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  Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 
  

  
  

  Christian hope – the conviction that in our moments of greatest need God will find a way to stand with us—this is the theme and challenge of the Holy Year we are now celebrating in the universal Church. 
  And what could be a more profound event to test our hope than the death of a beloved family member or friend?
  

  
  

  The Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Washington are sacred grounds of hope, where we bring our longing to be with our beloved dead, to be reunited with them, and experience their presence once again.
  

  
  

  St. Mary Magdalene had this experience, too, as she journeyed to the tomb of Jesus filled with sorrow, but not despair. She is an apostle of hope. And in her hope the Risen Jesus appears to her and calls her by name. Suddenly, her whole world changes. For as she comes to understand the reality of the Resurrection and its implications, she realizes that every supposition that she had held about her life, her mission, her purpose in this world had to be changed.
  

  
  

  God’s power over death itself and the light of the Resurrection recalibrate every major element of our understanding of the meaning of our lives on this earth. These truths confirm our hope as we stand at the graves in our Catholic cemeteries. 
  

  
  

  Brothers and sisters, we are called in this Jubilee Year to be great pilgrims of hope, most especially in the resurrection of our beloved dead. We find the foundation for that hope in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which alters every understanding that we have about ourselves, our lives and our destinies.
  

  
  

  With prayerful best wishes for you and your families, I am
  

  
  

  Devotedly yours in Christ, 

  ✠ Robert Cardinal McElroy
  Archbishop of Washington