The saints are those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. They are those who lived not according to the civil religion of their day but according to the Good News of Jesus Christ. Their platform was the upside down world of the beatitudes:

The world sets up the rich in first place;
     Jesus put the poor on top of the world.

The world tells us to seek happiness at all cost;
     Jesus saw happiness in grieving.

The world values power over others;
     Jesus praised the meek.

The world encourages self-fulfillment;
     Jesus told us to work for justice.

The world says that the merciless succeed;
     Jesus proclaimed blessed the merciful.

The world announces: go for the gold!
     Jesus taught us to keep our hearts pure.

The world honors the winners of wars;
     Jesus celebrated peacemakers.

The world sees the persecuted as losers;
      Jesus declared them the winners.

Christians who take an active part in modern socioeconomic development and defend justice and charity should be convinced that they can make a great contribution to the prosperity of mankind and the peace of the world. Whether they do so as individuals or in association, let their example be a shining one.  After acquiring whatever skills and experience are absolutely necessary, they should in faithfulness to Christ and His gospel observe the right order of values in their earthly activities.  Thus their whole lives, both individual and social, will be permeated with the spirit of the beatitudes, notably with the spirit of poverty.

Vatican II, Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,
1965: 72