Lessons and Carols: An Inspiring Celebration of the Holiday Season
Cherished annual event to take place this weekend in Founders Chapel
Eric Milner-White, an army chaplain and liturgist, introduced the first Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in King’s College Chapel at Cambridge University on Christmas Eve, 1918.
More than a century later, Lessons and Carols has become a cherished annual holiday celebration the world over, including right here at Alcalá Park.
Each December, USD invites the campus community and the public to Founders Chapel to enjoy this inspiring event, which heralds the beginning of the holiday season. Through poignant readings from the Old and New Testaments interspersed with beautiful music, participants are invited to reflect on the birth of Jesus in the context of its personal and societal significance.
“At USD, Lessons and Carols is a great opportunity for us to consider our faith roots,” explains Concert Choir Director Brian Lustig, MM.
This year’s event will take place on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:45 p.m., and Sunday Dec. 3 from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The theme of the celebration centers around the Magnificat, the Blessed Virgin Mary's response to her cousin Elizabeth's praise of her faith, as retold in the Gospel of Luke. The Magnificat sets the theme for the entire celebration: here we see God praised for the love, compassion and justice bestowed upon the world, especially the poor and the lowly and, above all else, for having honored the promise of a Messiah made generations before Mary’s own time.
The gospel-inspired principle “all are welcome” is embodied by the participation of staff, faculty and students from across campus. They help with the preparations and volunteer to be part of the procession, bearing the Book of Gospels, candles and banners, as well as to deliver the readings – the lessons – themselves.
The event holds special personal significance and deep connection for Lustig. “When I discovered that I loved singing in choirs, I quickly found the choir of King’s College, Cambridge,” he recalls. “In 2018, I applied to Cambridge and was accepted as a postgraduate student, and sang in a brilliant choir. Conducting the choir at USD in our annual Lessons and Carols will be deeply impactful due to my connection with Cambridge.”
– USD News Center