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Intriguing in the book, The End of the Present World, by Father Charles Arminjon, is his conclusion that when the world ends (he had no idea when that would come), it will be by fire; the earth, be speculated, will be "set ablaze." He based most of his speculation on Scripture, tradition, and even secular philosophers. It's just that: speculation.

But it is intriguing that the book, never before in English, and strongly endorsed back in 1897 by St. Thérèse the Little Flower, arrives in the U.S. at this time, and that in recent days there have been so many connections to fire.

If fire one day figures into the "end times" (which for all we know is a millennium away), might it also figure, on some scale, into a chastisement: the cleansing -- the major events -- so many expect on the near horizon? Just recently, we reported on an incredible but obscure apparition in Wisconsin, Our Lady of Good Help, whereby a great punishment predicted by the Blessed Mother was fulfilled in 1871 when the greatest forest fire in known U.S. history erupted in that very area, killing more than a thousand on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire. This was ten years before Father Arminjon's book was published in France.

Now, we are seeing historic fires in places like California and Australia. In Alaska, a fireball has been seen in the sky. Ditto for Texas. And Canada. In the "1990 prophecy," which we have often quoted, was the prediction that a day would come when there "will be a warning that involves not fire from the sky but fear of fire from the sky, and strange loud rumblings" (preceding chastisement).

Fire, fire. Is there a connection -- or is there always fire? Such was foreseen during a reputed apparition in Spain that foresaw a huge "warning" to the earth occurring when a certain set of dates, including the feast day of a martyr, lined up on the calendar. Every Lent, there is renewed speculation as to a date.

It is of course impossible to calculate what God will do and when He will do it. Neither is it known what St. Thérèse felt about the prophetic indications in the End book, which consume the first 72 pages of a book that is 310 pages in length (the part that touched her so profoundly was probably Father Arminjon's discussion of the afterlife). But the prophetic pulse beats in our time, and we feel called to give air to it. It comes to us in great volume.

"Last week after waking up I was shown a vision where I and my family were out on our lawn and a nuclear explosion occurred to the east, unsure of north or south of the house," wrote a viewer named Tom Collick -- one example of the e-mails we receive (and that we consider, as the Bible admonishes). "We dropped to the grass to cover our heads. I then looked up and saw a fireball coming for us. I feel this preparedness is God telling us to learn to live from the land and not the supermarket. By preparation it is meant of the soul first. I believe 2009 is pivotal and that those who do not prepare during the beginning will suffer during the end."

Fire... It is wise to pray that such scenarios never occur (instead of waiting for them).

Still, we also see the need to let prophecy flow, especially in times such as ours. When is it worthy of discernment, when it is apocryphal, and when is it superstitious?

There is the number eleven, which so many seem to see (especially on clocks as 11:11). What might that mean?

"I wrote some time ago that I was experiencing the 'eleven' phenomenon," Carol R. Altieri of the Chicago area. "I prayed a lot asking the Lord what that meant and got no answer. The Lord never plays games with us -- if He is trying to get our attention, when He gets it, He makes Himself clear, He doesn't just continue to send unintelligible signs. So I decided the 'eleven' phenomenon might just be occult and decided to consciously reject it and pay it no more mind at all.

"For a long while, it went away. Now it is suddenly back with a vengeance. If in fact this is a dark force, then we should be forewarned that trouble or a spiritual attack is near at hand and redouble our prayer efforts. I'm just passing the thought along to you. Perhaps you will get some confirmation."

Perhaps. It is certainly a time of mysticism! We are told that in an Indian community in an isolated part of Canada, a boy has had visions. It started, they say, "when a star or ball of light entered his bedroom window and rested beside his bed. Out of the star, a figure appeared and talked to him. He tried to wake up his parents, whom he was sharing the room with, but of course they just told him to go back to sleep. All that morning, he tried to convince his family members of his experience and finally during noon hour they showed him a picture of the Sacred Heart and confirmed that this was indeed the visitor he saw.

"This was August 14, 2003. The message he received was direct; the need to return to prayer and to teach others to prayer for their salvation. He emphasized prayer from the heart and seemed to have the ability to detect prayers recited poorly and in haste. When we attended special Rosary prayers later that evening, he witnessed a light coming out of the tabernacle.

"He claimed it was Love. After prayers, he said the people that attended were blessed. His family, especially his parents, were the first to transform from the experience. Considering his background and that of his family, there was no way he could make up the story and still acquire the knowledge he suddenly seem to possess. For those of us that followed him, we were fortunate to witness firsthand occurrences that were unusual and wonderful. When we related this experience to our local priest, he told us to be cautious, to watch for fruits and to pray for discernment. We've been discerning ever since. Our community is an Indian community with a population of nearly 3,500 and predominately Roman Catholic. We are located in Manitoba, Canada and we are very isolated. Aside from a brief winter road season to transport supplies, we are accessible by air most of the year."

And so you see a sampling of the mailbag -- just a sampling.

Notes a nun named Sister Elizabeth Anne, of the Little Sisters of Saint Francis, in Danville, New Hampshire: "I knelt before our Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, I closed my eyes; praying to Jesus, I asked Him to lift this heaviness from me. Then He gave me the following 'image' which I saw in my soul. A huge, towering Cross that seemed to be made of solid gold. (This is difficult to describe). The Cross was totally illuminated with light -- it was as though it itself was all light and yet still solid gold!

"The light was much more brilliant than any sun. The Cross was moving forward carried by some unseen force. Behind this luminous Cross I saw countless numbers of people of all nationalities. They were completely engulfed in the light that shone from this Cross. Their faces were radiant and joyous. As I 'saw' these many, many people, it seemed as though they were walking across a map of the whole world.

"Then I heard these words in my soul: 'All is well.' 'All is well.' 'All is well.' 'Those who follow the Light of My Cross have nothing to fear.' As this image faded, a great peace settled upon and within me. I prayed and waited until now to send this to you, wanting to be as certain as possible that it came from the Lord and not myself."

Ah: prophecy. And discernment. Ah, Lent! Is it just the time of year, or a turning point; has the veil thinned? Writes yet one more: "Wisdom comes only from truth. But truth in its fullness cannot be attained outside the Cross. We must pray for the courage to carry our particular crosses which eventually end in everlasting joy." Joy and truth. Joy that can not be destroyed even by fire.

[resources: The End of the Present World, The Final Hour, and Tower of Light]

[Tampa retreat with Michael Brown: afterlife, prophecy, preparing for times]

Due to heavy volume please allow two to three weeks for delivery of 'The End'

Prophecy For Today by Edward Connor, A summary of famous Catholic prophecies concerning the end-of-the-era time frame. The thesis: that this period begins with the emergence of a great Pope and Christian leader that is followed by the Anti-Christ. Signs of the times, persecution, St. Malachy, and major global events such as cosmic happenings and war included in this popular book. click here