Advent Reflections on EWTN

TV Picks 12.03.23

Celebrate each week of Advent by listening to the personal reflections of insightful priests.
Celebrate each week of Advent by listening to the personal reflections of insightful priests. (photo: EWTN.com)

SUNDAY, Dec. 3, noon

Ben-Hur

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES William Wyler directed this 1959 mega-epic, which was based on Gen. Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The film won 11 Oscars for its gripping portrayal of a Jewish prince bent on revenge against Roman occupiers in the time of Jesus. Charlton Heston, Haya Harareet and Stephen Boyd head a fine cast. TV-PG.

SUNDAYS, Dec. 3, 10, 17, 24,

11 p.m.

Advent Reflections

EWTN  Celebrate each week of Advent by listening to the personal reflections of insightful priests speaking from St. Catherine’s Dominican Church in Newry, Northern Ireland.

FRIDAY, Dec. 8

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

EWTN At 4 a.m. is the International Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception in Lourdes, France. At 6 a.m. Pope Francis will pray The Angelus. At 8 a.m. is Daily Mass from EWTN in Irondale, Alabama (re-airs 6:30 p.m, midnight). At 10 a.m., Pope Francis is to preside at the Homage to the Immaculate Conception at Our Lady’s statue in the Piazza di Spagna. At 12:10 p.m. is the Solemn Mass of the Immaculate Conception at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

SATURDAY, Dec. 9, 8 p.m.

1531: A Story That Is Not Finished Yet

EWTN On St. Juan Diego’s feast day, this docudrama tells of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s visits to him during Dec. 9-12, 1531. TV-PG.

TUESDAY, Dec. 12

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

EWTN At 3 a.m., Archbishop José Gomez will celebrate Holy Mass in Honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Los Angeles’ Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (re-airs 3 p.m.). At noon, Pope Francis will celebrate Holy Mass on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. 

TUESDAY, Dec. 12, 8 p.m.

Witness to Providence: The Annual Mother Angelica Award

EWTN The recipient of this award will be someone who mirrors Mother Angelica’s love of Jesus and her spirit of evangelization. (Re-airs  11 a.m. and 11 p.m. Wednesday.)

SATURDAY, Dec. 16, 11:30 a.m. 

Star in the Night

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES This 1945 retelling of the Nativity story, set in the American West, won the 1946 “Best Short Subject” Oscar for picturing the beautiful ways that hearts can change. 

Upcoming

SUNDAY, Dec. 17

Christmas Shows

EWTN At 1:30 p.m. is In Concert: An Austrian Christmas in Vienna. At 4:30 p.m. is Savoring Our Faith with Father Leo Patalinghug. At 7 p.m. is Carols by Candlelight From Knock Shrine in County Mayo. At 8:30 p.m. is Keep Christ in Christmas: A Catholics Come Home Special. At 11:30 p.m. is Christmas Matins From Bavaria.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis