Denver PD Graduation 18 September 2026

Blessed are the peacemakers

At a police academy graduation this week, 31 recruits stood together, raised their right hands, took an oath, and received the badge they have worked so hard to earn. Among them was one of my nephews, the seventh of my nephews to enter law enforcement. Having proudly worn that same badge, I know this moment was more than a graduation or a family milestone. It is a public response to a call to serve.

In Sunday’s Gospel, the owner of the vineyard repeatedly goes out searching for laborers. Some begin at dawn, others at midday, and still others arrive at the eleventh hour. Each is called at a different moment, but each is invited into the same vineyard.

That image is especially meaningful as we begin another semester of diaconal formation with 51 deacon candidates, aspirants, and inquirers. These men are at different stages of life and discernment. Some have sensed the call for years; others are only beginning to understand it. Yet each has heard the Lord’s invitation: “You go into my vineyard too.”

The same invitation is present in every authentic vocation of service. The important question is not, “When was I called?” or “How does my service compare with another’s?” The question is, “Will I answer when the Lord calls?”

My nephew now enters a profession in which he will meet people during some of the most frightening and vulnerable moments of their lives. He will possess legal authority, but the finest officers understand that authority is entrusted to them for the protection of others. The badge is not merely a symbol of power. At its best, it is a visible promise: I will go toward the person who needs help.

The same is true of the deacon’s stole. It does not elevate us above others; it places us at their service. Whether wearing a badge or a stole, we enter a vineyard that belongs to God.

Join me in praying for my nephews, our 51 candidates, aspirants, inquirers,  their formators, and everyone entrusted with the care of others to enter the vineyard humbly. Serve faithfully. Protect courageously. The blessing is not that we were called before someone else, but that, in His generosity, God called us at all.

Blessed are His Servants

In Christ the Servant + Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Receive + Believe + Teach + Practice