Therésè of Lisieux, one of Ireland’s favourite saints, tells about a criminal being executed in a French jail.  He stubbornly rejected all offers of spiritual help from the prison chaplain. She was very concerned about this stubborn unrepentant man, and she became very determined, in prayer, to obtain some change of heart for him before he died.

An extraordinary thing happened at the moment of his death that had a profound effect on Therésè understanding of God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. Just before he was blind-folded, and placed beneath the guillotine, he snatched the crucifix from the chaplain’s hands, and kissed it reverently. He continued to clutch it, as he was put into position and the blade fell.

Last minute conversions are nothing new to God. Remember the blessed fellow sufferer with Jesus on his deathbed cross – the good thief. It is never too late to repent.