love, all faith, all purity for the sake of the poor we serve.

We can do no great things; only small things with great love.

We Christians cannot be divided.
We must all work together. We are all one. In this unity, where two or three are gathered, Christ is there with us.

We could know all possible knowledge, and all of theology and all the things about God, but we would not be able to light a fire in the hearts of the people. We could just be uttering words, not living those words. That is why it is necessary for us that our words be the fruit of our life, the fruit of our prayers. "

We have been created to love and to be loved.

We must become holy not because we want to feel holy, but because Christ must be able to live His life fully in us.

We must join our prayer with work.
How is it possible to change one's work into a prayer?
Work cannot substitute for prayer.
Nevertheless, we can learn to make work a prayer.
How can we do this?
By doing our work with Jesus and for Jesus.

We must know that we have been created for greater things, not just to be a number in the world, not just to go for diplomas and degrees, this work and that work.

We must make our homes centers of compassion and forgive endlessly.

We have a great deal of worth in the eyes of God. I never tire of saying over and over again that God loves us.

We have been created in order to love and to be loved.

We have been created to live in peace. Jesus became man to bring that good news to the poor. Being God, He became like us in every way except sin. And He proclaimed clearly that He had come to bring good news.

We have to give until it hurts. We need to give from the resources we would like to keep for ourselves. We need to give to the point of sacrificing. We must give something that we find hard to give up.

We must be aware of our oneness with Christ, as He was aware of oneness with His Father. Our work is truly apostolic only in so far as we permit Him to work in us and through us, with His power, with His desire, and with His love.

We must give Jesus absolute reign in our homes. Once we have Jesus with us, then we can give Him to others.

We must join our prayer with work. How is it possible to change one's work into a prayer? Work cannot substitute for prayer. Nevertheless, we can learn to make work a prayer. How can we do this? By doing our work with Jesus and for Jesus.

We must know exactly when we say yes to God what is in that yes. Yes means " I surrender," totally, fully, without any counting the cost, without any examination, " Is it all right? Is it convenient?" Our yes to God is without any reservations.

We must know that we have been created for greater things, not just to be a number in the world, not just to go for diplomas and degrees, this work and that work. We have been created in order to love and to be loved.

We must love with Jesus' love and his spirit of sacrifice. God loved us by giving himself to us. We too must give ourselves to one another. Because of this, we must reject whatever would keep us from giving ourselves to one another.

We must make our homes centers of compassion and forgive endlessly."

We must spread God's love on earth if we want to make souls repent wholeheartedly for sin, to strengthen them in temptation, and to increase their generosity and their desire to suffer for Christ.

We need each other. Our lives would be empty without each other.

We need to be able to pray.
We need prayer just like we need air.
Without prayer, we can do nothing.

We need to avoid pride.
Pride destroys everything. That's why Jesus told His disciples to be meek and humble with one another. To live His way is the key to being meek and humble.

We need to be able to pray. We need prayer just like we need air. Without prayer, we can do nothing.

We need to be someone for the naked who not only lack clothing but mercy. We need to be someone for the destitute who not only lack a roof over their heads, but who are deprived of having someone who cares, someone to belong to.

We need to bring prayer into our family life. Through prayer, we will be able to teach our children and relatives to share. We will gain more through genuine prayer than with mere words.

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.... We need silence to be able to touch souls.

We need to give Christ a chance to make use of us to be his word and his work. If we do not radiate the light of Christ around us, the sense of darkness that prevails in the world will increase. The people around us should be able to recognize him by our union with God.

We need to soak up the tender love of Jesus. We need to extend to each and every one the assurance that God loves him. And i love you all so very much. Chris

We need to work for Christ with a humble heart, with the humility of Christ. He comes and uses us to be His love and compassion in the world in spite of our weaknesses and frailties.

We need to soak up the tender love of Jesus. We need to extend to each and every one the assurance that God loves him.

We need to work for Christ with a humble heart, with the humility of Christ. He comes and uses us to be His love and compassion in the world in spite of our weaknesses and frailties.

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.

We realize that what we are accomplishing is a drop in the ocean. But if that drop were not in the ocean, it would be missed."

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.

We should give thanks to God for what He has done in us, with us, and through us. We should thank Him for using us to be His love and mercy.

We should realize that poverty doesn't only consist in being hungry for bread, but rather it is a tremendous hunger for human dignity. We need to love and to be somebody for someone else.

We sometimes feel that what we do is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

We stand before the world as ambassadors of peace by preaching the message of love in action that crosses all barriers of nationality, creed, or country.

We, the unwilling,led by the unknowing,are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much,for so long,with so little,we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.

Whatever you do, even if you help somebody cross the road, you do it to Jesus. Even if you give somebody a glass of water, you do it to Jesus. Such a simple little teaching, but it is so important.

What greater love is there than God's love for each one of us? His love isn't a fantasy. It is real.

" What have we got that we have not received? " asks St. Paul. If I have received everything, what good have I of my own? If we are convinced of this we will never raise our head in pride. If you are humble, nothing will touch you, neither praise nor disgrace, because you know what you are.

What is important is that we are able to smile at one another in our families. With a generous and cheerful smile, we should be able to accept everything that happens, both the joyful things and the sad things.

What is our spiritual life?
A love union with Jesus, in which the divine and the human give themselves completely to one another.

What Jesus did when He became man was totally surrender to His Father. He belongs so much to the Father that there is no separation, no division.

What we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But if that drop was not in the ocean, I think the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. I do not agree with the big way of doing things.

What we do is less than a drop in the ocean. But if it were missing, the ocean would lack something.

When I see waste here, I feel angry on the inside. I don't approve of myself getting angry. But it's something you can't help after seeing Ethiopia.

When I was crossing into Gaza, I was asked at the check post whether I was carrying any weapons.
I replied: Oh yes, my prayer books.

When life is most demanding and you give cheerfully in spite of that, that is love at its best.

When suffering comes to us, we should accept it with a smile, because it is the greatest gift that God gives us. It is a gift to have the courage to accept everything that He sends us.

Whether one is Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian, how you live your life is proof that you are or not fully His. We cannot condemn or judge or pass words that will hurt people. We don't know in what way God is appearing to that soul and what God is drawing that soul to; therefor, who are we to condemn anybody?

Who Is Jesus to Me?
Jesus is the Hungry--to be fed.
Jesus is the Thirsty--to be satiated.
Jesus is the Naked--to be clothed.
Jesus is the Homeless--to be taken in.
Jesus is the Sick--to be healed.
Jesus is the Lonely--to be loved.

Who Is Jesus to Me?
Jesus is the Love--to be loved.
Jesus is the Joy--to be shared.
Jesus is the Sacrifice--to be offered. Jesus is the Peace--to be given.

Who Is Jesus to Me?
Jesus is the Word--to be spoken.
Jesus is the Truth--to be told.
Jesus is the Way--to be walked.
Jesus is the Light--to be lit.
Jesus is the Life--to be lived.

Who is the church? You and I. The church are those who follow Jesus.

With God, nothing is impossible.
I perceive the infinite greatness that we can tap into.I see how he can work through us. Because you and I have nothing on our own we need him.
As the Bible says, God waits and looks.
Will we respond?

Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.

Would that we could be so convinced of this necessity of silence! I think then the road to close union with God would become very clear.

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."

You and I, we are the Church, no? We have to share with our people. Suffering today is because people are hoarding, not giving, not sharing. Jesus made it very clear: Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do it to me. Give a glass of water, you give it to me. Receive a little child, you receive me

You are to be that presence of Christ to each other. Love each other tenderly as Jesus loves each one of you. Tender love for each other speaks much louder than all the words you can say.

Your service must come from a heart filled with God. This is not impossible.
It is possible with the one who can do everything.
Without him, we can do nothing.

You must try to bring the presence of God to your families. I think that just being together and loving one another brings peace and joy and strengthens the bond between family members in the home. That is the way to overcome all the evil that is in the world.

You need only ask at night before you go to bed, " What did I do to Jesus today? "
" What did I do for Jesus today? "
" What did I do with Jesus today? "
You have only to look at your hands.
This is the best examination of conscience.

Your service must come from a heart filled with God. This is not impossible. It is possible with the one who can do everything. Without him, we can do nothing.

Your vocation, as well as mine, can be summed up this way: to belong to Jesus, to love with the conviction that nothing and no one can ever separate us from the love of Christ.

Zeal for souls is the effect and the proof of true love of God. We cannot but be consumed with the desire for saving souls, the greatest and dearest interest of Jesus. Therefore, zeal is the test of love and the test of zeal is devotedness to His cause--spending life and energy in the work of souls.


Waleed J Iskandar

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