sanctity. We turn over the pages of the lives of the saints, of those
who have been great in the Kingdom of God, and we are struck by the
growing influence of these men and women. They are simple men and women
whose life's energy is concentrated on some special work; they are
confessors or directors; they work among the very poor; they lead lives
of retirement in Religious Houses; they are preachers of the Gospel;
they are missionaries. The one thing that they appear to have in common
is utter consecration to the work in hand. And we see, it may be with
some wonder, that as they become more and more absorbed in their special
work, they become more and more centres of influence. Without at all
willing it they draw people about them, become centres of influences,
arouse interest, become widely known. In short, they are, without
willing it, centres of energy. Of what energy? Obviously, of the energy
of love: the love of God manifested in them draws men to God. The man at
whose disposal is unlimited force compels men to do his will; but he
draws no one to him except the hypocrite and the sycophant who expect to
gain something by their servility. The saint draws men, not to himself,
but to God; for obviously it is not his power but God's power that is
being manifested through him.

Unless we are very unfortunate we all know people whose attractiveness
is the attractiveness of simple goodness. They are not learned nor
influential nor witty nor clever, but we like to be with them. When we
are asked why, we can only explain it by the attractiveness of their
Christlikeness. What we gain from intercourse with them is spiritual
insight and power. Their influence might be described as sacramental:
they are means our Blessed Lord uses to impart Himself. They are so
filled with the mind of Christ that they easily show Him to the world;
and withal, quite unconsciously. For great love is possible only where
there is great humility.

And this power of sanctity which is the outcome of union with God is a
permanent acquisition to the Kingdom of God. God's Kingdom is ultimately
a Kingdom of saints. The sphere of God's self-manifestation in human
life increases ever as the saints increase; and the power of sanctity
necessarily remains while the saint remains, that is, forever. The saint
remains a permanent organ of the Body of Christ, a perdurable instrument
of the divine love. To speak humanly, the more saints there are, the
more the love