Peter Stockland

Peter Stockland: A shadow of hope emerges in crisis

May 16, 2020

On the doorstep of what would become the COVID-19 crisis of spring 2020, a wise woman I encountered called me out on the distinction between hope and expectation.

Peter Stockland: Church voice belongs in recovery strategy

May 3, 2020

We need not sit sipping Lysol lemonade and Clorox cocktails in the left field bleachers with Donald Trump to insist that recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is too important to be left exclusively to politicians and health care technocrats.

Peter Stockland: In praise of Prine and calls to grace

April 18, 2020

Given his bad-boy-again half-smile and love for re-playing clichés as humourous surprises, it’s understandable to hope word of John Prine’s death during Holy Week is a prank of cosmic timing that he okayed with God first.

Peter Stockland: Serving up a hearty helping of faith

April 4, 2020

In his recent letter to Register readers, Publisher-Editor Jim O’Leary reminded us all that “the need has seldom been greater for us to unite spiritually as communities of faith.”

Peter Stockland: Pandemic forces sacrifice of Mass

March 19, 2020

The Church in Quebec, many parts of Ontario and even in Rome appeared late last week to say “No Más” in the face of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Peter Stockland: There’s no mystery to this deception

March 5, 2020

Friends, acquaintances and the general commentariat have all been roiling over the revelations about Jean Vanier as a serial sex abuser.

Peter Stockland: No quick fixes on this long road

February 20, 2020

Esteemed theological thinkers will doubtless spend the coming months scratching their parses on the latest exhortation from Pope Francis, Querida Amazonia.

Peter Stockland: Don’t lose sight of ‘bigger picture’

February 7, 2020

It’s true there’s a challenge, to say the least, in seeing the “bigger picture” when the picture’s focus is life and death itself.

Peter Stockland: Good news during Quebec’s secular winter

January 24, 2020

In the week when the Quebec government announced cancellation of the last substantial religious element of provincial school curriculum, Concordia University’s Catholic Students Association was reaching out to those starting the winter term.

Peter Stockland: Neighbourly advice on changing lives

January 11, 2020

During a pre-Christmas trip to Toronto, New York Times columnist David Brooks offered a small vignette that can provide us with a new year’s resolution but, more, a spiritual shift for life.