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