The Fruit of Love

Topic: Serving Others

We must love one another as God loves each one of us. To be able to love, we need a clean heart. Prayer is what gives us a clean heart. The fruit of prayer is a deepening of faith, and the fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action.

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa (1910-1997), born in the city of Skopje, dedicated her life to serving others, particularly those society often overlooked—the impoverished, the sick, and the destitute. Despite her worldwide recognition for such selfless endeavors, she faced her share of challenges and struggles. Yet, Mother Teresa's deep faith and sense of purpose fortified her commitment to service, embodying her belief that "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

Alongside her remarkable strengths—compassion, dedication, resilience—Mother Teresa was as human as any of us. Her journey was not without difficulties; indeed, she experienced lingering feelings of loneliness and isolation. There were times when she questioned her mission, grappling with the stark realities of life and poverty that she witnessed daily. Yet, she remained true to her calling, undeterred by the harshness of the circumstances or the enormity of the task at hand. Her life reminded us that even amid struggle and obscurity, one could find a profound sense of purpose through service. She emphasized, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

In the face of adversity, Mother Teresa saw an opportunity to engage with life deeply, transforming her hardships into lessons of hope and love. She was a living testament to her conviction that "The fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action." Regardless of the struggles she faced internally, externally, she personified love in action – extending kindness, care, and comfort to those who needed it the most. Her legacy isn't just about the numerous deeds she performed; it’s about the immense love and compassion she put into every act, however small. Through the power of love and service, Mother Teresa left a legacy that continues to inspire generations across the world.

(1910-1997) Christianity

Teresa, Mother. A Simple Path. Introduction to Mother Teresa. Edited by Lucinda Vardey, Random House Large Print in Association with Ballantine Books, 1995.

Mother Teresa

Theme: Serving

About This Mother Teresa Quotation [Commentary]

Mother Teresa’s teaching, “The fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action,” defines love not as a feeling but as something that must be lived. Love, to be real, must move outward. It takes the shape of service—acts that respond to suffering with care and attentiveness. For Mother Teresa, compassion becomes visible in these acts. Service is not an extra virtue; it is love taking form, becoming real through what we do for one another.

She lays out a clear sequence: “The fruit of prayer is a deepening of faith, and the fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service.” At the root is prayer, which “gives us a clean heart.” Only with a clean heart can we truly love. That love, formed through prayer and strengthened by faith, gives rise to service—not out of duty, but as a natural unfolding. Her words show how one practice flows into the next. Each step prepares the heart to act with sincerity and without self-interest.

“We must love one another as God loves each one of us,” she says. That kind of love is not passive or limited to intention—it leads directly to serving. When we love in this way, we recognize the value of each person. Service becomes “compassion in action,” a way of living that honors our shared humanity. For Mother Teresa, it is through these small, concrete acts of care that love is made visible and real.

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa dedicated herself wholeheartedly, freely and unconditionally to the service of the poor. She bequeathed her highly disciplined upholding of the vows of poverty, purity and obedience upon her organization, which has both grown and strengthened even since her passing.

—Stephen R. Covey [The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness] p.69.

Additional Mother Teresa Quotes

“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.”

—Mother Teresa. A Simple Path, Introduction to Mother Teresa. Edited by Lucinda Vardey, Random House Large Print in Association with Ballantine Books, 1995.

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

—”Do It Anyway,” attributed to Mother Teresa.*

The verses above reportedly were written on the wall of Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta, India, and are widely attributed to her. Some sources say that the words above were written on the wall in Mother Teresa’s room. In any case, their association with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity has made them popular worldwide, expressing as they do, the spirit in which they lived their lives. They seem to be based on a composition originally by Kent Keith, but much of the second half has been rewritten more spiritually. The version above is credited to Mother Teresa. [Prayer Foundation website.]

Resources

Prayer Foundation website

The Fruit of Love

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