SUNDAY, 9 p.m.

Being Human: 40 Days for Life II

EWTN This documentary tells us about the babies saved and the hearts and minds changed in the highly successful 40 Days for Life campaigns of prayer, fasting, community education and 24-hour prayer vigils outside abortion chambers. This year’s effort will take place Sept. 24 - Nov. 2 in 170 U.S. and Canadian cities.

MONDAY, 3 a.m., 6:30 p.m.

William Carrigan, Witness & Friend of Padre Pio

EWTN William Carrigan was director of the Adriatic section of the Red Cross in Italy during World War II when GIs told him about a Capuchin “in the mountains” who had the stigmata, the wounds of Christ. Carrigan organized trips for many American and British soldiers to visit Padre Pio and became his lifelong friend and champion. Carrigan, who died in 2000, reminisces about the saint’s Masses, spiritual life and miracles.

TUESDAY, 8 p.m.

Moon Power

SCIENCE CHANNEL This show explains the many ways in which the moon affects Earth.

WEDNESDAY, 8 p.m.

Killer Stress

PBS This National Geographic special follows neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky and other scientists as they research the nature of stress and formulate ways in which we can combat the serious negative effects of stress in daily life.

FRIDAY, 8 p.m.

Marie Bellet in Concert

FAMILYLAND TV “To make sacrifices for marriage and children is not stupidity or victimization. It is the noblest thing we do,” says Marie Bellet, a Catholic singer and songwriter. A mom of nine kids who has earned an MBA, she performs her songs of faith, affirmation of marriage and motherhood, and encouragement for Catholic moms.

FRIDAY, 9 p.m.

Presidential Debate

ALL MAJOR NETWORKS This first of three presidential campaign debates between Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and pro-abortion Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will take place at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, with the focus on domestic policy. With Jim Lehrer of PBS moderating, the candidates will separately make 10-minute statements on each of eight issues, and then make closing remarks.

SATURDAY, 5 p.m.

Next Big Bang

HISTORY This show details the 40 years of planning and five years of construction of the European Organization for Nuclear Research’s Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, whose debut was set for earlier this week. The collider, a 17-mile tunnel with giant superconducting magnets, is designed to fire proton beams at the speed of light to cause collisions that physicists hope will recreate what they believe the conditions were in the milliseconds after the universe began. Advisory: TV-PG.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.