Category Archives: Education

Words of the Year: Defining Our Loss of Definitude

Posted on January 7, 2026 by Bill Schmitt

Seldom is heard a discouraging word, but we might admit our malaise after five dictionary publishers revealed their selections of the 2025 “Word of the Year.” The common theme those selections conveyed was a worrisome view of cognitive pollution in … Continue reading →

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Human for the Holidays—A Gift that Keeps on Giving

Posted on December 26, 2025 by Bill Schmitt

The Little Drummer Boy learned that Christmastime gift-giving is more personal than material. By honoring Jesus as a newborn in the manger, the boy’s “pa-rum-pum-pum” song has encouraged generations to offer ourselves up—as presents truly “fit to give the King.” Ideally, our … Continue reading →

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Pray Me a Memory … Sad, Sweet, and I Knew it Complete

Posted on November 27, 2025 by Bill Schmitt

When Eileen and I attended a Thanksgiving prayer service at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Troy, NY, on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 23, I sampled food for thought that I’m still digesting. It was so abundant, I want … Continue reading →

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Overton at the Window: ‘Open Wide’ and ‘Look Out’!

Posted on November 18, 2025 by Bill Schmitt

The Overton Window, a tool for mapping public opinion, has helped to describe our evolving society since the 1990s. But in the past ten years or so, American discourse has gone off on more tangents, and people’s perspectives occupy a … Continue reading →

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Headlines Need Hearts: Sing a ‘News’ Song unto the Lord

Posted on October 30, 2025 by Bill Schmitt

It sounds illiberal to suggest mentioning prayer in secular news coverage.  After all, obituary writers frequently avoid discussing a deceased luminary’s faith practices, even his or her religion. When networks provided live coverage of the Sept. 21 memorial service for … Continue reading →

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Pope Leo Tells News Agencies to Cultivate Better Minds

Posted on October 12, 2025 by Bill Schmitt

Here are highlights from Pope Leo’s Oct. 9 address in Rome to a conference of Minds International, a non-profit organization of news agency executives collaborating on new-media businesses. Minds International says it was founded in 2007 to support digital development … Continue reading →

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Thoughts and Prayers—Paths to Turning Points

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Bill Schmitt

More than two million subscribers are standing by for an online video, expected next year, in which veteran airline pilot Petter Hörnfeldt will explain what might be the most perplexing aviation disaster of 2025. Many trust he will diligently examine, … Continue reading →

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C-SPAN as Therapy—Not for Insomnia, but Sleepwalking

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Bill Schmitt

Just as “core strength” is a cornerstone of personal physical fitness, awareness and exploration of truth—alignment with reality at the center of our lives—prepare us as productive communicators. A regimen of reaching out gives the individual stamina for the hard … Continue reading →

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Men of Diocese ‘Step Up’ for Spiritual Combat

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Bill Schmitt

(This news article was published Aug. 13, 2025, in The Evangelist, the diocesan newspaper of the Diocese of Albany, NY. Read the newspaper here.) By William Schmitt, Special to The Evangelist  Nearly 270 men, spanning age groups and hometowns, assembled … Continue reading →

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As Humans and AI Communicate, the Watchword is Relationship

Posted on July 31, 2025 by Bill Schmitt

I’ve stumbled onto a story at the intersection of grammar, spirituality, artificial intelligence, and mysteries both timely and timeless. A news bulletin from the multiverse? No, this is simply a collection of insights, some of them mine. As a religion … Continue reading →

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