Jean Vanier Quotes

We love those whom we serve (p. 26)

I start every day by wanting more for others than I do for myself. I think that is how God works, and that is how I think we have to work.

We love most those who we serve most.

The path to enlightenment is really very simple - all we need to do is stop cherishing ourself and learn to cherish others. All other spiritual realisations will naturally follow from this.

When you learn to live for others, they will live for you.

True love is spelled G-I-V-E. It is not based on what you can get, but rooted in what you can give to the other person.

Love is not about what you want. It's about finding happiness for the one you love.

We must want for others, not ourselves alone.

Selfishness is weakness. But loving and caring for others is a position of power beyond anything we can possibly imagine.

I'll give you an exact definition. When the happiness of another person becomes as essential to yourself as your own, then the state of love exists.

Take more pleasure in giving what is best to another than in having it for yourself, and then all the world will love you.

We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness... We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us

Loving people is the highest level of spiritual warfare that we could ever do

The Master lives within everyone. When you give food to the one who is starving, when you give water to the one who is thirsty, when you cover the one who is cold, you give your love to the Master.

Your life doesn't belong to you, it belongs to the people that love you

Those who are willing to sacrifice and be of service have very little difficulty with people. They know what they are all about. People can't help but want to be near them. They help them; they work with them. That's what love is all about. It starts with your heart and radiates out.

At times we can be self-absorbed. Lord, help us to open our hearts to others and to serve those who are most vulnerable.

True humility means giving joy to others.

If you want to serve the universe, the obvious place to begin is right where you are. That's where I began. I looked at every situation I came into and wondered, 'What can I do to be of service in this situation?' Sometimes there was nothing I could do, but often there was - a helping hand, a word of cheer, a pleasant smile. Then, after I had given a lot, a most wonderful spiritual receiving began - giving me more to give.

The truest state of humanity is that you're living for other people.

Our prayers for others flow more easily than those for ourselves. This shows we are made to live by charity.

The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.

Yoga is about compassion and generosity towards others. It means being mindful of the world around us.

The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live.

Our lives are to be used and thus to be lived as fully as possible, and truly it seems that we are never so alive as when we concern ourselves with other people.