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 words, “The fruit of love is service, which is compassion in action,” remind us that love finds its true expression in how we care for others. For her, love is not a passive feeling but an active force that calls us to respond to suffering with empathy and kindness. Service, born from love, becomes a way to embody compassion in our everyday lives. It is not just a duty or task; it is love in motion, seeking to ease the burdens of others with a caring heart.

She further explains how this way of living is nurtured: prayer purifies the heart, leading to a deepening of faith. From this faith springs love, and from love comes service. For Mother Teresa, service is a natural progression—an outpouring of the love cultivated through prayer and faith. With a clean heart, one becomes open to truly loving others, seeing their needs and offering compassion not from obligation but from genuine care.

In these teachings, Mother Teresa highlights how deeply interconnected prayer, love, and service are. Through acts of service, we acknowledge the dignity of those we help and our shared connection as human beings. Compassion in action is love made visible, a daily practice that strengthens both the giver and receiver. In serving others with love, we allow the fruits of compassion to grow in our lives, transforming ordinary moments into opportunities for connection and care.

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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