HOMILY OF THE BURIAL MASS OF MADAM FRANCES ARABA ATTA HAGAN
(MARCH 6, 1945 – JANUARY, 30 2026)
AT THE HOLY SPIRIT CATHEDRAL, ACCRA
ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2026
BY BISHOP JOHN KOBINA LOUIS
THEME: “LIFE IS CHANGED, NOT ENDED”
READINGS: WISDOM 3:1-9 AND JOHN 14:1-6
Beloved in Christ, today, with faith and hope in the resurrection, we gather to celebrate the life of Madam Frances Araba Atta Hagan — a loving mother, a beloved grandmother, a cherished aunt, and above all, a devout Catholic. She was a woman of many admirable qualities: creativity, excellence, diligence, commitment, self-discipline, perseverance, and steadfast faith in God.
She began her working life as a broadcaster. She later expressed her gifts through fashion design, crafting beauty from fabric and thread. Eventually, she became a headmistress, shaping not garments, but young lives. Each phase of her life reflected vision, order, discipline, and creativity.
Today, we focus especially on her gift of creativity to reflect on our theme: “Life is Changed, Not Ended” (Roman Missal, “Preface I for the Dead”).
1. THE SOULS OF THE RIGHTEOUS ARE IN THE HAND OF GOD — THE SUPREME CREATOR
In the First Reading, the Book of Wisdom tells us: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them” (Wisdom 3:1).
God is the Supreme Creator. Every fashion designer begins with fabric — material that already exists. But God’s creativity surpasses all human creativity because He creates out of nothing. From nothing, He brought forth the universe. From dust, He formed man. From a simple breath, He gave life.
Madam Frances, as a fashion designer, could take ordinary cloth and, through imagination and skill, transform it into something beautiful and dignified. If human creativity can elevate fabric into elegance, how much more can God’s infinite creativity transform human life beyond death? In God’s hand our life is the fabric and death is the thread with which He fashions eternal life for our souls.
The One who created her is more than capable of re-creating her into glory. Death is not an obstacle to God. For the One who created out of nothing, transforming earthly life into heavenly glory is not difficult. Her soul is in His hands — the hands of the Supreme Designer.
2. THE SOULS OF THE RIGHTEOUS AS BURNT OFFERINGS
The Book of Wisdom gives us an interesting picture of how God creatively transforms the souls of the righteous: “… like a sacrificial burnt offering He [God] accepted them” (Wis. 3:6).
The story of the two brothers, Cain and Abel, can throw some light on the transformation of burnt offerings (cf. Gen. 4:1-7). Cain offered the fruits of the land and Abel offered the first-fruits of his flock. In each case, what they offered was destroyed or lost (through fire). However, unlike Cain, what Abel lost became a pleasing sacrifice to God, because he was a righteous man. That is, Abel’s physical loss was transformed into a spiritual gain.
So too, the life of the righteous is transformed in death. God, in His creative power, gives life a new, higher, and everlasting spiritual value. The earthly life, with all its struggles, sacrifices, service, and love, is lifted up like the sweet-smelling smoke of a sacrifice pleasing unto God.
Madam Frances offered her life daily — in service to her family, in dedication to her work, in fidelity to her faith. Now, that offering has risen to God. What appears as loss to us is, before God, a pleasing offering transformed into eternal joy.
3. THE SOULS OF THE RIGHTEOUS LIKE GOLD PURIFIED IN THE FURNACE
Here is another interesting illustration of how God transforms the souls of the righteous. Wisdom 3:6 says that the righteous are like gold purified in the furnace. And in the New Testament, 1 Peter 1:6–7 tells us that our faith is tested by trials, though it is “more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire.”
Gold in its raw state contains impurities. Only fire reveals its true beauty and value. The furnace does not destroy gold; it refines it.
Life itself is a furnace. The challenges, responsibilities, sacrifices, illnesses, disappointments, and even aging — all these are part of the refining fire. Through them, faith becomes purer, character stronger, and love deeper.
Madam Frances’ life had its own furnace experiences. Yet through them, her faith remained steadfast. The fire did not consume her; it refined her.
And just as purified gold shines more brilliantly, God now gives the righteous a new, higher, and everlasting spiritual value. Life is not ended; it is refined, perfected, glorified.
4. CHRIST IS THE SOLE AGENT OF GOD’S CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION
In the gospel reading from John 14:1–6, Jesus Christ says: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me… I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one goes to the Father except through me.”
Christ is the sole agent of God’s creative power in giving eternal life. Through Him, death is transformed. Through Him, sorrow becomes hope. Through Him, the grave becomes a doorway.
If God is the Supreme Creator, Christ is the unique living Channel through whom that creative power flows to us. It is through only Christ’s death and resurrection that life is changed, not ended.
Madam Frances believed in God. She trusted in Christ. She lived her Catholic faith not merely as tradition, but as conviction. And because she believed in the Way, she now journeys with Him. Because she believed in the Truth, she now beholds Him. Because she believed in the Life, she now shares in that Life.
Our faith today must be firm — in God the Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ — so that we too may share in that glorious transformation.
CONCLUSION
Beloved, a skilled designer can transform fabric. Fire can refine gold. Sacrifice can rise as a pleasing offering. But only God can transform death into eternal life. So, for those who believe, life is changed, not ended.
Madam Frances’ earthly chapter has closed, but her story is not finished. The Supreme Creator who fashioned her life continues His work beyond the grave. The Divine Designer is completing a masterpiece.
In the meantime, may we, like Auntie Frances, live with steadfast faith, creativity, dedication, and love that when our time comes, we too may hear the Lord say, “Come, I have prepared a place for you.”
Finally, may her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
