In Her Own Words
ON CHARITY
“I see God in every human being. When I wash the leper’s wounds I feel I am nursing the Lord himself. Is it not a beautiful experience?”
--1974 interview
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ON THE POOR
“The poor give us much more than we give them. They’re such strong people, living day to day with no food. And they never curse, never complain. We don’t have to give them pity or sympathy. We have so much to learn from them.”
--1977 interview
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ON WAR
“I have never been in a war before, but I have seen famine and death. I was asking [myself] what do they feel when they do this? I don’t understand it. They are all children of God. Why do they do it. I don’t understand.”
--Beirut, 1982, during fighting between the Israeli army and Palestinian guerrillas
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ON THE UNITED STATES
“When I see waste here, I feel angry on the inside. I don’t approve of myself getting angry. But it’s something you can’t help after seeing Ethiopia.”
--Washington, 1984
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ON DYING
“The other day I dreamed that I was at the gates of heaven. And St. Peter said, ‘Go back to Earth, there are no slums up here.’ ”
--Quoted as telling Prince Michael of Greece in 1996
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