Katherine Hampton Funeral Homily, September 29, 2023

The sudden death of Katherine Hampton came as a shock to her family and all of us. The ensuing week of grief had been difficult, especially for her mother, Sue, and brother, Taylor. As that week culminated in a beautiful funeral Mass in the Iglesia de San Francisco in Cuenca, Ecuador.  Katherine's spirit was entrusted into God's hands. Consoling all present was Jesus' beautiful teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. In the Beatitudes he gives us insight into how God sees and values human beings. If Katherine had been in the midst of that crowd on the mountainside, she would have understood well just what Jesus was teaching; she would have loved this Jesus teaching her. If they had met following the teaching, their conversation would have been marked by reassurance and welcome into God's Kingdom.