Holiness is not simply righteousness, for which the

righteous are rewarded with blessedness in the

Kingdom of God; rather, it is such a height of

righteousness that people are so filled with the grace

of God that it flows from them even upon those who

associate with them.  Great is their blessedness,

which proceeds from their direct contemplation of

the glory of God.  Being filled also with love for men,

which proceeds from love of God, they are responsive

to men’s needs, and at their entreaties they act as

mediators and intercessors for them before God.

- from a sermon by St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco