A great saint — Thérèse 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 Thérèse into the convent and then, for more than a century, plunged back into obscurity.

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.’ ”

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 Thérèse 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.