“I want to become a saint; it will not be easy at all. I have a lot of wood to chop, and it is as hard as stone. I should have started sooner, while it was not so difficult; but, in any case, better late than never.” How many of us can relate to this quote by St. Zelie Martin, the mother of St. Therese of Lisieux?
Her daughter became a saint (one of the most beloved saints, I’d attest); and in 2015, Zelie and her husband Louis were canonized. Her desire to become a saint was realized despite her “starting late” and realizing the difficulties it would take.
It’s never too late. “[The criminal hanging next to Jesus at the crucifixion] was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom!’ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you! Today you will be with Me in Paradise’” (Luke 23:42-43).
It’s never too late. Even if today was a bad day, even if we sinned more times than we can count, it is never too late to turn back towards the Lord. He is desperate for us to do so! I love this image of God’s mercy by St. Paul of the Cross:
“Beginners in the service of God sometimes lose confidence when they fall into any fault. When you feel so unworthy a sentiment rising within you, you must lift your heart to God and consider all your faults, compared with divine goodness, are less than a bit of tattered thread thrown into a sea of fire. Suppose that the whole horizon, as far as you can see from this mountain, were a sea of fire; if we cast into it a bit of tattered thread, it will disappear in an instant. So, when you have committed a fault, humble yourself before God, and cast your fault into the infinite ocean of charity, and at once it will be effaced from your soul; at the same time all distrust will disappear.”
A daily examen and frequent confession can help us chisel away what is keeping us from becoming more like Jesus, and can help us die to ourselves and strive for holiness. It gives me hope that even St. Zelie, whose five daughters (her only children of nine to survive to adulthood) all entered religious life, had ordinary struggles, worried about getting everything accomplished during the day, and was tired out and frustrated at times when raising her children.
She even said, “Oh well, that’s the day so far, and it’s still only noon. If this continues I will be dead by this evening! You see, at the moment, life seems so heavy for me to bear, and I don’t have the courage because everything looks black to me.”
How many of us can relate? This lady is a saint. It’s never too late.