"Reading this book was one of the greatest graces of my life!" St. Thérèse of Lisieux In the late nineteenth century, Father Charles Arminjon, a priest from the mountains of southeastern France, assembled his flock in the town cathedral to preach a series of conferences to help them turn their thoughts away from this life’s mean material affairs—and toward the next life’s glorious spiritual reward. His wise and uncompromising words deepened in them the spirit of recollection that all Christians must have: the abiding conviction that heavenly aims, not temporal enthusiasms, must guide everything we think, say, and do. When Father Arminjon’s conferences were later published in a book, many others were able to reap the same benefit—including fourteen-year-old Thérèse Martin, then on the cusp of entering the Carmelite convent in Lisieux. Reading it, she says, “plunged my soul into a happiness not of this earth.” Young Thérèse, filled with a sense of “what God reserves for those who love him, and seeing that the eternal rewards had no proportion to the light sacrifices of life,” copied out numerous passages and memorized them, “repeating unceasingly the words of love burning in my heart.” Now the very book that so inspired the Little Flower is available for the first time in English. Let the pages of The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life fill you with the same burning words of love, with the same ardent desire to know God above all created things, that St. Thérèse gained from them. Let them also enrich your understanding of certain teachings of the Faith that can often seem so mysterious, even frightening: The signs that will precede the world’s end - The coming of the Antichrist, and how to recognize him - The Judgment and where it may send us: heaven, hell, and purgatory - Biblical end-times prophecy: how to read it and not be deceived Jesus commands us to be ever-watchful for his return, and ever-mindful that we have no lasting city on earth. The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life is an invaluable aid to inculcating in your spirit that heavenly orientation, without which true human happiness cannot be found—in this world or the next. It's one of those books that come out of nowhere almost literally just when the world needs it most. Is it all correct what it reveals about the future, both for the world and the soul? From the vantage point of earth, who can say? It is written by a human. But a great saint Th r se of Lisieux was so taken by this book that it spurred her entry into the convent. "Reading this book was one of the greatest graces of my life," she says in her autobiography. "The impression I received from it is too sweet to express. All the great truths of religion and the mysteries of eternity plunged into my soul a happiness not of this earth." Completed in 1881 by an aged French priest, this remarkable book surfaced long enough to draw Th r se into the convent and then, for more than a century, plunged back into obscurity. Now we offer you the very first English translation of this hope-filled, chilling work. In it, Fr. Arminjon gets right to the point: "The end of the world, Christ says, will come when the human race, sunk in the depths of indifference, is far from thinking about punishment and justice. It will be as in the days of Noah, when men lived without a care, built luxurious homes, and mocked Noah as he built his ark." "Civilization will be at its zenith, markets overflowing with money, and stocks will never have been higher. Mankind, wallowing in unprecedented material prosperity, will have ceased to hope for heaven. Crudely attached to pleasures, man will say 'My soul, you have goods to last for many years. Eat, drink and be merry.' " Doesn't that sound eerily like America just a year or so ago? Fr. Arminjon insists that we "steer clear of every perilous opinion and make no assertion that is not justified by Tradition and the doctrine of the Fathers." Yet it's precisely his sober reliance on Scripture and Tradition that makes this book so convincing . . . and so chilling! But Fr. Arminjon doesn't merely sketch the darkness ahead; he also shows how Jesus will fill that darkness with light; and he details the rich bounty Christ has in store for all who stay faithful. That's what caught Th r se up in such fervent love of God, nourished her impatience for Heaven, and confirmed her decision to choose a life wholly consecrated to Divine Love. The End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life: let it show you how to read the signs of the times and prepare you to bear yourself as a Christian (as it did Th r se) . . . no matter what the future holds! Father Charles Arminjon (1824-1885) was a priest from the town of Chambéry in the French Alps. After years as a seminary professor, Father Arminjon took up the mission of full-time preacher, and he went on to gain great renown for his ability to