XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family

EWTN The bishops aim “to formulate appropriate pastoral guidelines” for pastoral care of persons and families. At 1pm Mondays-Fridays, Mary Shovlain will host Synod Wrap-Ups, with reporting from Alan Holdren and Edward Pentin. At 6pm Mondays-Fridays, EWTN News Nightly will air updates. At 10pm Oct. 18, EWTN Theology Roundtable will discuss the recent World Meeting of Families. Advisory: TV-PG. Re-airs 5am Thursday.
 

The Forgotten Plague

PBS Subtitled, “The Deadly Story of Tuberculosis in America and the Hunt for a Cure,” this documentary describes TB’s deadly toll in the 19th century and extensive efforts then and later on to understand the disease, assist sufferers and find a cure. Starting in the mid-20th century, antibiotics curtailed the disease; but lately it has resurfaced. A re-airing.
 

Ivanhoe

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES This 1952 adventure epic, set in picturesque England of the 12th century, is based on the 1820 novel of the same name by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). Richard Thorpe directed, and Robert Taylor, Joan Fontaine, Elizabeth Taylor, George Sanders and Finlay Currie star.
 

Nature: Pets: Wild at Heart

PBS This special employs HD spy cameras, night-vision cameras, drones, miniature on-board cameras and digital high-speed cameras to follow pets around in their largely unrecognized “parallel existence” of wild behavior and natural abilities beside us. 
 

Sunday Night Prime

EWTN In this episode, “Purgatory: The Fire of God’s Love,” Part 1, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal Father Andrew Apostoli interviews author Susan Tassone, who champions the holy souls in Purgatory. Re-airs 2am and 9am Monday.
 

EWTN Gallery: The Hound of Heaven

EWTN This documentary film chronicles the life and legacy of the English-Catholic poet Francis Thompson (1859-1907), author of the famed masterpiece that lends itself to the film’s title. The 182-line poem of remarkably varied and beautiful vocabulary begins with the poet’s acknowledgment, “I fled Him, down the nights and down the days,” and it continues with God’s loving and never-ending pursuit of him.
 

Extraordinary Faith: Young Adults Embracing Tradition in Miami

EWTN Members of the Catholic youth group Juventutem (Latin for “youth”) love attending Tridentine Mass, singing in Miami’s Latin Mass choir and socializing.
 

EWTN Cinema: The Jeweler’s Shop

EWTN This 1989 film is an adaptation of the 1960 play of the same title by then-Bishop Karol Wojtyla, our beloved Pope St. John Paul II, about two Polish couples and the dynamics of their respective relationships. Olivia Hussey and Burt Lancaster star.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.