People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
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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.
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One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.
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Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think is a much
greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
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Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.
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Because we cannot see Christ, we cannot express our love to Him in person. But our neighbor we can see,
and we can do for him or her what we would love to do for Jesus if He were visible.
Let us be open to God so that He can use us. Let us put love into our actions, beginning in the family,
in the neighborhood, in the street. It is difficult, but there is where the work begins.
We are co-workers with Christ, a fruit bearing branch of the vine.
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Love begins by taking care of the closest ones– the ones at home.
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I am like a little pencil in God’s hand. He does the thinking. He does the writing.
The pencil has only to allowed to be used.
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Matthew 25:31-40 — (Jesus said), “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Matthew 22:35-40 — One of them, an expert in the law, tested (Jesus) with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Romans 12:10 — Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
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Deliver me, O Jesus, from the desire to be extolled… honored… praised… preferred… consulted… approved… popular;
And deliver me, O Jesus, from the fear of being humiliated… despised… forgotten… rebuked… wronged… ridiculed… suspected.
–Mother Teresa, A Simple Path