All Times Eastern

VARIOUS

Humanae Vitae: On Human Life

FAMILYLAND TV On Wednesdays at 11 p.m. and Thursdays at 11 a.m., Cardinal Francis Arinze guides us through Pope John Paul II’s commentary on Humanae Vitae (On the Regulation of Birth), Pope Paul VI’s pro-marriage, anti-contraception encyclical letter of 1968.

SUNDAY, 1:30 p.m.

Marilla Ness: How Can I Keep from Singing

EWTN With a voice of “soaring purity and sweetness of tone,” as one critic has said, in this hour-long video Irish Catholic songstress Marilla Ness sings hymns against scenic backdrops of her native County Donegal and her present home in Cheshire, England.

SUNDAY, 8 p.m.

Nature: Ireland

PBS This natural history of the beautiful Emerald Isle shows us Atlantic storms, the Gulf Stream, oyster farming, salmon, otters, red deer, sheep, various bird species, crops and playful bottlenose dolphins in the mouth of the River Shannon. A re-air.

MONDAY, 9 p.m.

Visions of Ireland

PBS As St. Patrick’s Day approaches, take flight aboard a helicopter and listen to traditional Irish music and Celtic rock tunes as you peer down on the land of song and story, saints and scholars, from the vantage point of God and his angels.

WEDNESDAY, 9:30 p.m.

Great Performances: Loreena McKennitt, Nights from the Alhambra

PBS Canadian singer, harpist and pianist Loreena McKennitt recorded this concert last September in the dramatic setting of the Alhambra palace in Granada, Andalucía, Spain.

THURSDAY, 8 p.m.

Patrick: Brave Shepherd of the Emerald Isle

EWTN This half-hour animated video tells the story of how St. Patrick became the Apostle of Ireland and earned the lasting love of the Irish people by bringing them the light of Christ. (Editor’s note: Dan Engler researched and co-wrote the script.)

THURSDAY

Stories: Prisoners of War

MILITARY CHANNEL At 9 p.m., in Vietnam POWs: Stories of Survival, U.S. former prisoners of war tell of the faith, love of country and soldierly comradeship that sustained them during years of torture. At 10 p.m., in Captives: POW Stories, more former prisoners of war reveal the secrets of their survival under extremely dire conditions.

SATURDAY

All-Star Kitchen Makeover

FOOD NETWORK Home, hearth and kitchen are inseparable from family life. Here, in hour-long segments starting at 7 p.m., veteran TV chefs Paula Deen, Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay and Alton Brown each remodel kitchens to make them more useful and friendly.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.