“I went to Betania [the approved apparition site in Venezuela] in the late 1990s,” writes viewer Mark Endres. “I met a very holy lady on the trip whose husband (who had since passed away) would see a path of roses in front of them when they were walking the grounds of the shrine.

“Anyway, she sent me this picture, which has now faded a great deal over the past 30 years. She said the picture appeared when she had her photos processed. It is a picture of the Blessed Mother and a bright sun spot on the left side.

“What’s interesting is that the picture of the Blessed Mother appears three-dimensional versus a flat picture of a statue. I thought I had lost it and asked St. Anthony to help me find it after I spent an hour or so looking for it yesterday. Tonight, I found it within a couple of minutes. For some reason, I felt compelled again to find it.”

“Concerning the Annabel Beam prophecy [a young woman who allegedly had a near-death experience with Jesus], it reads like someone explaining the biblical scenario of the end times to a child; therefore, there is a great deal of internal consistency in it,” comments reader Michael Finnegan.

“For example, Annabel Beam said, ‘Jesus told me He is coming soon.’ This is entirely consistent with the messages that Jesus gave to Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s in Poland. Jesus told her, ‘My coming is near.’ He also said that she was to be the secretary of His Divine Mercy here on earth and in Heaven.

“The idea of stars falling upon the earth [see her prophecy below] should not be taken literally, as if it were spoken by a scientist. The earth would burn up long before the first of the stars could make impact. Therefore, the language is symbolic and drawn from the imagery of the Book of Revelation.

“It can refer to Church leaders who follow the Antichrist and abandon both the faith and their flock. It may also refer to fireballs falling from the sky—perhaps even nuclear weapons in the context of a third world war. In 1973, Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa of Our Lady of Akita prophesied that humanity would become so desolate that the survivors would envy the dead.

“There is nothing in Annabel Beam’s prophecy that I had not already encountered in other sources. However, what makes her account so interesting is that a child is telling adults these things. They are expressed in the language of a child, yet most adults are unaware that these prophecies had already been given previously to adults.

“The child Annabel said that Jesus told her all of this, and she sincerely believes it to be true. Yet many adults fail to recognize the significance of what she is saying. They do not realize that it is essentially a summary of end-times prophecies—the Apocalypse—expressed in simple terms that a child could understand.

“Annabel Beam also highlighted a very important point: do not worry and do not be afraid. In the Gospel, the Lord Jesus says the same thing. He continues, ‘When you see these things begin to happen, look up, for your redemption is drawing near.’

“What Annabel Beam is describing, in the language of a child, is the purification of the world before the Second Coming of Christ. After this comes the New Heavens and the New Earth, as foretold in the Book of Revelation. Only the just will survive—a remnant of the people. This remnant is symbolized by the Apostle John, of whom Jesus said, ‘If I will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me.’ [scroll for more:]

“Jesus was speaking to Saint Peter, telling him that he would die a martyr’s death. At the same time, He was implying that He had plans for the Church to continue witnessing to the world until the Second Coming, despite the persecutions and tribulations of the end times.”

For our discernment, certainly the swerves in weather and climate—ongoing for several decades now—are intensifying, and “little” things like a meteor that recently shook homes in Ohio, not to mention the ongoing wars, are also in the mix.

As for Lent, a good friend named Don commented on an article we posted about the strangeness in some parishes of one particular custom—replacing Holy Water with stones or sand, or simply leaving fonts dry—during Lent.

“This happened a few times at my parish during Lent,” wrote Don. “I thought, ‘This is nuts, taking away Holy Water during the penitential season!’

“So, I did some research and found text on the Vatican website that says this is forbidden! A couple of years later, it happened again: rocks in the fonts instead of Holy Water. I told the assistant pastor of the official regulation forbidding this, and the rocks in the fonts were immediately removed and the Holy Water replenished. The next time I saw the assistant pastor, he said, ‘I didn’t have to look it up on the Vatican website to see that that is forbidden! It’s in the sacramentary!’

“It hasn’t happened since.”

[Here’s an article with a reference for the actual regulation forbidding this practice.]

[Here is the girl Annabel’s near-death prophecies.]