Mary Catherine Bateson Quotes

You don't have love without sacrifice; you can't have sacrifice without love.

Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.

A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.

Compassion comes from a choice and not the liberal definition of a choice - the choice to say I can do with a little less so my brother can have a little more.

The degree of loving is measured by the degree of giving.

My calling is to help people, to teach people, to share with people, until I die. I can never stop doing that. I can't, and I don't want to.

I want to be that person who could sacrifice everything for others.

Never reach out your hand unless you're willing to extend an arm.

Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love.

The manner of giving is worth more than the gift.

For how many things, which for our own sake we should never do, do we perform for the sake of our friends.

Love is sacrifice.

Whoever loves becomes humble. Those who love have, so to speak, pawned a part of their narcissism.

You've got to give away what you love.

A bell's not a bell 'til you ring it, A song's not a song 'til you sing it, Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay, Love isn't love 'til you give it away!

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

To give alms is nothing unless you give thought also.

Caregiving has no second agendas or hidden motives. The care is given from love for the joy of giving without expectation, no strings attached.

If you want that good feeling that comes from doing things for other folks then you have to pay for it in abuse and misunderstanding.

If you really want to receive joy and happiness, then serve others with all your heart. Lift their burden, and your own burden will be lighter.

I'm from the bottom, I understand what it's like to have and to not have. My perception on giving is to put yourself in those people's shoes and go from there. So that's what I did.

Love consists in desiring to give what is our own to another and feeling his delight as our own.

It's not about me, it's about my family. You don't answer questions for you, but for us. You learn to live beyond yourself.

When you share your last crust of bread with a beggar, you mustn't behave as if you were throwing a bone to a dog. You must give humbly, and thank him for allowing you to have a part in his hunger.

Financial support is one thing, but I always think what becomes really sacrificial is your time.