Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (9 October 1835 – 16 December 1921) was a child prodigy, some say even more so than the incomparable Mozart, developing perfect pitch at the age of three, and near perfect piano performance not long afterwards. He trained in the most prestigious of French conservatories. His great love was composition, but to make ends meet he had to play the organ at a thriving parish of 26,000 souls and 200 weddings a year, which puts things into perspective in light of our own era of diminishing faith. Saint-Saëns himself seemed a confirmed bachelor, wedded to his music, but surprised everyone by marrying at the age of nearly forty, to the nineteen-year old Marie-Laure Truffot. The union was not a success. They had two boys, both dying in infancy, one of tuberculosis, the other falling out of a window, an accident for which the composer blamed his wife. Three years later, the composer went off to visit his pupil, Gabriel Fauré, and his family, writing to his wife that he was not returning. They never saw each other again. Saint-Saëns never remarried, nor had any other romantic dalliance. Mrs. Saint-Saëns – perhaps she went by Mlle. Truffot after this – lived her quasi-widowhood until her 95th years.
Such are the ways in the labyrinth of this life. Saint-Saëns continued with his music, and we are left with a treasury, some of which we will post in these pages.
Here is the finale to his organ symphony, No. 3:
Also, for this month of November, here is a piece he composed in 1847, the Danse-Macabre, evincing, perhaps, some of the tragic aspects of his life. The orchestral music follows an old legend wherein the devil plays the violin on All Hallowed Eve at midnight, with the skeletons rising from their graves to dance until dawn, the xylophone symbolizing their rattling bones. Macabre indeed. But we may see the Catholic aspects of the piece, that death does not have the final word. As the book of Ezekiel says, these bones too shall live, not by the devil’s illusory power, but by God’s true omnipotence, with mastery over life and death. If we but follow Him, we we rise with Him. A danse-joyeux, if you will.
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop
As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk
As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]Continue reading→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→
Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace
Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→
Payette’s Payout
I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów
We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→