What are documented quotes by Mother Teresa on helping the poor?

1. The core, oft‑repeated line: “The poverty of being unwanted…”

Across the sources, the most frequently cited quote is some form of: “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,” or the shorter variant “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty” ^{[1] [2] [5] [3]}. These versions appear in devotional, educational and quote‑aggregation sites, indicating wide circulation and acceptance of the formulation ^{[1] [5]}.

2. Recurrent themes beyond that line: hunger for love and spiritual poverty

Sources collect other related aphorisms she used: “There are many in the world who are dying for a piece of bread but there are many more dying for a little love,” and observations that the West’s chief disease is being “unwanted, unloved, and uncared for” — framing a distinction between material and emotional/spiritual poverty ^{[6] [7]}. Outlets such as A‑Z Quotes and Borgen Project present these as part of a coherent body of commentary tying charity to love and spiritual hunger ^{[6] [8]}.

3. Practical and theological framing: poverty as vocation and necessity

Mother Teresa is also quoted asserting that “Our life of poverty is as necessary as the work itself” and that serving the poor helps others love God better — language that places poverty within a religious vocation and frames voluntary poverty as integral to service ^{[9] [6]}. The Borgen Project highlights statements linking her work to Christian love in action ^[8].

4. Short, sharp moral claims: children, abortion, and responsibility

Some compilations attribute sharper moral pronouncements to her, for example “It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish,” and claims that “Poverty was not created by God. It is we who have caused it…through our egotism” ^{[10] [5]}. These lines appear in quote‑collections emphasizing moral responsibility for social conditions ^{[5] [10]}.

5. Source reliability and attribution: many secondary compilations, few primary texts

The supplied results are almost entirely quote‑aggregators, NGO blogs and encyclopedic entries (BrainyQuote, Goodreads, A‑Z Quotes, Catholic Online, Oxford Reference, Borgen Project) rather than primary transcripts or original publications. That pattern means the exact original context, date or publication for many of these formulations is not established in the provided material; the sources consistently repeat the lines but do not always cite the primary speech or book where Mother Teresa first said them ^{[1] [6] [4] [3]}.

6. Why context matters: phrasing varies but themes are constant

Different sites present slightly different phrasings — “most terrible poverty,” “greatest poverty,” “the poverty of being unwanted” — but all convey the same core argument: poverty includes emotional and spiritual dimensions and demands compassionate, immediate response ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Given the reliance on secondary compilations, readers should note paraphrase and editorial smoothing likely explain variations ^{[1] [6]}.

7. What the available sources do not show

Available sources do not mention original publication details (specific books, dates, or speeches) establishing every quoted sentence verbatim. They do not provide manuscript images, direct transcripts, or archival citations in the results provided here, so tracing every quote to a primary source is not possible from these items alone ^{[1] [5] [3]}.

8. How to use these quotes responsibly

Use the repeated lines above when summarizing Mother Teresa’s publicly attributed stance: emphasize the distinction she drew between material and emotional poverty and her insistence that charity must be animated by love ^{[1] [6] [9]}. If you need scholarly precision—exact wording, date and original context—consult primary sources (her books like No Greater Love, recorded speeches or Vatican archives) because the present compilations offer consistent attribution but limited primary documentation in the files provided ^{[11] [5]}.

Closing note: the supplied materials demonstrate a clear, consistent voice: Mother Teresa argued that the worst forms of poverty are those of the heart and spirit and that practical charity must be rooted in love — an idea reiterated across the quote collections and institutional summaries in these results ^{[1] [6] [3]}.