--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People have no idea what one saint can…" description: "\"People have no idea what one saint can do: for sanctity is stronger than the whole of hell.\" — Thomas Merton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/thomas-merton-231_hell_people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-d_3016948.jpg" --- # People have no idea what one saint can do: for sanctity is… ![“People have no idea what one saint can do: for sanctity is stronger than the whole of hell.” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/thomas-merton-231_hell_people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-d_3016948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/thomas-merton-231_hell_people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-d_3016948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/thomas-merton-231_hell_people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-d_3016948.jpg) > “People have no idea what one saint can do: for sanctity is stronger than the whole of hell.” [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A saint’s holiness can overcome even the worst of hell’s power. **In simple terms:** Saints are powerful. Key Takeaway Seek sanctity for strength. Themes spirituality holiness overcoming evil Mood contemplative inspiring Type religious philosophical When to use this quote - prayer groups - spiritual direction - ethical decision making - conflict resolution Key Concepts Christian mysticism saintly virtue Questions to Reflect On - What does sanctity mean to you? - How can holiness influence daily life? A Different Perspective Not all view sanctity the same. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint/) [Saint Sanctity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saint-sanctity-4864660/) [Sanctity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctity/) [Sanctity Stronger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanctity-stronger-4864658/) [Stronger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stronger/) [Stronger Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stronger-hell-4864659/) ## Related quotes > [The simplest and most effective way to sanctity is to disappear into the background of ordinary every day routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-simplest-and-most-effective-way-to-sanctity-is-to-disappear-into-2/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/for-me-to-be-a-saint-means-to-be-myself-therefore-the-problem-of/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Saints are what they are not because their sanctity makes them admirable to others, but because the gift of sainthood makes it possible for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/saints-are-what-they-are-not-because-their-sanctity-makes-them/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is true to say that for me sanctity consists in being myself and for you sanctity consists of being yourself and that, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-true-to-say-that-for-me-sanctity-consists-in-being-myself-and/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is not humility to insist on being someone that you are not. It is as much as saying that you know better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-not-humility-to-insist-on-being-someone-that-you-are-not-it-is/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“The simplest and most effective way to sanctity is to disappear into the background of ordinary everyday routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-simplest-and-most-effective-way-to-sanctity-is-to-disappear-into/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Business is not the supreme virtue, and sanctity is not measured by the amount of work we accomplish. Perfection is found in the purity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/business-is-not-the-supreme-virtue-and-sanctity-is-not-measured-by/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Every virtue inclines to stupidity, every stupidity to virtue; "stupid to the point of sanctity," they say in Russia, - let us be careful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-virtue-inclines-to-stupidity-every-stupidity-to-virtue-stupid/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [As long as we are on earth, the love that unites us will bring us suffering by our very contact with one another, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/as-long-as-we-are-on-earth-the-love-that-unites-us-will-bring-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [For me to be a saint means to be myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/for-me-to-be-a-saint-means-to-be-myself/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Many Americans believe marriage is between a man and a woman, and we need to celebrate marriage as the best way to provide stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lankford/many-americans-believe-marriage-is-between-a-man-and-a-woman-and-we/) [James Lankford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lankford/) > [We are in a new Civil War, and just like the last, it is a struggle for the sanctity of the Union - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/we-are-in-a-new-civil-war-and-just-like-the-last-it-is-a-struggle-for/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [I keep my sanctity and respect intact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sana-khan/i-keep-my-sanctity-and-respect-intact/) [Sana Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sana-khan/) > [Sanctity and genius are as rebellious as vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/sanctity-and-genius-are-as-rebellious-as-vice/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [The sanctity of law can be maintained only so long as it is the expression of the will of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagat-singh/the-sanctity-of-law-can-be-maintained-only-so-long-as-it-is-the/) [Bhagat Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhagat-singh/) ## More by Thomas Merton > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-not-perfectly-free-until-we-live-in-pure-hope-for-when-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Love winter when the plant says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-winter-when-the-plant-says-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-wisdom-of-the-flesh-is-a-judgement-that-the-ordinary-ends-of-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men--you may make some money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-write-for-god-you-will-reach-many-men-and-bring-them-joy-if/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and fruitful silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/contemplation-means-rest-suspension-of-activity-withdrawal-into-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) [Explore all 851 Thomas Merton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More Hell quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“Hell is only loneliness, a place without play for the soul, a place without God. How could there be God in loneliness when God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/hell-is-only-loneliness-a-place-without-play-for-the-soul-a-place/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Just when I thought that I was gtting better, boy was I wrong.. Things just turned to hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cupecake/just-when-i-thought-that-i-was-gtting-better-boy-was-i-wrong-things/) [Cupecake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cupecake/) > [I believe that on any trip to heaven, there are always detours through hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/i-believe-that-on-any-trip-to-heaven-there-are-always-detours-through/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [Every saved person this side of heaven owes the gospel to every lost person this side of hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/every-saved-person-this-side-of-heaven-owes-the-gospel-to-every-lost/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I'm what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don't fear the next world, or anything. I don't fear hell, and I don't look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/i-m-what-is-known-as-gradually-disintegrating-i-don-t-fear-the-next/) [Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/) > [Hey...Hey...What's up?. Nothing much, you? Nothing. K!..What the hell was the point of this communication?...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hey-hey-what-s-up-nothing-much-you-nothing-k-what-the-hell-was-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“ALAS, IF ALL HUMANS WERE WISE AND HAD MORE GOOD WILL THE WORLD WOULD BE A PARADISE NOW IT IS MOSTLY A HELL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/alas-if-all-humans-were-wise-and-had-more-good-will-the-world-would/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [It is through suppression that hells are formed in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-glaspell/it-is-through-suppression-that-hells-are-formed-in-us/) [Susan Glaspell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-glaspell/) > [Beware of self-indulgence. The romance surrounding the writing profession carries several myths: that one must suffer in order to be creative; that one must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/beware-of-self-indulgence-the-romance-surrounding-the-writing/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) [Browse all 8,212 Hell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People have no idea what one saint can do: for sanctity is stronger than the whole of hell.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Merton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-do-for-sanctity-is-stronger/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hell" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-do-for-sanctity-is-stronger/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/thomas-merton-231_hell_people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-d_3016948.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/thomas-merton-231_hell_people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-d_3016948.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cb/thomas-merton-231_hell_people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-d_3016948.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People have no idea what one saint can do: for sanctity is stronger than the whole of hell.” — Thomas Merton", "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": "Thomas Merton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People have no idea what one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-do-for-sanctity-is-stronger/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/people-have-no-idea-what-one-saint-can-do-for-sanctity-is-stronger/#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 } } ] } ```