--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [There is a] kind of all-embracing…" description: "\"“[There is a] kind of all-embracing universality evident in Mother Teresa’s prayer: “May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/david-james-duncan-8032_mother-teresa_there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-univers_787649.png" --- # \[There is a\] kind of all-embracing universality evident in… ![“[There is a] kind of all-embracing universality evident in Mother Teresa’s prayer: “May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in.” Not just fellow nuns, Catholics, Calcuttans, Indians. The whole world. It gives me pause to realize that, were such a prayer said by me and…” quote by David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/david-james-duncan-8032_mother-teresa_there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-univers_787649.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/david-james-duncan-8032_mother-teresa_there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-univers_787649.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/david-james-duncan-8032_mother-teresa_there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-univers_787649.png) > ““\[There is a\] kind of all-embracing universality evident in Mother Teresa’s prayer: “May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in.” Not just fellow nuns, Catholics, Calcuttans, Indians. The whole world. It gives me pause to realize that, were such a prayer said by me and answered by God, I would afterward possess a heart so open that even hate-driven zealots would fall inside... \[My\] sense of the world as a gift, my sense of a grace operative in this world despite its terrors, propels me to allow the world to open my heart still wider, even if the openness comes by breaking—for I have seen the whole world fall into a few hearts, and nothing has ever struck me as more beautiful.”” [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The prayer for a heart broken by divine love expands one’s capacity to love all, even enemies, suggesting that profound openness arises through suffering. **In simple terms:** Opening one’s heart through suffering allows universal love. Key Takeaway Seek deep compassion, even if it hurts. Themes compassion spirituality universality pain love Mood hopeful introspective Type spiritual inspirational When to use this quote - personal prayer - spiritual practice - social activism Key Concepts theology psychology humanism Questions to Reflect On - Can love survive when constantly broken? - What boundaries protect the compassionate heart? A Different Perspective Such openness can be exploited or lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature of Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-beauty/) [Open heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-heart/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) ## Related quotes > [When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being. Youre able to keep your eyes open, your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-open-yourself-to-the-continually-changing-impermanent/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people say that our salvation lies with God, or with God's Son, yet is not the human heart the place where such Divinity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/some-people-say-that-our-salvation-lies-with-god-or-with-god-s-son/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“The most difficult work of leadership involves learning to experience distress without numbing yourself. The virtue of a sacred heart lies in the courage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-linsky/the-most-difficult-work-of-leadership-involves-learning-to-experience/) [Martin Linsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-linsky/) > [Open your heart as you open your window in the summer time you might be surprised what blows your way..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/open-your-heart-as-you-open-your-window-in-the-summer-time-you-might/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [So war and peace start in the human heart. Whether that heart is open or whether that heart closes has global implications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/so-war-and-peace-start-in-the-human-heart-whether-that-heart-is-open/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [First open your heart, then open your Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/first-open-your-heart-then-open-your-bible/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Life can't give to you if your hands are closed. Open your mind, open your heart, and open your arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/life-can-t-give-to-you-if-your-hands-are-closed-open-your-mind-open/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [My heart will always be an open heart for you sweetheart, no knocking needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-heart-will-always-be-an-open-heart-for-you-sweetheart-no-knocking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you open yourself to the continually changing, impermanent, dynamic nature of your own being and of reality, you increase your capacity to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/when-you-open-yourself-to-the-continually-changing-impermanent-2/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [There is no pain quite like that of a broken heart. But a broken heart is an open heart. When we allow ourselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-bloch/there-is-no-pain-quite-like-that-of-a-broken-heart-but-a-broken-heart/) [Douglas Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-bloch/) > [Love won't come through unless the heart is open. To work with an open heart is to love or care for something or someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-klemp/love-won-t-come-through-unless-the-heart-is-open-to-work-with-an-open/) [Harold Klemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-klemp/) > [The Open Hearts design was inspired by my Mom's advice that only when you keep your heart open can you best give and receive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seymour/the-open-hearts-design-was-inspired-by-my-mom-s-advice-that-only-when/) [Jane Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seymour/) > [After the briskness of loving, loving stops. And you roll over with death stretched out alongside you like a feather boa, or a snake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/after-the-briskness-of-loving-loving-stops-and-you-roll-over-with/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) > [Behind every open heart is a story. Tell yours with my Open Heart collection. There are millions of reasons to give one, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-seymour/behind-every-open-heart-is-a-story-tell-yours-with-my-open-heart/) [Jane Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-seymour/) > [“I'll cut to the chase, life isn't all its cracked up to be. It's real and raw and by the time you've matured it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/i-ll-cut-to-the-chase-life-isn-t-all-its-cracked-up-to-be-it-s-real/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) ## More by David James Duncan > [“Because I wasn’t anything anymore. Not anythingI love or know or care about. Because thou shalt not kill, Kade. Thou shalt not kill. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/because-i-wasn-t-anything-anymore-not-anythingi-love-or-know-or-care/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [Our lack of community is intensely painful. A TV talk show is not community. A couple of hours in a church pew each Sabbath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/our-lack-of-community-is-intensely-painful-a-tv-talk-show-is-not/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“It was so good to see him in there, yet so funny to find him so much like me, and so tiny. "Nice kingdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/it-was-so-good-to-see-him-in-there-yet-so-funny-to-find-him-so-much/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“Bobby Edson, like most coaches, was a kind of mystic: he believed the cosmos was endowed with an ineffable muffling system that rendered all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/bobby-edson-like-most-coaches-was-a-kind-of-mystic-he-believed-the/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [--I truly and deeply wanted to kill him. And I believe I could have done it, with nothing but my hands. But all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/i-truly-and-deeply-wanted-to-kill-him-and-i-believe-i-could-have-done/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“Papa was no longer fixing a carburetor: he was setting up a greasy little Cuban missile base smack-dab in the middle of Mama’s immaculate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/papa-was-no-longer-fixing-a-carburetor-he-was-setting-up-a-greasy/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“The Austrian writer Robert Musil summed up the Fanatic's great rhetorical advantage in just ten words: There is no truth which stupidity can't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/the-austrian-writer-robert-musil-summed-up-the-fanatic-s-great/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“Is the work of sun worshippers to honor those who think they can see the sun? Or to worship the sun?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/is-the-work-of-sun-worshippers-to-honor-those-who-think-they-can-see/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“Peter didn’t want to change the world: he wanted to fully comprehend it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/peter-didn-t-want-to-change-the-world-he-wanted-to-fully-comprehend-it/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“It is a rare high school teacher who enjoys seeing their world being enormously improved upon by youths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/it-is-a-rare-high-school-teacher-who-enjoys-seeing-their-world-being/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [The principles that will save Earth's life are the same principles that save the living souls of humans: ineluctable spiritual principles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/the-principles-that-will-save-earth-s-life-are-the-same-principles/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“I’m just saying that his card-burning would have meant far more, on the day he did it, if he hadn’t already incinerated his life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/i-m-just-saying-that-his-card-burning-would-have-meant-far-more-on/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“I gave him everything from my lunches I hate, which is called Charity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/i-gave-him-everything-from-my-lunches-i-hate-which-is-called-charity/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [“If we can’t be ballplayers together, maybe I can start bein’ a Buddhist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/if-we-can-t-be-ballplayers-together-maybe-i-can-start-bein-a-buddhist/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) > [As a lifelong student of the world’s wisdom literature, it is my duty to inform students that “ridding the world of evil” is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/as-a-lifelong-student-of-the-world-s-wisdom-literature-it-is-my-duty/) [David James Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) [Explore all 85 David James Duncan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/) ## More Mother teresa quotes > [“Nudge is a great kid, but that motormouth of hers could have turned Mother Teresa into an ax murderer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nudge-is-a-great-kid-but-that-motormouth-of-hers-could-have-turned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mother Teresa I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mother-teresa-i-am-not-sure-exactly-what-heaven-will-be-like-but-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Some of our friends are our friends only because we used to be friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-of-our-friends-are-our-friends-only-because-we-used-to-be-friends/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Mother Teresa used the analogy of electricity: “The wire is you and me; the current is God,” she said. “We have the power to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-strobel/mother-teresa-used-the-analogy-of-electricity-the-wire-is-you-and-me/) [Lee Strobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-strobel/) > [ Everything everyone thinks they know about \[Mother Teresa\] is false. It must be the single most successful emotional con job of the twentieth century. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/everything-everyone-thinks-they-know-about-mother-teresa-is-false-it/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [For every Mother Teresa, there's a Jeffrey Dahmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mantegna/for-every-mother-teresa-there-s-a-jeffrey-dahmer/) [Joe Mantegna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mantegna/) > [The picture of Mother Teresa that I remember from my childhood is of a short, sari-wearing woman scurrying down a red gravel path between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bharati-mukherjee/the-picture-of-mother-teresa-that-i-remember-from-my-childhood-is-of/) [Bharati Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bharati-mukherjee/) > [I'm not Mother Teresa, but I'm not Charles Manson, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-m-not-mother-teresa-but-i-m-not-charles-manson-either/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [One need not be a Mother Teresa, but being kind and well-behaved with those around us can win people's hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aishwarya-lekshmi/one-need-not-be-a-mother-teresa-but-being-kind-and-well-behaved-with/) [Aishwarya Lekshmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aishwarya-lekshmi/) > [I feel strongly that Mother Teresa’s life has a great message for young people. We so often feel powerless to do anything about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-kielburger/i-feel-strongly-that-mother-teresa-s-life-has-a-great-message-for/) [Craig Kielburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-kielburger/) > [Confession is something we will never outgrow, even if we become the saints God made us to be. Pope John Paul II and Mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-wuerl/confession-is-something-we-will-never-outgrow-even-if-we-become-the/) [Donald Wuerl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-wuerl/) > [“I knocked on the gates of heaven and saint peter said,"we are not ready for you, Mother Teresa.You are needed in the slums.There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-raphael/i-knocked-on-the-gates-of-heaven-and-saint-peter-said-we-are-not/) Maryanne Raphael > [“You see, women have been essential to every great move of God. Yes, Moses led the Isaelites out of Egypt, but only after his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stasi-eldredge/you-see-women-have-been-essential-to-every-great-move-of-god-yes/) [Stasi Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stasi-eldredge/) > [Human beings have an infinite capacity for two things: giving and love. Do you think Mother Teresa ever ran out of love and care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-white/human-beings-have-an-infinite-capacity-for-two-things-giving-and-love/) [Robert White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-white/) > [Many bad habits act like they're Mother Teresa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/efiosiugbore/many-bad-habits-act-like-they-re-mother-teresa/) @efiosiugbore Browse all 109 Mother teresa quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[There is a] kind of all-embracing universality evident in Mother Teresa’s prayer: “May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in.” Not just fellow nuns, Catholics, Calcuttans, Indians. The whole world. It gives me pause to realize that, were such a prayer said by me and answered by God, I would afterward possess a heart so open that even hate-driven zealots would fall inside... [My] sense of the world as a gift, my sense of a grace operative in this world despite its terrors, propels me to allow the world to open my heart still wider, even if the openness comes by breaking—for I have seen the whole world fall into a few hearts, and nothing has ever struck me as more beautiful.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David James Duncan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-universality-evident-in-mother/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mother teresa" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-universality-evident-in-mother/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/david-james-duncan-8032_mother-teresa_there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-univers_787649.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/david-james-duncan-8032_mother-teresa_there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-univers_787649.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/david-james-duncan-8032_mother-teresa_there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-univers_787649.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[There is a] kind of all-embracing universality evident in Mother Teresa’s prayer: “May God break my heart…” — David James Duncan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David James Duncan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-james-duncan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[There is a] kind of all-embracing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-universality-evident-in-mother/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-james-duncan/there-is-a-kind-of-all-embracing-universality-evident-in-mother/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```