SUNDAY, Jan. 1, midnight, live

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

EWTN At midnight, the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word begin New Year’s 2012 with a solemn Mass of reparation for all our sins (re-airings at 8am and midnight). At 4am, in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI offers Mass for the solemnity (re-airing at noon).

SUNDAY, Jan. 1, 10:15am

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES Catholic director Frank Capra helmed this 1939 classic story of a young idealist who is appointed to the U.S. Senate and enlists the American people to help him overcome graft and efforts to smear and expel him.

MONDAY, Jan. 2, 11am

The Rose Parade

ABC, HALLMARK CHANNEL, HGTV, NBC, RFD-TV, UNIVISION “Just Imagine” is the theme of the 123rd Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. The parade will feature 22 marching bands, nearly 50 gigantic floats, and 26 equestrian units with horses of many breeds, including 100 palominos in a salute to cowboy hero Roy Rogers (1911-1998). At 5pm, ESPN will air the 98th Rose Bowl Game, featuring Wisconsin and Oregon.

TUESDAY, Jan. 3, 9am

24 Hours After Hiroshima

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL This program chronicles the United States’ dropping of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945, and the toll the attack took on the Japanese people.

TUESDAYS, 8pm

Mother Angelica Live Classic Episodes

EWTN Beloved Mother Angelica, foundress of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery, the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and EWTN, shares her timeless Catholic counsel and wisdom. Re-airings Wednesdays at 1 and 10am.

THURSDAY, Jan. 5, 8:30am

If These Walls Could Talk

HOME & GARDEN TV This episode tours Mark Twain’s boyhood home in Hannibal, Mo., and discusses Twain’s characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. A re-airing.

FRIDAY, Jan. 6, 9pm

Great Performances: Celebrate Gershwin

PBS Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock performs in this tribute to composer George Gershwin (1898-1937). Numbers include An American in Paris, Rhapsody in Blue and Someone to Watch Over Me.

MONDAY, Jan. 9, 6:30pm

Angels of the Arctic Circle

EWTN This documentary spotlights Carmelite sisters who founded a monastery in Norway, just inside the Arctic Circle. The sisters are a beacon for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, and they help expectant mothers who are in need. A re-airing.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.