--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even St. Teresa said, \"I can pray better…" description: "\"Even St. Teresa said, \"I can pray better when I'm comfortable,\" and she refused to wear her haircloth shirt or starve herself. I don't think living in ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/katherine-anne-porter-2653_artist_even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-wh_331198.jpg" --- # Even St. Teresa said, "I can pray better when I'm… ![“Even St. Teresa said, "I can pray better when I'm comfortable," and she refused to wear her haircloth shirt or starve herself. I don't think living in cellars and starving is better for an artist than it is for anybody else.” quote by Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/katherine-anne-porter-2653_artist_even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-wh_331198.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/katherine-anne-porter-2653_artist_even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-wh_331198.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/katherine-anne-porter-2653_artist_even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-wh_331198.jpg) > “Even St. Teresa said, "I can pray better when I'm comfortable," and she refused to wear her haircloth shirt or starve herself. I don't think living in cellars and starving is better for an artist than it is for anybody else.” [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She argues that extreme asceticism does not enhance artistic creativity; comfort can aid focus. **In simple terms:** Comfort can improve prayer and creativity. Key Takeaway Seek balance, not self‑imposed suffering. Themes artistic integrity comfort self‑discipline Mood reflective critical Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - artist studios - personal rituals - spiritual practice Key Concepts asceticism creative process Questions to Reflect On - How does comfort affect your creative work? - Is suffering necessary for art? A Different Perspective Extreme deprivation may harm health and productivity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“Jack refused to wear the traditional Cuari tunic. ‘If the world is going to end tonight, I’m going out with my trousers on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrowman/jack-refused-to-wear-the-traditional-cuari-tunic-if-the-world-is/) [John Barrowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrowman/) > [I refused to wear make-up on TV. I wanted my music to be heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/i-refused-to-wear-make-up-on-tv-i-wanted-my-music-to-be-heard/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) > [I can pray better when I'm comfortable,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-can-pray-better-when-i-m-comfortable/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [“Mother Teresa said, “If we really want to love we must learn how to forgive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inc-barbour-publishing/mother-teresa-said-if-we-really-want-to-love-we-must-learn-how-to/) [Inc. Barbour Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inc-barbour-publishing/) > [“Mother Teresa said: "The dying, the crippled, the mentally ill, the unwanted, the unloved - they are JESUS IN DISGUISE...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-davis/mother-teresa-said-the-dying-the-crippled-the-mentally-ill-the/) Tom Davis > [“Mother Teresa who said, “We can do no great things, only small things, with great love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-muller/mother-teresa-who-said-we-can-do-no-great-things-only-small-things/) [Wayne Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-muller/) > [“Mother Teresa said that she couldn't imagine doing her work for more than thirty minutes without prayer. Do you and I have work that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-haugen/mother-teresa-said-that-she-couldn-t-imagine-doing-her-work-for-more/) [Gary Haugen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-haugen/) > [“Great Drew, you're sitting here about to beg Daisy's forgiveness & you wont even give your own father the time of day. Mother Teresa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-samson/great-drew-you-re-sitting-here-about-to-beg-daisy-s-forgiveness-you/) [Lisa Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-samson/) > [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/) > [“Mother Teresa said: Today it is very fashionable to talk about the poor. Unfortunately, it is not fashionable to talk with them.2”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/mother-teresa-said-today-it-is-very-fashionable-to-talk-about-the/) [Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/) > [“I’ll pray that you grow up a brave man in a brave country,” Clara said. “I will pray you find a way to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/i-ll-pray-that-you-grow-up-a-brave-man-in-a-brave-country-clara-said/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [Too often the word 'prayer' induces guilt because we don't do enough of it. After all, I've never met anyone who said they pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/too-often-the-word-prayer-induces-guilt-because-we-don-t-do-enough-of/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) > [“Do come now," said he..., "pray come, you must come, I declare you shall come.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/do-come-now-said-he-pray-come-you-must-come-i-declare-you-shall-come/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [He got right down in the dark between heartbeats, and rested there. And then he saw that another one wasn't going to come. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-got-right-down-in-the-dark-between-heartbeats-and-rested-there-and/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [My mother and our pastor always said you have to pray for your enemies and people who do you wrong, and that's what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-bridges/my-mother-and-our-pastor-always-said-you-have-to-pray-for-your/) [Ruby Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-bridges/) ## More by Katherine Anne Porter > [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The human heart is not yet so corroded that it can read off the extinction of these two men without a shock to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-human-heart-is-not-yet-so-corroded-that-it-can-read-off-the/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I always write a story in one sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-always-write-a-story-in-one-sitting/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [What we need is endless courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/what-we-need-is-endless-courage/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Human life itself may be almost pure chaos, but the work of the artist is to take these handfuls of confusion and disparate things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/human-life-itself-may-be-almost-pure-chaos-but-the-work-of-the-artist/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [But the great leveler, Death: not even the gods can defend a man, not even one they love, that day when fate takes hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/but-the-great-leveler-death-not-even-the-gods-can-defend-a-man-not/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I started out with nothing in the world but a kind of passion, a driving desire. I don't know where it came from, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-started-out-with-nothing-in-the-world-but-a-kind-of-passion-a/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I am in Paris. Yes ma'am , I made it back. I came up from Berlin, stopped here ten days, fought a losing battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-am-in-paris-yes-ma-am-i-made-it-back-i-came-up-from-berlin-stopped/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Your mind outwears all sorts of things you may set your heart upon; you can enjoy it when all other things are taken away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/your-mind-outwears-all-sorts-of-things-you-may-set-your-heart-upon/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [we know that the Furies do not come uninvited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/we-know-that-the-furies-do-not-come-uninvited/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The arts do live continuously, and they live literally by faith; their names and their shapes and their uses and their basic meanings survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-arts-do-live-continuously-and-they-live-literally-by-faith-their/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The very thing about people that makes the human race interesting is also the thing that makes it so hard to get anything done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-very-thing-about-people-that-makes-the-human-race-interesting-is/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [A cultivated style would be like a mask. Everybody knows it's a mask, and sooner or later you must show yourself -- or at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/a-cultivated-style-would-be-like-a-mask-everybody-knows-it-s-a-mask/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The past is never where you think you left it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-past-is-never-where-you-think-you-left-it/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [In the arts, you simply cannot secure your bread and your freedom of action too. You cannot be a hostile critic of society and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/in-the-arts-you-simply-cannot-secure-your-bread-and-your-freedom-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) [Explore all 156 Katherine Anne Porter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [I am not the avant-garde. I am the artist who comes after the advancing guard. I am more concerned with continuity of ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-oliveira/i-am-not-the-avant-garde-i-am-the-artist-who-comes-after-the/) [Nathan Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-oliveira/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even St. Teresa said, \"I can pray better when I'm comfortable,\" and she refused to wear her haircloth shirt or starve herself. I don't think living in cellars and starving is better for an artist than it is for anybody else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Katherine Anne Porter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-when-i-m-comfortable-and-she/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-when-i-m-comfortable-and-she/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/katherine-anne-porter-2653_artist_even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-wh_331198.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/katherine-anne-porter-2653_artist_even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-wh_331198.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/738/katherine-anne-porter-2653_artist_even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-wh_331198.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even St. Teresa said, \"I can pray better when I'm comfortable,\" and she refused to wear her haircloth shirt…” — Katherine Anne Porter", "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": "Katherine Anne Porter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even St. Teresa said, \"I can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-when-i-m-comfortable-and-she/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/even-st-teresa-said-i-can-pray-better-when-i-m-comfortable-and-she/#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 } } ] } ```