International Day of Charity is marked annually on Sept. 5 to commemorate the death anniversary of Nobel laureate Mother Teresa. The day is observed to promote charitable efforts aimed at alleviating poverty worldwide.

According to the United Nations' website, "charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crises, supplement public services in health care, education, housing and child protection. It assists the advancement of culture, science, sports, and the protection of cultural and natural heritage."

The day is observed worldwide and it is not a public holiday. It was started in 2012.

Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace." She died on Sept. 5 at the age of 87. Mother Teresa, who spent most of her life in India, received a state funeral from the nation's government for her contributions.

Here are some inspirational quotes by Mother Teresa, collected from Everyday Power, to share on this day:

1. "Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love."

2. "I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish he didn't trust me so much."

3. "Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."

4. "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."

5. "God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try."

6. "Live simply so others may simply live."

7. "Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."

8. "Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."

9. "Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."

10. "I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."

Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa (L) gives her blessing to a child at the Gift of Love Home, in Singapore, Oct. 20, 1993. Getty Images/ Roslan Rahman
RELATED STORIES