Every year, on the feast day of the Sisters of Mercy, Sept. 24, the students, faculty and staff of Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville join together to celebrate Mass and honor the Sisters of Mercy who founded the school in 1957.

Now, 57 years after the school's founding, the event has grown into more than a commemoration. At the Mass in the auditorium, the school commissioned the executive board of the Student Government, Peer Leadership and the National Honor Society, as well as 30 extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Perhaps the biggest part of the morning, however, was the blessing of a new altar.

Father John Garrett, chaplain, in his homily reflected on the commissioning of the disciples, and mentioned how Jesus told them to travel light. He used this teaching of Jesus to advise the students to not get too attached to material things and put God first.

After Mass he shared the importance of the Mercy Sister tradition in the school. "We always have to know where we come from and that history," Father Garrett said. He mentioned the values of the sisters as being academics, forming a family-like community, and Catholic identity. "That seed grew into this wonderful institution."

The school continues the spiritual tradition of the sisters by praying every morning. Many teachers also begin each class with a prayer, and the students also live out their call to charity through many service projects, Father Garrett shared.