Mother Teresa on conversions, Catholic church and other things

On religious conversions

To me, conversion means changing of heart by love. Conversion by force or bribery is a shameful thing. It is a terrible humiliation for anyone to give up religion for a plate of rice.

On feeling God's presence

God speaks to us in the silence of the heart. He speaks when all doubts are quietened and the mind is still... ready to receive his instructions, prepared to take his command. When we pray we have a clean heart. And the clean heart can see god. And if you see god in each other, you love each other.

On choosing to work among the "poorest of the poor"

The poor can still fight for himself, but the poorest of the poor cannot. The poorest of the poor has nothing and nobody. Anyone who has nothing and nobody is the poorest of the poor. Because he has nothing to fall back upon, he has no fight left in him. It is he who needs love most.

On her relationship with Indira Gandhi

We are friends. I find her very concerned about poverty. With me she is always responsive. But I never enter into any political discussion with her. I suppose she loves the people. 1 think so.

On Sanjay Gandhi's forced sterilisation programme

I was opposed to it. I told Mrs Gandhi so. Instead, 1 suggested to her to popularise our natural family planning methods which have been praised by doctors and are cent per cent effective. I told her that such forced sterilisation was just one step short of abortion. But my words had no effect.

On the regulations of the Catholic church

I never felt that way. Nor did I feel the necessity to change the rules of the catholic church. It is not relevant, too. in the hour of death, we are going to be judged by what we have done to the poor. We have consecrated our lives to give wholehearted and free service for the poorest of the poor.

On work

My work is a drop in the ocean. But if I did not put in that drop the ocean would have been one drop less. If I did not pick up that one dying person from the road many years ago I could not pick up 43,000 such persons subsequently. You see, I have no time to think deeply into the problems of poverty and misery, and to analyse the reasons. The poor and the sick also have no time. We need action, not thinking.