TV Maria leading you to the fullness of life!

At 6:00 in the morning of New Year’s Day, 2006, TV Maria went on the air, over satellite television. It has been on the air, 24 hours a day, ever since.

The number of Catholics in Asia is 1.5 percent. One and a half people out of every hundred. The Church has three strong traditional ways of bringing God to Men.

The first is the parish. Where-ver the Church is established, you have the parish. The Church reaches the people through the priest in the pulpit, face to face.

The second is the school. If, after the parish is established, the Church has enough energy, money and personnel, the parish priest establishes a school. The word of God comes to the people through the nun, or the priest, or the teacher, in the classroom.

If, after that, there is enough energy, money, personnel and inspiration, the Church establishes a charitable institution: the hospital, the orphan asylum, the feeding center, the leper colony.

After that, stop!

When we were driven out of China in 1949, we had no more parishes, no more schools, no more charitable institutions. So what did we do? Suddenly we realized that – as God gave the Roman Roads to the 12 Apostles, to carry the word of God to his children all over the known world, on foot – he had given us the airways!

Then came Vatican Radio, and Radio Veritas Asia, and satellite television in the United States, in Europe, in all the world. John Paul II spoke to all the children of God, over satellite television, for the last 27 years.

If we relied on the traditional methods: the parish, the school, the charitable institutions – how many people could the Church reach in Asia? By the figures of the Vatican, only 10 percent of the Catholics around the world go to Church regularly. In the Philippines you could probably raise that figure to 15 percent, or even 20 percent. But no more. That means: by using the traditional methods of evangelization, we would reach, at most, one out of every 500 Asians!

On the airways we can reach every person on this continent. There is no one in Asia who can not get to a transistor radio. And we can reach them where they are! The mother cooking breakfast, the father driving to work, the farmer in the field, who has the transistor radio lashed to the handle of his plow. We can reach the Muslim, the Buddhist, the Hindu, the Born Again and the Born Against, in their bedrooms!

The Archdiocese of Manila has two channels on the Dream Satellite – one for television and one for radio. The footprint of the Dream Satellite covers the whole Philippines; a large part of Asia, including most of mainland China; the whole continent of North America – the United States, Canada and Mexico – and five nations in the Middle East.

This does not mean that everyone in these areas are listening to us, or watching us; but it does mean that they would listen and watch if they went to the effort of arranging it! The satellite has tremendous potential!

TV Maria – Channel 21 on the Dream Satellite –does not mean to compete with the great national Free Television Networks: ABS-CBN 2, GMA 7, ABC 5, NBN 4, RPN 9, IBC 13. We are presenting "Alternative Programming". Our accent is on the spiritual values that every person needs, that our country needs: reconciliation, unity, peace, reaching out to one another, sharing, caring, love.

Our programs come from excellent groups of people who have consecrated their lives to serving God by serving his children, wherever they may be:

• Jescom, the Jesuits in Communication, led by Father Aris Dy, S.J., present "Soul Mix", their own MTV, starring their Music Ministry, which has such a strong appeal for young college boys and girls. Their "Light Talk" stars Bishop Chito Tagle, who received a standing ovation from all the Bishops of the Philippines for his vivid realistic portrayal of the real problems of our nation, and the answers that Christ Our Lord presents in the Gospel.

• The Family Rosary Crusade offers the Mysteries of the Rosary, filmed in English by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., whose cause has been introduced for canonization. They also present all 15 Mysteries in Tagalog, beautifully dramatized by European actors.

• Saint Paul University of Quezon City is televising their theatrical dramas, which have played to standing room only.

• Miriam College, under the direction of Nonoy Molina, presents the issues of women, in Manila, in the Philippines, and in the world. It is young people, talking to young people. Their "Catholics Online" is a travelogue, presenting the strong Catholic history of the Philippines.

• UGAT, presented by Karen Vardeleon, treats the problems of the family, featuring families who have met these problems and have solved them with the wisdom of God, which they found in the Gospels.

• Assumption College, presented by Tato Malay, reaches out to the youth, showing how they are trying to make a difference as changers and movers of our troubled world.

• Pro-Life, hosted by Sister Pilar Versoza, R.G.S., presents "Love Life" , probably our strongest program, drawing fan mail from distant Provinces. She faces what John Paul II called: "the culture of death", handling very real problems on life, family, love, sexuality, youth and parenting.

• Family land, presented by Winnie Vicoy, is televising the inside story of the life of John Paul II. The men who lived and worked closest to John Paul reveal the intense drama of his life.

• Defensores Fidei, an aggressive, apostolic group from Opus Dei, present "Ano ang Totoo?" , hosted by Bo Sanchez. They live up to their name: "Defenders of the Faith"

• The RVM Hour, highlights the development of the RVM Congregation from the time of its foundress, Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo up to the present. The program brings back four centuries of the Philippine past, the dramatic life of Mother Ignacia and the valiant growth of her daughters of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.

• Kerygma, hosted by Bo Sanchez, is a down to earth discussion on real problems that we meet every day, right here, right now.

• Couples For Christ, led by Maricar Gatchalian and Ching Custodio, present "In His Steps". Their program is rich with their wide, intense experience of marriage and the family.

• Children of Light, presented by Lourdes Carido, in their program "May Liwanag" portrays the deep peace of soul that comes to struggling families, when they try to live by the Gospel.

• "Men of Light" produced by the Priests of Pampanga, tells the story of Filipinos who have been called by God to serve their people.

• The National Office of Mass Media offers "Insight", dramas produced in Hollywood, and starring top flight actors. The series was produced by the Paulists, a religious order founded to serve those outside the Christian faith. They are also televising Filipino documentaries to "Stop Human Trafficking!"

TV Maria has two strong assets:

1. The satellite video is cleaner, clearer and sharper than the ordinary programs on our national free television networks.

2. The message is always positive. It is not only easy on the eyes and ears. It is easy on the soul. Its objectives are reconciliation, unity, peace, reaching out to one another, sharing, caring, love. It presents a truth: there are many things, in the Philippines and in the world, that are beautiful and good.