Creation is a symphony, a symphony which only God hears in its fullness. I hope God is listening. I hope that in creation’s symphony, my out-of-tune voice will be gathered with the voices of more exquisite singers to sing a song of joy and praise to the beauty of God and the beauty of creation.

It was sad news to see the once dominant Toronto Star sold for a mere pittance of $52 million. Only 16 years ago, Torstar Corp., the parent company of the newspaper, was trading above $30 a share and worth about $2.4 billion.

Is the closure of churches and the suspension of the public celebration of Holy Mass a religious liberty issue?

We’re entering uncharted territory on our COVID-19 journey. As jurisdictions across the country roll out plans to ease pandemic restrictions, never will our faith be more needed, or tested, than in the months to come.

The Sunday New York Times full front-page listing of 1,000 names from among the nearly 100,000 who’ve died of COVID-19 was a bold, imaginative, powerful journalistic gesture.

I am aware I write a lot about my pain. There is a good reason. Pain, specifically spinal pain, has been the dominant force in my life for nine years. It is what I wake up to every morning, it is what I carry around during the day and it is the last thing I feel before falling asleep … and it is what wakes me up through the night when pain is more acute.

At a time when mother nature has “sent us to our rooms” (as one viral post put it), the digital world has opened its arms wide to embrace us. It is a reality that I have been reflecting on during this pandemic.

In Alberta, the province where I live, those hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic are workers in meat processing plants.

While in a bulk food store recently, complying with social distancing rules, I was led around by an employee whose job was to scoop out items I wanted and bag them.

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.