TV Picks 12.14.2008

SUNDAY, 1:30 p.m.

In Concert: Corrette’s Christmas Symphonies

EWTN In this 90-minute program, the Dutch chamber ensemble La Fantasia performs the Christmas symphonies of Michel Corrette (1707-1795), a French composer and author of musical method books who was the organist at the Jesuit College in Paris (ca. 1737 to 1780).


MONDAY, 8 p.m.

I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown!

ABC In this 2003 special based on the beloved “Peanuts” comic strip, Rerun, the little brother of Lucy and Linus, wants a dog for Christmas but is told he’s too young to take care of one. Rerun seeks companionship from Charlie Brown’s beagle Snoopy, who in turn summons his brother Spike for a Christmas visit.


MONDAY, 9:30 p.m.

Richard Tucker Gala: An Orchestra Celebration

PBS This program from New York’s Lincoln Center features Renee Fleming, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato, Simon Keenlyside and others, along with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the New York Choral Society, performing works by Bernstein, Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Wagner.


TUESDAY, 3:30 p.m.

Travels and Traditions

CATHOLICTV In this series, veteran TV producer Burt Wolf goes on location around the world to capture the spirit of Catholic shrines and other fascinating and historic sites.


WEDNESDAY, 8 p.m.

EWTN Live

EWTN Jesuit Father Mitch Pacwa’s guest, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, discusses the persecution and martyrdom of our fellow Catholics in the captive nations behind the Soviet Empire (1917-1991) and how the Church fares today in those now-liberated lands.


FRIDAY, 8 p.m.

Modern Marvels: Obsolete Tech

HISTORY Advances in technology are rendering products obsolete faster than ever, as this program shows by examining VCRs, TV, LP records, tapes, cameras, cars and newspapers and analyzing which products are likely to fade away next. Some firms are now converting old photos, videos, etc., to the latest formats. Advisory: TV-PG.


SATURDAY, 8 p.m.

The Angel Doll

FAMILYLAND TV Alexander Johnston directed this 2002 drama in which Jerry (Michael Welch) helps fellow 1950s paper boy Whitey (Cody Newton) in a quest to find an angel doll, which is not available in their small Southern town, to give to his polio-stricken, 4-year-old sister Sandy (Lindsey Good) for Christmas.

Dan Engler writes from
Santa Barbara, California.

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

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