Don't look for big things, just do small things with great love.

Mother Teresa (1910–1997), founder of the Missionaries of Charity, repeatedly emphasized that holiness and effective service are found in ordinary, often hidden acts done for the poor and sick. The sentiment in this quote reflects her public teaching from the 1960s onward as her order expanded from Calcutta to a global network of homes for the dying, orphanages, and leprosy work. In speeches and interviews she often contrasted the desire for dramatic achievements with the daily discipline of humble care—washing, feeding, listening—framed as love offered to Christ in “the poorest of the poor.” The line is commonly circulated as a summary of that message rather than a precisely documented single utterance.

The quote argues against measuring a life by grand accomplishments and instead locates moral and spiritual significance in small, concrete actions performed with deep compassion. “Big things” stand for prestige, recognition, or sweeping change; “small things” are the repetitive, unglamorous tasks that sustain human dignity. The decisive standard is not scale but love: attention, patience, and self-giving. In Mother Teresa’s worldview, love transforms ordinary service into a form of devotion, and the accumulation of such acts becomes a quiet force for good. The saying also functions as practical counsel, lowering the threshold for meaningful action—anyone can begin where they are.

1) "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."
2) "Do small things with great love."
3) "We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love."