TV Picks 10.11.2009

SUNDAY, 4 a.m., live

Canonizations

EWTN “Do not feel sorry for me,” wrote Father Damien de Veuster (1840-1889), of the Sacred Hearts Fathers, about the Hansen’s disease (leprosy) he contracted at his mission on Molokai. Pope Benedict XVI will canonize him today, along with French Sister Mary of the Cross (Jeanne) Jugan (1792-1879), foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor; Polish Archbishop Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski (1822-1895), founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary; Spanish Dominican Father Francisco Coll y Guitart (1812-1875), founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciata; and Spanish Trappist Brother Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938). Re-airs at noon.


MONDAY, 6:30 a.m., 6 p.m.

Spotlight

CATHOLICTV In this new series, Father Bill Kelly and Father Chip Hines look for underlying themes in recent movies. Tonight’s topic is the 2001-03 Lord of the Rings trilogy, director Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien’s saga. Re-airs 8 p.m. Thursday and noon and 10 p.m. Saturday.


MONDAY, 8 p.m.

Hubble’s Amazing Rescue

PBS This special follows NASA astronauts Scott Altman, Andrew Fenstel, Michael Good, John Grunsfeld, Gregory Johnson, Michael Massimino and Megan McArthur as they train for and carry out their dangerous May 2009 mission to perform never-before-attempted intricate repairs on the Hubble Space Telescope. Advisory: TV-PG.


MONDAY-FRIDAY, 6 a.m.

The 10 Commandments of Catholic Family Life

EWTN In this 2008 five-part series about growing in holiness as a family, Father Wade Menezes of the Fathers of Mercy discusses the beauty of marriage and the duties of husbands and fathers, wives and mothers, and children and teens. He also explores the family as a domestic church.


WEDNESDAY, 9:30 p.m.

The Queen Family:

Appalachian Tradition

& Back Porch Music

PBS Mary Jane Queen, 92, of rural Jackson County, western North Carolina, her eight children, and her grandchildren all play mountain music that derives from Appalachian traditions and their Irish, Scottish and English heritages. A re-air from 2006.


FRIDAY, 7 a.m.

Save Our History:

Frontier Homes

HISTORY This episode richly depicts the family life of American pioneers and the homes they built, from New England post-and-beam frames on to Southeastern log cabins, prairie sod houses and Southwestern adobe homes. A re-air. Advisory: TV-PG.


SATURDAY, 4 p.m.

Explorer: Secret

History of Gold

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL Most of the gold ever mined is still around, say experts. They add that nearly 10% of gold mined today comes from Peru, where miners brave landslides to hose 25 tons of dirt to find perhaps one ounce of gold.

A re-air.

Dan Engler writes from

Santa Barbara, California.

Indiana Marriage Battle

A city council bill that would have required more tolerance for homosexuality was narrowly defeated in the heavily Mennonite town of Goshen, Ind. And the vote had implications for the rest of the state.

Hudson Highland

On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the Hudson River, Angelo Stagnaro finds one Catholic gem overlooking the storied stream: Most Holy Trinity Chapel at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.