A BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE LATE HON. ALFRED ANACLITUS THOMPSON ESQ.

MP AND MRS
NELLIE THOMPSON, ON DIPLOMATIC SERVICE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF TRINIDAD AND
TOBAGO (CIRCA. 1961-1971) AND THEIR FIFTEEN CHILDREN

Choosing life, to my parents, was simply a foregone conclusion. They somehow seemed to make their
childbearing and childrearing decisions simply out of pure love, and in favour of the sanctity of life.

Thrilling
THE BIG MINISTRY OF FAMILY LIFE :

Keeping Up With the Thompson’s

The Lives and Times of

Hon. A.A. Thompson Esq. M.P.
Mrs. Nellie Thompson
and their
Fifteen Children
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Contents

Familia Nostra 5
Patented Mei 5
Pater Studiosum 7
My Family 9
Us Siblings 10
Maureen “Mo” The Alpha Female, and Gemma, the Submissive One 12
Our One and Only “Commander” 13
The Grand Weddings 13
Our Nicknames 14
The Miraculous Papal Meeting 16
o How Could He not be a Saint yet: Pope Paul VI 18
o Paul VI, the 'evangelical' Pope 19
o Paul VI, the Pro-Life Pope 19
o Paul VI, the builder of bridges 20
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Humanae Vitae: The fundamental background and its key messages 21

A brief history of the Humanae Vitae: 21
The main reasoning factors of Humanae Vitae: 21
o Schism in the ranks: Open Dissent following the publication of Humanae
Vitae 22
o The main predictions of Humanae Vitae: 22
Conclusion 23
Miracles of Our Lord Through the Divine Intercession of My Saintly Parents 24
Miracle 1: My mom’s conversion to the one true faith 24
Miracle 2: My father wakes up from coma 24
The Divinity of Our Most Sacred Scriptures 26
The Messiah: Our Lord Jesus Christ 26
The Epic Battle Before the Dawn of Time 27
The Original Sin 27
God, the Eternal Father 27
Our Lord is a just and patient Lord 28
Addendum 29
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Disclaimer
No part of this eBook can be transmitted or reproduced in any form including print,
electronic, photocopying, scanning, mechanical or recording without prior written
permission from the author and publisher of this eBook.
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Dedicated to the loving memory of Malcolm and Nellie, and the sacrifices they
made out of the love they held for their fifteen beloved children,
grandchildren, great grandchildren, their families, countrymen, all of
humanity ~ to posterity.
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Children are a blessing, with each child that is born, a new blessing arrives, and the
parents, the family, and the world get the opportunity to raise this child, to protect,
love and teach this child. This is how we are to treat births and childrearing, as
unique and as a gift from God. We must wait with hope and love to see what new
wonders this child would bring to the world, as he or she grows.

Familia Nostra

Just so one can see how my family fits into the Trinidad and Tobago milieu, my dearly departed father
was a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister under the late Rt. Hon. Eric Williams administration. I
come from a very large nuclear Roman Catholic family of fifteen children, and I'm the last. Currently, I'm
presenting my parents to Pope Francis for beatification, perhaps simultaneously with that of the late
Archbishop Anthony Pantin. The two men were extremely good friends during their lives.

My parents along with Archbishop Anthony Pantin shared a very lively friendship (and held similar views
and beliefs) with His Holiness Pope Paul VI, author of the encyclical, Humanae Vitae. During the time of
Paul VI's papal reign, he met with my parents when they were envoys on diplomatic mission. This was a
miraculous meeting that was providential.

My parents had fifteen children and had never exercised contraception. They were staunch Roman
Catholics, and raised my siblings and me in the Catholic faith. From the family, there are three children
who became lawyers and one doctor, myself. Other siblings have worked in both the public and private
sectors. My father attended St. Mary's College, and was a close friend of the Holy Ghost Fathers, in fact
that is the same order to which the Archbishop belonged.

The Archbishop came from a family of thirteen siblings, with their mother caring for them and raising
 7

them to walk in the faith as well. Two priests and one nun have come from the Pantin family. Some of
the Archbishop’s other siblings became educators.

My father was a gold medal winner upon graduating from St. Mary's College, his father died at that time
and as he was the first child, he decided to not use his scholarship to fly to the University of London to
study full-time, but chose to stay and work to care for his mother and his seven younger siblings. He
worked and did distance studies to complete his BA in Greek, Latin and Spanish. Upon graduation with
First Class honours, he got married to my mother, while still making generous contributions to his own
dear mother's household. He then went on to study to become a lawyer via correspondence studies from
the same school, University of London. He and my mother were at that time going forth and multiplying
all throughout. Then at the time of their sixth child, my father, having already graduated with honours in
Law, was called to the Bar in London, England and had to travel there, thus he became a Barrister-at-law
at Grey's Inn. Upon returning to Trinidad my father secured the top post of Registrar General of Port-of-
Spain. Years went on with both my parents working hard raising the children. My mother was a very
faithful, contented housewife, cutting and contriving in order to save money and balance the budget of the
home. Being a housewife was no small job!

Then in 1959 my father was approached by Dr. Eric Williams to go up as a representative in his political
party. My father's constituency of Tunapuna loved both my father's and my mother's families and for him,
it was an easy shoe in to win in his riding. The years of suffering, my father literally burning the midnight
oil, and lighting the candles at both ends to reach the pinnacle of his education, my mom washing clothes
for her children by hand, and hanging them out to dry outside in the hot, tropical sun, cooking and
cleaning, making sure that the family was fed, clothed and schooled. Then, in one fell swoop, all of the
sacrificing had suddenly become a thing of the past, as my father won in the elections by leaps and
bounds. Upon the time of my birth in May 1961, my father was elevated to the post of Cabinet Minister
and Member of Parliament.

The years from 1961 to 1972 in Trinidad for my family were the glory days, My mother thankfully got
maids to help us all out. She treated her helpers not as maids, but as family, and the maids in turn treated
us like their sisters, brothers, children, etc. Our parents paid them handsomely, hosted them at parties, in
which my parents generously also invited beggars from Independence Square.
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The functions at our home were many. Times were set aside for dignitaries, even for welcoming an
emperor and king, but the times that were set aside for the family, were for us. We didn't mind having our
maids joining us in our gatherings, as they helped us hand and foot and became our friends. The male
helpers, like our chauffeur, gardener, handymen, painters, etc. would hang out on the boys' side of our
palatial home at 2 Cipriani Boulevard. The land upon which our beautiful house once stood, now stands
NipDec House and the Civil Courts of Law.

In the early 1970’s to those of our on-lookers , those who were “Keeping up with the Thompson’s” at
least, it seemingly appeared as if “it all came crashing down” for our family. This is because my father
was told by the Prime Minister to go on “retirement”, which came just about a year too early, and with
little or no notice whatsoever, plus it was at Christmas time too. So, suddenly the home that made so
much noise with happy children, Church Hymns, Calypsos, Indian and Soul music; from playing cricket,
football and ping-pong in the backyard, and that had so much fun as one big, happy family; that gave
away so much home-cooked roti, curry chicken and all kinds of food, drink and shiny shillings to the
beggars, now was beginning to shut down and lose its lustre. We sold that Victorian home at the corner of
Tragarete Road and Cipriani Boulevard, right opposite from the huge Lapeyrouse Cemetery to live in
Tunapuna.

We lived there for a while, back to our roots, so to speak. Unfortunately, it was there that my father
slipped into a coma, and nearly died. By God's grace and mercy, he lived, he overcame. For my parents,
there obviously was no longer a love for their Tunapunian roots, as Tunapuna no longer represented where
he won an election, but where he almost lost his life.

So, my parents then bought another home in Port-of-Spain at 2 Fitt Street, Woodbrook. There we
encountered a normal, peaceful and quiet life. Due to all the illness, asd even the miraculous recovery of
my father, I was a bit jaded. Although I’d passed the Common Entrance Exam, I didn't pass for the school
that all my sisters went to. I didn’t pass for the prestigious St Joseph's Convent, but instead for its’ "sister
school", Providence. I felt like I was given a raw deal. My parents and I knew that I was an A+ student
all throughout my school in Port-of-Spain, having left in Grade 3, and if it weren’t for my dad’s untimely
“retirement” that he was forced into by the “evil powers” out there, as I was to be skipped into Grade 5 the
next term, I would've passed for St Joseph's Convent.
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But in God’s grace, mercy and lovingkindness, this was all in His wonderful Plan for our lives.
Providence Catholic School stood, and still stands on Belmont Circular Road. That was the school where
I first began as a liturgical lector at mass. Today, I still remain a Reader of the Liturgy at church. It was
right there, at Providence Girls Catholic School, that I was chosen to be a Lector, the one student who
would read the Word of the Lord during Mass. It was there I learned how to serve my Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. The school held a mass every First Friday of each month at the St Francis of Assisi Parish,
which we used to walk to and from, as if we were well-trained soldiers. Keeping in line, in rows of two,
with our teachers protecting us from traffic. Lo and behold, opposite to that Church, is the 100-year old
home that still stands, and is our family’s latter-day family home.

After only two months at Providence Girls Secondary School, my parents said that my wish to emigrate to
Canada was granted. So, in late 1973, we moved to Canada, lived in an apartment for a year and then
bought our own home, which needed some renovations. My sister Marcia and I attended St. Francis
Xavier Separate Catholic School, we then went to Madonna High School in Downsview, Ontario.

As years went by, my parents, who were going down in age, were feeling the burden of living in a cold
climate, and with old age coming upon them, they also felt that if they were to die from age or illness, it is
in their homeland they wish to be buried. My father peacefully passed away late 1985 at age 76.
Eventually, in late 2006, my mother too peacefully passed away at age 88. God rest their precious souls.

For the years that followed after my father’s retirement my parents knew that all was well, even though
life was downgraded and downsized, it was all the will of God. My parents really were in fact tired of
living their lives in the public eye and were happy to now take a well-deserved rest. My parents knew
that they had given themselves to the work of Almighty God, and it was He they had humbled themselves,
and bowed down, before. They lived their new humility, their feeling of being regular people once more,
no more big dinners, or lavish entertainment, just a simple life, and being happy tending to the home and
grandchildren. My parents knew that it was all a trial, just like Job in had suffered. Like Job, they got
their reward and crown from God.

THE BEGINNING
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So, here I go writing my book, step by step, about my family. For those who don't
know who we are, let me introduce you to the Thompson family. Now, without
further ado - here we are, the Thompson Family, The World’s Largest
Monogamous Roman Catholic Family of Diplomats and Lawyers!
I love, cherish and sorely miss my late parents. Ah yes, I know this is such a
cliche, it’s a universal statement by almost all children when speaking of their own
parents. But you see, my parents indeed were quite special. So special, in fact, that
I firmly believe that they ought to be beatified, and then queued to canonization, by
His Holiness, Pope Francis. In fact, after having interviewed more than eleven
people, other than immediate family, I have proof that my parents were living
saints. This book is a summarized biography of not just my parents, but also, in
part, that of my siblings, my own nuclear family and myself, my extended family,
and to a lesser extent, a bit about His Holiness the late Pope Paul VI, the author of
the Humanae Vitae Encyclical.
It goes without saying, but for my dearly departed and beloved parents, there
would not have been our nuclear family, nor our offspring, and so on and so on, to
begin with, so I shall begin where my parents began, their story, as told by them,
from the fabric of the tapestry that I can recall, and from that which is still is being
spoken by my parents themselves, in their own voices, so to speak, as if it were
messages from beyond the grave. My story includes their own stories, what they
have said concerning themselves, concerning their respective grandparents,
parents, sisters, brothers, and us their children. I also write about what is the life
my family and I live today, without Mom and Dad, their presence, their affection,
their moral support. I express with raw emotion, what it’s really like after their
passing, and of the glorious (and the sad) times, of years gone when we basked in
the sheer love of Mom and Dad, with my fascinating sisters and brothers. We
continue to live because of the faith, love and sense of family unity our parents
instilled in us. This is the very cloth from which we pattern our own nuclear
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families. This indeed has now become our heritage, our present and our future, our
generational background woven into posterity.
In my book I also point out certain “what if’s” in my parents’ lives which could
have changed the course of our lives, the betrayals by members of our extended
family, also the regrets (not too many) of yesterday. But I speak mainly of what is
to come, of the level of forgiveness that’s required to mend the hurts and losses of
the past, and how by threading each frame of the patchwork quilt that we call
family, can be for us as beautiful as a stunning, well-embroidered wedding gown,
with veil and long train in tow, that we can't help but say “yes to the dress”. This
delightful adventure of our journey is the future, yes, our future, especially when
we hear the tiny, precious baby-voices of our sweet children and grandchildren,
our own little young ones. When we see how wondrous life could be when we
look into their adorable eyes, their beautiful, innocent eyes; those sparkly, oh so
sparkly eyes; and we see in them the glorious glimmers of hope for a whole brand
new world that lies before us.

Parentes Mei

As I greet you, I pray that you would be blessed, protected, comforted and made
whole today as you read my book. I trust that many of you, who may be looking
for healing, strength, inspiration and comfort, as we hold onto Our Lord God and
Saviour Jesus Christ, as that of the Bible woman who held onto His garment, the
ailing dear woman who bled for twelve years with no letting up, yet when and only
when, did she hold onto the hem of Jesus’ garment, that she was healed, I pray that
you too would meet with your healing, your answer, your own miracle, as you read
the words between these two covers. I pray that you too would become the living
and walking Saint that we are all meant to be. I pray that you would be able to
lead others to Christ, the Prince of Peace, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root
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of David, and help to lead others as a shepherd to his flock, into complete
conversion.
At this juncture, I now present to you my dearly departed and beloved parents,
Alfred (Malcolm) and Jane (Nellie). Welcome into my parents’ home, my
siblings’ homes, my offspring's home. Welcome to my home. Indeed, welcome
Home.
My father was born Alfred Anaclitus Thompson on July 13, 1909, and was known
in the family as “Malcolm”, it was a Chinese thing. My mother was born Jane
Daphne Best on August 21, 1918. She was affectionately referred to as “Nellie”.
They both had an excellent upbringing, comparatively speaking.
At the age of sixteen, my mom was introduced to my father and they got married
shortly afterwards. Dad was twenty-six. And the rest, as they say, is “History.”
Indeed, I can more than vouch to the fact that my dear parents did, in every
possible way, live out their own fairy-tale “happily ever after”, even by all of
Disney’s standards, then and now.
As a matter of fact, my parents even when they were in their early fifties, going
into their sixties, always consistently remained what could only be described as
“die-hard” romantics to the core, and after my dad left the Government, often used
to spend their early evenings in our cool L-shaped gallery of our Woodbrook
corner house at 2 Fitt Street, sitting beside each other on the wide, white wrought-
iron patio chairs, with large, strong yellow cushions, as they watched out onto
Wrightson Road, as the pink and orange Caribbean sun drew down to its setting.
I could still picture them, glowing as they listened to the silky-smooth, soothing
sounds of East Indian Hindi music. The fascinating beat of the sitar and the fine,
high-pitched lyrical voices in the music, bought them a sense of such calm and
serenity. These sounds seemed to somehow calm their spirits after a long, hard
day. Mom, at home caring for the children, supervising the house staff, carpenter,
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gardener, cooks, cleaners, washer and ironer, making lists, out shopping, praying
and baking. Dad, at work, out serving the country, drafting legislation,
participating in Parliament, taking care of his constituents and his ministry, the
people, the country.
Later on in the evening, they would gather us, all of their normal children (none
having any deformities or diseases, thank God) in the living room to recite the
Holy Rosary. All of this always managed to bring peace within the home, and
within our hearts and souls, that no matter what else may be opposing us out there,
we were untouched.
I for one can attest to the adage,
“the family that prays together, stays together”...to this day.
Even though we may have lost to Heaven Mom, Dad, Gemma, Maureen and Dave,
the threads of familial love are still tightly woven, no matter how far we are from,
nor how near we may be to one another. These are the ties that bind...family ties.
Coming from humble beginnings, as compared to the life they later lived,
especially during their years of being on the side of “ wealth and power” my
parents always were levelheaded, kept us levelheaded, and got us accustomed not
to the wealth and fame, but to the love of God and His poor.
However sad it may be to mention, I really think it's high time that I do speak out
about the injustice that took place against our family, perpetrated by our own aunt
and uncle.
As the Trini saying goes,
“it’s your own lice does bite ya, not anybody else own.”

Well, according to my mom, a lot of my parents’ early fortune was mistakenly

handed over too soon to their respective siblings, and who later, in a most
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disgustingly condescending manner, told my parents that all of that money was
“gone.”
Just imagine, that at the particular time, that my mom had asked them for her
portion of the inheritance that her father left, was during the time of my father’s
retirement, and precisely when my parents were solely relying on my dad’s fixed
pensions. Yet, my parents were stunned out of their brains, only to hear coming
from my aunt’s mouth, the Big, Fat Lie of the Century, that there was “nothing
left” from the family’s “Massive Inheritance.”
My mother, in complete confusion, yet with a high degree of accountability and
consternation, asked my father's siblings as to the exact whereabouts of the
family’s money, and her own inheritance, which was handed down from her father
(Papa) and also from Malcolm’s (my father...her husband) own money from his
pockets, and from his properties.
It’s an interesting fact to note here that my mother's brother, Wilfred, was married
to my father's sister, Olga, while my father's brother, Oswald, was married to my
mother's sister, Enid. My mom wanted our family to now gain rightful access to
the monies that came from the properties, the horses, the estates, and my dad’s
savings that he owned, but gave, in escrow only, to her older brother, Wilfred.
However, my Aunt Olga’s reaction to that question was,

"That's all gone with the wind, Nellie! You can't ask for any of that now!!"

While my mom may have kept her mouth shut at the time (being the sweet, quiet
soul that she was famous for) mainly in part for the sake of family peace, unity and
loyalty.
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But she did have a few choice words in her mind. In fact, if she’d had the famous
gumption that the Thompson's had, according to my mom, she would've posed
quite a few poignant, pertinent questions to my aunt, such as,

“Why can’t I ask for what Malcolm gave over to Wilfred, only in trust and with a gentleman’s
handshake?

As a matter of fact, now is the right time to ask for it, because it’s now that we need it, now when
Malcolm is retired, not when he was hale and hearty,
riding steadily with Eric and the PNM!

“I mean to say, this is not only unfair, but it’s illegal

and preposterous, especially since he only gave it to you
all only in escrow...for safekeeping purposes... only
meant to be kept during the little time that he was
working for the Government.”

However, being the calm and patient soul

that she was, she never uttered even a
single word of complaint to that
“Thompson woman”, but who really only
became a “Best” through marriage to my
mom’s older brother Wilfred, and to my
mom’s mind, Auntie Olgs was acting so
proprietary over the Best’s inheritance, as
if she were a born-Best, more than my
mom herself was, who was, in fact, born a
Best.
As things stood, both of my parents had such a classy and proper upbringing that
all I can say is, “Thanks, thanks and more thanks!”.
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I got hit with their blue-blood coursing through my veins, their DNA is now mine,
and that was how God knitted me inside my mom’s womb. So now, as a result,
that upbringing and that DNA, that blood is being passed down to our children and
grandchildren, all our descendants, henceforth unto all ages to come.
After finishing school my mother started teaching at the school which she herself
attended. A year thereafter at sweet sixteen, she was introduced to my father.
They got married shortly afterwards, after a brief courtship. My mother at that
time was seventeen, while my father was twenty-six. My father was working in
the civil service of Trinidad and Tobago, and was studying through distance
education at the University of London. He was the first son of his parents, Alfred
and Marie (née Assam) Thompson, and as far as first-borns go, his example was
certainly one to be emulated.
As a young man, he attended St Mary’s College (College of the Immaculate
Conception) of Port of Spain, Trinidad. While he was there, he went on to clinch
the Gold Medal and also received a scholarship to go abroad so as to be able to
participate in his studies on a full-time basis. As the dutiful son and brother, he
didn’t go abroad, but chose to stay and work full time, even while studying part
time, so as to be able to help his mother and siblings.
In retrospect, it is clearly evident that it was Almighty God Himself, who in His
infinite wisdom and mercy, guided my father into making that truly momentous
decision, because shortly after he had elected to stay back, his own father fell
seriously ill and sadly passed away shortly afterwards. My grandfather was only in
his early fifties.
This void was not easy to fill since my grandmother was left to wonder as to the
fate of not just herself but also her children as well, now that the father and sole
breadwinner was no longer there to provide for them. It was there that my father
stepped up to the plate and became the proverbial “man of the house” as the eldest
 17

son of his parents. He did this by deciding to become the breadwinner for his
mother and all of his younger siblings as well.
My dad used to recall on many occasions, the times that stood out in the lives of
his family circle. In particular, he always recounted the time when he had won that
coveted Gold Medal in Classics. It was a scholarship at that time, that he obtained
right after his high school graduation. It was the huge grant and opportunity to go
to London to continue his studies. However, with the unfortunate circumstances
that ensued, of the death of his loving father at the early age of fifty-five, my dad
said that he neither would have been able to, nor accept, said sad news. Likewise,
neither my father, nor his siblings, for that matter, would have become the great
men and women that they were destined to become, and in fact had become, had
my father gone and left the family-fold.
That is to say, that if my father had left to go to the University of London to study
upon his leaving school, and making use of his scholarship, chances are that he
would have had to promptly return to Trinidad upon receiving the telegram to
inform him of his father’s untimely demise. My dad would have been put in the
position of having to fund his way back home, forfeit his dream of becoming a
lawyer, and in his sadness in the Depression of the 1920’s, would not be able to
gather his resources and his energies together sufficiently enough in order to face
the major priority that he was now faced with, which was to take care of his
grieving mother and siblings. For sure, being confronted with the circumstances of
my dad’s ‘Pa’ being dead, and if my dad were overseas at that time, it is no telling
how he or his mother, sisters and brothers would have turned out, without my
father's immediate help, as the new breadwinner.
However, due to the fact that he had already made up his mind to remain behind,
he worked while simultaneously studying as well, and when his father died, he
humbled himself, in dedicating his efforts to help the surviving members of his
family, wholly and completely with all of his earning abilities, as best as he could.
 18

In this respect, he placed his life and his future in the hands of the good Lord as
His child. And verily, God answered. My father, with the blessings of his Creator
and the power of his faith and his hard work,obtained First Class Honours in the
Bachelor of Arts degree, in Linguistics. He read the original classics, in Greek,
Latin and Spanish.

The late Archbishop of Port of Spain, His Grace Anthony Pantin is flanked by my mom and dad

Further to that, he went on to study Law and was called to the Bar at Grey’s Inn, in
London, England, becoming a full-fledged Barrister-at-Law by the time the Second
World War ended. By this time, my parents already had five children, having
given birth to four girls, Gemma, Maureen (both now deceased) and their first-born
son, Winston, and at the very time my father was in London, receiving his
credentials, my mother had been giving birth to their second son, Mervyn, who
was now their sixth child.
My mom and dad may be gone, but certainly not forgotten. They may not be with
us in flesh, but always in spirit, their dream lives on, their humour lives on, their
integrity lives on. In listening to music, one song in particular that was sung by
 19

the late great Trinidadian Soca artiste, Ras Shorty I, “Who God Bless, No Man
Curse”, stands out as one of the songs that touches the heart and soul. It is a very
powerful song, out of Trinidad’s folklore in which God exalts His Chosen and no
one can stop him no matter what evil and injustice man may do to him. It is taken
from Psalm 91 of The Holy Bible, and it may even be considered as well my very
own parents’ personal words to us their children, since both our parents never
spared us from being preached to. The song goes as follows:
"Because He has set His love upon me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high, because he
has known my Name. He shall call upon me and I will answer him.

“I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him
my salvation."

“The workers of iniquity dig a pit for me. Now they're waiting for me to fall in, trying to take my bread and
butter with lies and propaganda. But they're foolin'. They're only foolin'.

“I will not be afraid of what man can do to me. Man you see is only vanity. You see, who God bless no man
curse. He shall never hunger or thirst. Who God bless no man shall ever curse. He shall be first. He shall
be first.

A-ha um-hum (charismatic utterances: Lord wo-oh um yeah woh)

“All these years of toil burning the midnight oil, creating something from nothing. Now it reach maturity
and gain popularity, some of them claiming it's their own thing. But as sure as truth on earth prevails
finally. So the death of lies and deceit is a certainty.

“You see, who God bless no man curse. He shall never hunger or thirst. Who God bless no man shall ever
curse. He shall be first. He shall be first. a-ha um-hum (charismatic utterances: hey hey a-ha ganga
yayagege oh yeah yeah hey ho-oh oh lord). All this envy and jealousy is causing disharmony.

“It's appalling and frustrating. For whosoever dig at a pit they shall fall in it. What they sowing they
shall be reaping. But my house is strong and no one can put it down.
 20

“The foundation is from now until kingdom come. You see, who God bless no man curse. He shall never
hunger or thirst. Who God bless no man shall ever curse. He shall be first. He shall be first.

aha umhum (charismatic utterances: wo-oh hey-ey...)

My dad welcoming HRH the late Emperor and King Haile Selassie of Ethiopia

My Family

My mother carried a lot of children (eighteen in total) but three of my parents’

babies unfortunately were stillbirth, and so my parents eventually had to contend
with 15 born children. The chronological sequence of the births of the children is
as follows:
1. Gemma (the first born, deceased)
2. Maureen (deceased)
3. Denise
4. Jacqueline
5. Winston (the first son)
6. Mervyn
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7. Dave (deceased)
8. Earl
9. Andre
10. Roger
11. Wayne
12. Joanne
13. Matthew (the youngest son)
14. Marcia
15. Gillian (me, the youngest child)

My mother has always been a dutiful and loving housewife and mother. She in
fact had been the driving force behind all of the dreams and ambitions that my
father held so closely to his heart. They were not just close romantic matrs, but
also best friends and partners throughout life. They took their marriage covenant
and vows very seriously.
My mom was the embodiment of the platitude,
“Behind every successful man is a woman”.
My mom was also the true Proverbs 31 woman, a woman of virtue. This is how I
can describe the kind of lady my mom was, simply by quoting this passage from
the Bible,
Proverbs 31:10-31 King James Version (KJV)

“10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

“11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

“12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
 22

“13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

“14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

“15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her
maidens.

“16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

“17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

“18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

“19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

“20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

“21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

“22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

“23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

“24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

“25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
 23

“26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

“27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

“28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

“29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

“30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be
praised.

“31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”
King James Version (KJV)
This is my mom’s family in order of birth:
Wilfred D. Best (married to my dad’s sister, Olga, and he was the author of “The
Students Companion”),
Evelyn (married to Thelbert Shuffler),
Dora (got married twice, first to Pundit Sharma and last to Fred Hope),
& Camilla Best (twinned with Dora and never married),
Nellie (my mom, married to my dad Alfred A. Thompson),
and
Enid (married to my dad’s brother, Oswald).
 24

My paternal family in birth order:

Alfred (my dad),
Theodora (married to Victor Dolabaille),
Charlie Thompson (never married,), Olga (married to Wilfred D. Best),
Oswald Thompson (married to Enid née Best),
Felix Thompson (married to Dolly née MacFarlane),
Chrissie (married to Pat Meyer),
Napier Thompson (married to Phoebe), and
Agatha “Gatty” (married to Scott Thomson).
All of my aunts and uncles have passed away as are my grandparents. My parents
also have extended families, they are: the Baptiste’s, the Colthurst’s, the Flores’,
and the Robertson’s on Mom’s side, while the Assam’s and the Attin’s are on
Dad’s.
As my father kept on rising through the ranks and file of the colonial government,
as also being a Barrister-at-Law, he eventually was elevated to the position of
Crown Registrar General.
Upon my birth in 1961, my father was handpicked by Dr. Eric Williams, the
founder and leader of the People's National Movement (PNM) and he went up for
the general elections in the constituency of Tunapuna, and won, thereby becoming
a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister. He had now become the
Honourable Member of Parliament, and as an elected member, he formed part of
the Cabinet. Dr. Williams had now become the Right Honourable Dr. Eric
Williams, First Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
The next year in 1962, as a way of relieving the Crown of their workload, and
since the country of Trinidad and Tobago was abundantly blessed with a multitude
 25

of resources, oil, gas, asphalt, sugar, cocoa, replete with flora and fauna, beautiful
birds and of course, Carnival and the Steel Pan (the only instrument that was
invented in the twentieth century) not to mention, the country was rolling with a
strong labour force.
So, Dr. Williams along with my father brainstormed. In so doing, my father
became the driving force behind the newly formed Government, in leaning toward
Independence. They felt that it was in the best interest of the citizens, the poorer of
whom could literally live off “the fat of the land” so to speak. It was in an effort to
put all of the country’s money back into its own treasury, to help the people in
every sphere of their lives - housing, employment, social welfare, infrastructure,
health, education, family life, industry, and so on and so on.
During those years, in the early 1960’s, my parents had led a delegation on a
diplomatic mission to the Vatican in order to meet with the then reigning Pope, His
Holiness, the late Pope Paul VI. Indeed, this was a true mission from on high, as
my parents in their own right, had become the very instruments of change, the very
inspiration for Pope Paul VI’s wondrous Encyclical, Humanae Vitae, the
fundamental Church teaching that denounces abortion and contraception. It is the
source of the life-giving tenets and dogmas of the Roman Catholic faith.
Could there have been any wonder that Pope Paul VI perceived this particular
mission to be elemental to Christendom? After all, my parents embodied, in letter
and spirit, both through their lifestyle and their choices, to be an example to all of
humanity in their childbearing and parenting. They were Roman Catholics through
and through, and naturally raised my siblings and myself in the same faith. From
our immediate family, there are four lawyers including our dad. Others in our
family are a love doctor (me), government and bank workers, drivers and
tradesmen, and aviation employees.
 26

We have now come to be known as the biggest monogamous, Catholic family of

diplomats and lawyers, in the ilk of the Kennedy's of the United States, and the
Pantin’s of Trinidad and Tobago.
My father himself having attended St Mary's College, was a close friend of the
‘Holy Ghost Fathers’, the same order to which the Archbishop of Port of Spain,
Trinidad, His Grace Anthony Pantin belonged, and was a leader in the social and
cultural development of Trinidad and Tobago. He was the Minister of Local
Government and Social Welfare, and was the key leader who almost
singlehandedly spearheaded the “Prime Minister’s Best Village Competition”.

Us Siblings

As we were growing up, especially my brothers, they enjoyed going out, seemingly
growing apart from the family, and our dad, being the classicist he was in Greek
and Latin, quipped that phenomenon as, "Disappearum Sanctum.”
“Where are the boys? Have they gone out again? (Mom and Dad laughing out
loudly…). Then Dad would invariably say
“Nellie, well it's ‘Disappearum Sanctum’ again!” LOL
 27

Me with my older siblings. From left front, Gemma (the eldest and deceased), Joanne (the 12th), me (the
15th), Marcia (the 14th), then from left rear, Andre (the 9th), and Dave (the 7th and deceased)
 28

Also, the first four girls of our family, two of whom got married when they were
20 or 21, but they always kept coming back home even if it meant to get things for
their own respective homes such as their favourite Persian rugs, crystal ware and
other rare artifacts that our own home was replete with. However, the boys (my
brothers) particularly liked "disappearing" to the Pool and spent hours there, this

would come to be known as my brothers’ “Disappearum Sanctum”, as was quipped

by our Latin Classics Dad.

The Thompson girls with our parents

29
 30

Some of the us girls and boys (Thompson's) with Mom and Dad

When Maureen returned to Trinidad after becoming a lawyer, she fell n love with
Nathan Hajal, a local Syrian son of a merchant who had somewhat of a sizeable
empire in downtown Trinidad. At times, when she was at home and not wanting to
hear from any other guys than Nathan, she’d adamantly refuse to answer the phone
to anyone other than him. So, she instructed us as to what to tell any other fellas
who would call for her. Her verbatim instructions given us to tell thosr unfortunate
souls was,
"Sorry, Maureen isn't home, she's out of the island. Any message?"
That was it. It was her way to hide and run from the throng of guys who were so
romantically attracted to her that they'd literally ride their race bike from Port of
Spain to Chaguaramas and back. That was what Dad would joke about. He’d call
out her running excuse as Mo’s “Disappearum Sanctum.”
Maureen and Nathan later got married to each other but did not have any children
together.
So, Maureen remained without having a child of her own, yet ironically was like
the second mother to all of us. She was the champion of the underlings and the
underdog, but was the first one to cry out,
“oh gosh, Mummy and Daddy had too many children!”
But paradoxically Maureen was always the first in to rush to the assistance of any
of us. She was truly a role model, and in her latter years before peacefully passing
away, she was a very religious and spiritual being.
The following is the eulogy written and tearfully read by our brother, Winston, on
June 14, 2011 at 6:04pm at her funeral:
 31

“My sister Maureen was born on 24th March...in a quaint old but charming house on Railway
Road in Tunapuna, a stone's throw from the market.

“She was the second child of my parents Malcolm and Nellie Thompson who had a very large family
– not uncommon in those days – comprising of seven girls and eight boys, I am the fifth and the
first male child.

“From the time I knew my sister Maureen, she was always full of life. Laughter (and I mean very
loud laughter) was her trade mark. You could hear her a mile away! She loved a joke, she loved ole
talk, she loved stories. She would go on for hours with my other sisters or her many girl friends
laughing, telling jokes, giving anecdotes and over-all just being fun, being happy, being glad to be
with her friends, loving her sisters, loving her friends, absolutely being joyous in any company. She
loved a fatigue. She always sought out her friends and in turn her many, many friends also sought
her out. And why? Because they loved her and she loved them back!

“Growing up with her in Tunapuna when life in those days was uncomplicated, has left me with
many, many fond memories of my sister Maureen in those early years of our life. We had had
many, many fights because I was always doing crazy things to get her mad – like when I stole her
cherished autograph book and wrote all sorts of badly composed poems in it to her utmost dismay
and displeasure - just to annoy her. Only her chosen friends were permitted to write in her
precious autograph book. This typical sort of sibling rivalry between us was always ongoing but I
never won any of my fights with her because she would scratch me all over my face and body with
her long finger nails! And then complain to my father – more licks!

“And then when we moved from Tunapuna to the bright lights of Port of Spain she was
approaching the age of 21, the age of majority in those days – and Maureen was by now a truly
 32

beautiful woman! She was already one of the few women at that time who drove a motor-vehicle
and therefore could not help being a person of male admiration and constant attention.

“Her social life was full, her presence was sought at all sorts of events-at meetings, at parties and
dances and the like but she never ever, for the life of her, forgot her friends and family. She loved
them.
She called them up. She dropped by. She always wanted to be in their company. That was
Maureen, always with friends. As they say – always making good company.

“And then in the mid-1960’s she left for England to do law. Again her vitality and vivaciousness
blew over the Trinidadian and the West Indian community in the UK. If they weren’t comparing
her with Diana Ross then it would be someone else on TV or in the electronic media but, never was
she swayed by those compliments. She remained Maureen who longed to be home with her family
and many friends in Trinidad. She was then called to the English and Trinidad Bar in 1968/1969
and got her baptism of fire in the 1970 Mutiny Trial as part of the prosecution team against the
likes of Desmond Allum, Allan Alexander, Theodore Guerra and Selwyn Richardson. Eventually she
settled for a legal research type of job in the Law Commission where she remained until her
retirement from the Government Legal Service.

“However, her courage and her bravery in facing the vicissitudes of life came to the fore upon the
sudden and tragic death of her husband Nathan Hajal. Nathan was her rock, her strength, her
everything. In the beginning when they met she didn’t care much about him because she had so
many suitors but he was persistent, very persistent, and in the end he prevailed. Their marriage
lasted a fairly long time but alas, not too long for her.

“There was a big hole in her life when he died. Time alone did not seem to heal the grief she
endured. The pain in her heart did not lessen. She was devastated. She did not want him to leave
 33

her behind. And so, after his passing she was not particularly careful about the way she attended
to her niggling health problems which began to take their toll. Oh how I remember with such deep
sorrow how her health and by extension her whole life deteriorated so suddenly.

“She was the matriarch of our family. She boldly took control of things and made decisions which
our parents could no longer have made or even were willing to make but which proved in the end to
be full of wisdom, common sense and foresight.

“Even though she allowed her potential childbearing years to slip away as she remained unmarried,
she was mother to my younger siblings and also to many of our nieces and nephews. She took care
of them in every which way possible in her own inimitable way. I believe I can truly say that she
will be among the just to whom the Lord referred in Matthew’s Gospel Ch. 25 verses 34-46:-

“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

“For I was hungry and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a
stranger, and you took me in:

Naked and you covered me:

I was sick and you visited me:

I was in prison, and you came to me.

Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to the least of my brethren, you did it to me.”
 34

Finally, I would like on behalf of the family to express ever grateful thanks to my brother Choy and
his wife Laureate, my niece Raquel and her husband Joseph, my brothers Earl and Balbos for the
care and attention they gave to Maureen during these last difficult months. They stepped up to
the plate and performed a tremendous job.

Thank you and may God bless you.

Rest in peace, my dear sister.”

In terms of being beautiful, the same sort of thing that Maureen had to deal with,
where guys were concerned, almost repeated itself in Joanne, who is another
gorgeous “bombshell”. Jo was a jet-setting career flight sttendant. She is the
twelfth in the family. She is also yet another one who, back in her dating days,
literally used to run and hide from her many followers of the male kind. At that
time, we lived up on a hill and guys used to somehow find their way up that hill,
screeching and slipping back down, as they tried to drive up the hill to get to either
get a glimpse of Jo, meet her, hang out with her, or even for the more bold and
courageous, to ask her to go out. Of course, Jo couldn't stand all that attention and
never wanted to meet her uninvited guests.
So, whenever we heard a roaring engine attempting to drive up the hill, Joanne
would quit from any conversation she might be having, flee from the patio or
living room and dive inside her bedroom to hide from them, and when they reach
up, one of us would say that Joanne's in Miami, Toronto or London, that was
Joanne’s, “Disappearum Sanctum.”
Earl's nicknames are "Earl K" and "Earlie." The older ones call him the former,
while all the younger ones in the family, including the nieces, nephews, children
and grandchildren, call him "Earlie".
 35

Andre's nickname is "Balboas", mainly because he's been known as a bit of a

historian ever since his days at the University of Toronto. That’s just one way in
which he’s similar to our dear and beloved father, also too with his initials being
the double-barelled “AA.” He is Andre Anthony. Incidentally, he also randomly
received a birthday greeting last year from Canadian Prime Minister, the Hon.
Justin Trudeau. Our Dad knew Justin's Dad, the late great former Prime Minister
of Canada, the Right Hon. Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
Wayne's nickname is "Wattap". Again, we all have middle initials of " A", it's just
an AA Thompson thing. Wayne is surprisingly a sarcastic one, but in the
simplest, cutest and jesting sort of way, he means no harm and all. In fact, he’s
the one who started with the quip of, “Thrilling!!.” He'd say that, whenever for
example, he'd come home from work and he'd see some boxes of KFC in the
garbage, after a few of us just yammed down the succulent dark meat (legs and
thighs) which he loves, he'd hold up an empty box, then say something like, “Oh, I
see, so I ain't folks too, eh? No KFC left for me! Thrilling!!!” LOL!!!
Marcia's nickname is "Memzos", "Memz" or affectionately “Marce”.She’s the one
with all the big talks, in terms of keeping up a really good, intelligent conversation
going with anyone, people of any walk of life. She can chat at length with just
about anyone on their same level. She can just as comfortably speak with a
carpenter building cupboards in her home or a mason, just as she can with bankers,
athletes, doctors, other lawyers, and Heads of Government, Crowns and States.
That’s just her gift, her ability. She just has that knack.
Plus, Marce is never ever intimidated by anyone. In fact, it's the other way around,
everyone's intimidated by her. I remember one day at our parents’ home, she had
left her handbag on a patio chair in the “gallery” of our home. While we were all
inside talking and having fun amongst our family, Marcia suddenly walked out to
the patio looking for her handbag but didn't see it. We all thought quickly and told
her that maybe it was the yard boy who probably sneakily stole it when we weren’t
 36

watching. Well, without mincing matters, in no time flat, Marce flew out of the
gallery, ran down the stairs, jumped in her car and sped down the street to look for
our yard boy. Within minutes, she was back up in the porch, with said “stolen”
handbag in hand, almost breathless, told us,
“Yep, I caught the brute and grabbed it from him. I threatened him that he either deal with me or with
the police force!!”

So there, that's the calibre of brilliance and courage, tinged with somewhat of a
slight shade of the “killer instinct”, that my sister Marcia possesses. No one
messes with our Marce!
Now it comes to me. My nicknames are " Gill", "Gilly", “Gillos" or even just “G”.
Some trackers (suitors) who never got a chance to actually become my boyfriends,
would also refer to me as "Gill Honey". I also got the famous, "Sweet Gill from
the Sugar Hill". This last one came into being because we lived for many years up
on a hill. No one got any so-called “Honey” or “Sugar” but I reckon they felt that
one can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar! One can try! Not all
succeed!
On that note, in Toronto in 1988, I met and fell in love with a sailing Dutchman,
Gerrit Braaksma twenty years my senior. He has the most piercing blue eyes I had
ever seen. In his eyes I saw the depths of blue seas, and met the man who would
be the father of my one and only child, our lovechild. Indeed, we wasted
absolutely no time in procreating. So, by March 28, 1989, we had our sweet,
Icelandic-looking angel of a half-Dutch, half-Trini island-girl daughter, Gariele
Aliya Thompson Braaksma. Our cute pink Easter Bunny was born, the most
beautiful baby we had ever seen.
I gave birth to Gigi (as she’s familiarly called) in Trinidad after only six hours of
labour. My waterbag burst at the divine hour of 3:00 pm on a very holy day
leading up Easter. By 9:00 pm of that same day, after my anaesthetized C-Section,
 37

I was up with my little cutie-pie beside me, looking straight up at me with her big
blue eyes (which are now hazel green) with my mom and Dr. Spicer telling me that
I had a pink baby, which she literally was. They also duly informed me that I was
now a mom. Gariele was, and to this day, continues to be the love of our lives, not
just her dad and me, but all those in my family. She’s now a young lady, and is
married to her soulmate and best friend, Engineer and Inventor, Brandon Wright;
they have the cutest little daughter of their own, Aria, whom I just love to call,
“Babydoll” or "Ari". We all presently live in Canada.

Maureen “Mo’ The Alpha Female, and Gemma, the Submissive One

Gemma, Maureen and Winston lived in London, England in the 60's as Maureen
and Winston went there to study Law; Gemma worked at the BBC, but mainly was
there to help Maureen in the day-to-day cooking and cleaning, but also because she
was a source of comfort and companionship to Maureen while she studied. Even
though Maureen was the 2nd in birth and Gemma the 1st, it always seemed to be
the other way around.
Maureen, who was affectionately called "Mo", was always the Alpha female. All
through her life she was the leader. In fact, especially when Dad got sick, she had
taken over that role; she literally had the "power of attorney" over all of our
parents' earthly estate and belongings. Gemma was always submissive to
Maureen.
In 1968, Maureen became a Barrister-at-Law from Lincoln's Inn, London. A little
time afterwards, Gemma met a Portuguese foreigner, Sergio, who had travelled on
a boat from Spain to Trinidad, and they had a whirlwind, yet lavish wedding. My
sister, Marcia and I were the flower girls. Here again, a grand wedding; it was held
at the family home. Gemma has two lovely children for her husband, Raquel and
 38

Ricardo. Raquel is now married to Joseph Weaver and they have two daughters.
Ricardo is also married; his wife is the lovely Janel.

“I come from a large family, but I was not raised with a fortune. Something more was left
me, and that was family values.”
Dikembe Mutombo

Our ‘Commander’

Winston is affectionately and appropriately nicknamed, “Commander" ever since

his early childhood days. He was somewhat of a child prodigy, plus he was also
the most popular in the family, and as his moniker suggested, he was and still is,
the ruler in the family. As the first-born son, he followed in our father's footsteps
and became a lawyer. He and his childhood sweetheart, Judith, who became a
teacher, having graduated from Howard University, were married in 1970, and I
clearly remember that it was during the time of Trinidad's revolt and the country
was in a state of emergency.

The Grand Weddings

One of the grand weddings of my siblings was Winston’s. The ceremony was held
at St. Ann's Parish, while the reception was held at the Scarlet Ibis Hotel. I recall
being in the backseat of Dr. Hugh Spicer’s station-wagon (he’s my godfather) and
he was the “lucky” one who had the extreme pleasure to escort my sister Maureen,
who was then the new sensational and dynamic woman lawyer in town, mind you,
 39

one of the few in Trinidad and Tobago at that time (of course nowadays, the
market is oversaturated). Be that as it may, getting back to the car ride from St.
Ann's Church to the wedding reception in St. Augustine, my godfather kept loudly
singing (he has a strong voice level) the song,
“Oh, when the Saints go marching in, when the Saints go marching in.
Oh, how I long to be in that number,
When the Saints go marching in.”

This was so prophetic, to my mind, given the fact that this is exactly what I see my
parents and my elder siblings as, along with Dr. Spicer, as Saints. Indeed, this is
the very motivation behind my writing this book.
I also remember my sister who is two years older than me, Marcia, and I being
dressed in sweet baby-blue satin and nylon flower girl dresses, and as usual, we
appeared to be the sweetest, well behaved “twins” that ever walked the
universe. The wedding was glorious. It however was held during the time when
Trinidad and Tobago was under a mutiny uprising, and the country was in a state
of emergency. The reception finished just in time before the 11 pm curfew, giving
all the guests enough time to get home safely, without being charged by soldiers or
the police for being outdoors during the curfew.
The bride and groom, Judith (née Bryant) and Winston, are still living their
“happily after” having given birth to, and successfully raised, their two amazing
daughters, Charlene Rochelle Thompson, who works for the United Nations in
Malawi, and Dr. Danielle Thompson-Ochoa, who lives in the US with her husband
and their son and daughter. Winston is now “retired and loving it”. His career was
long and illustrious as the Solicitor-Conveyancer, Lead and Managing Partner at
Fitzwilliam, Stone, Furness-Smith and Morgan in Trinidad. He was the Lawyer
for the Anglican Church, Scotia Bank and a Director at the West Indian Tobacco
 40

Company and Bishop Anstey Junior School. He loves dining out and travelling
with his loving family, both nuclear and his siblings. He also is an avid jogger,
reader and steelband player. As a young man, he enjoyed going to hang out at the
neighborhood panyard of the Coca-Cola Silver Stars, so he truly learned his pan to
perfection. “Commander” is now seventy-four and couldn't be a more relaxed and
contented retiree.
Denise, whom we all call “Dee” got married in the early sixties and as I was
probably only two years old at the time, so I actually don't remember her wedding
at all, apart from seeing the wedding pictures. I do know that it was very much a
“grand wedding”, one that was to beat, with many dignitaries in attendance. My
sister Joanne along with our cousin, Margaret "Pag", were young and sweet flower
girls who were among the eight beautiful, glamorous, and somewhat the “Audrey
Hepburn” type of bridesmaids. Denise, who always worked for the Government in
Trinidad, got married to her colleague, Ted Boodoosingh, and they have two
daughters, Sharon and Nisha, who both have children. Denise retired from
Government as Deputy Chief Trade and Tourism Officer.
Jacqueline, referred to simply as "Jacquie", also had the by now ubiquitous grand
wedding, held at the Bergerac Inn. She got married very early for me to recall as
well. She got married to her airline colleague, Clifford " Tito" Gittens. They both
worked at BWIA, the international airline of Trinidad and Tobago. They had three
children, Stuart, Suzanne and Stacey. Stu and Sue were nicknamed the "Mopsey
twins" by our brothers and cousins, as their claim to fame was chomping down the
Bermudez Mopsey Cookies, of which we had tons and tons of tins. They were
quipped this apt nickname when they were toddlers. It first came up at a time
when the entire family went to spend holidays at Mayaro beach, as we did every
summer holiday, and so the name just affectionately stuck to them like glue.
Sadly, their dad, Tito passed away from cancer in 1986, and he was only forty-four
years of age. Prior to his sudden passing, Jacquie had left him due to domestic
 41

unpleasantry. In the unbearable circumstances, she picked up her kids and they left
Canada. However, while there she had worked with the Government of Ontario at
Queen's Park, and is now also retired. She never divorced her husband, in fact up
to this day, there have been no divorces in our immediate family, as we believe (as
it is written in the Bible) that “God hates divorce.”
Mervyn is married to Jennifer (née Shillingford) who became a teacher, and who
by the way, has always been the spitting image of the famous songstress, Minnie
Riperton. Mervyn and Jenny have a son and a daughter, Jason and Tara. Even
though Jenny is from Dominica, they met and got married in Canada, where most
of our family were living at that time. Mervyn too is now retired, having worked
in both the private and public sectors. His nickname is “Merday” and he is one of
the kicksiest (funniest) guys around. In fact, he's the one who came up with most
of the nicknames in the family.
Dave, or “Drapo”, who sadly passed away this year, worked at the Central Bank of
Trinidad and Tobago and that is where he Mr his wife. He married his colleague,
Faye née Newallo. Their beautiful daughter, Siobhan (pronounced Shivonne), also
has a daughter of her own, Bequia.
To this day my elder brothers Earl, Andre and Wayne remain happily unmarried.
Earl is the one who was born to take care of others. He literally was the personal
support and primary caregiver for Mom and Dad all during their old-age. He also
was somewhat of a babysitter as well for Joanne's daughter. He was also my
daughter’s bsbysitter, along with her dad Gerrit, Mom and others in my family.
Andre is the only one with the initials like Dad, so we are looking forward to him
breaking out of his shell soon by becoming a politician, who knows. He’s the in-
house historian, having studied at the University of Toronto.
Roger, nicknamed "RT" was born before Wayne and after Andre as per their
sequence of birth. He got married to Marcia (née Findlay.) They met and married
 42

in Canada. Suzanne (Jacquie’s daughter) and I were the flower girls. Roger and
Marcia have four children, Nigeoger is a Professional Denturist. He is also, like all
of my eight brothers, a very kicksy, jokey guy, full of fun and laughs.
Wayne is a former employee of McInerney, and his forte is auto parts. Word
around town is that all he has to see is the street where a car needing parts just
drove on, and he could tell you the part numbers that the car needs. He still
receives cheques from Ansa-McCal in the exact amount of $0.08, as a former
shareholder. Thrilling!!! Wayne now has COPD, but we are believing that
through the saintly intercession of our dearly beloved parents, he would be healed
and that there would be a cure for COPD, in the name of the Lord.
Joanne is the career Flight Attendant. What’s really phenomenal about Jo, as she's
called, is that she worked for all of her working life as a Flight Attendant, with
only one company, BWIA, for thirty-three years. No one can call her “flighty”, I
dare say! Jo met the father of her child and love of her life, George, at a party held
at the gorgeous home at Andalusia of my godfather, Dr. Hugh Spicer, who in his
eighty-fourth year, is still going strong as the Doctor for the Trinidad Hilton.
Joanne has a lovely daughter called Taryn.
Matthew is the another one of the most hilarious of our immediate family. I mean,
he could give Sprangalang and Kevin Hart a run for their money! The guy is just a
natural comedian, no holds barred. I keep telling him that he must become a
professional comedian or host a late-night TV show, he would be a hit. He is
married to his long time love and pal, Laureate (née Solano) from Woodbrook.
With each birth, each child brought our own blessing, a miracle to our family. In
fact, Mom gave birth to all fifteen of us at our family home. Our home became
somewhat of a clinic, one would think that either my mom or my dad at least one
of them were an actual medical doctor. My birth in particular, brought the blessing
and the miracle of Dad becoming a Member of Parliament and Government
Minister. There is that tradition within the family factor that Dr Spicer would be
 43

our Family Physician. There is also the tradition that my godfather would be the
same doctor who had delivered my mom when she gave birth to me, and then he
would also become the doctor to deliver me when I gave birth to my daughter,
Gariele. Dr. Hugh Spicer is that good doctor. He's also my godfather, also my
adorable daughter's godfather, and yet again, I'm hoping to have him at 83, to stand
in one more time as my sweet, little, cuddly babydoll granddaughter's godfather.
But he lives in Trinidad while we live in Canada. My granddaughter, Aria, is
already a toddler and although she has been blessed by my parish priest, she still
has not as yet been formally baptized, but that will soon be done.
44
 45

My daughter, granddaughter and me

“There is also work to do in the evolution

of a stable family life and values,
and in ensuring that
the Christian family is built
on core values that
will form the bedrock of the
future society.
We must showcase
the ideals of family life
and be models
of family values.”
Ibrahim Babangida
 46

The Miraculous Papal Meeting

There seems to surround this

auspicious, momentous and quite
serendipitous meeting, between my
parents and His Holiness, Pope Paul
VI, a shroud of mystery, and along
with it a particular aspect that God and
only these three could really unveil.
The only analyses are those that we
can surmise, in their absence.
My own theory, though, rests upon the
supposition that this was Destiny,
meant to be by God Himself. It is my firm belief that if His Holiness Pope Paul VI
had not met these living and breathing examples of how life and procreation can
thrive without contraception (which is the very basis upon which His Holiness had
written his Encyclical, Humanae Vitae, upon which the very thrust of its crucial
subject matter rested) His Holiness may very well may not have lived to see the
outcome or living proof of his tireless research, fundamental belief, and the
prophetic vision which he received from God on high, since he sadly passed away
in 1978, a mere ten to twelve years after meeting my parents.
It indeed was the only way that his Encyclical could have made sense in such a
modern world of "sex liberation" and "free secular love". It is my belief that the
faith, courage and validation in his own written ‘Encyclical’ grew in ever larger
proportions, and at his last breath, he knew that he had somehow accomplished his
 47

“ Mission on earth”, and felt that he was then, and only then, ready to depart this
Earth to meet his Lord, God and Saviour, and arrive into the Heavenly realm of the
“Great Beyond.”
This entire meeting, to my mind, was truly a perfect example of faith in action, and
of faith being the sole substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.Thus this resulted in actual, physical evidence of the things that (prior to
meeting my parents) were not seen by His Holiness Pope Paul VI, until that
auspicious encounter when he met my parents (by extension, my entire
monogamous family) in the flesh and blood, the living, breathing embodiment of
all that His Holiness knew, and was absolutely real to him, from Almighty God
Himself.
So, what was the evidence that was with God, became also evident to His Holiness
Pope Paul VI, once meeting with my parents, and became alive, once in the actual
presence of my parents, who literally were partakers of Humanae Vitae, almost as
if they were its divinely sourced inspiration, and who actually walked the talk of it,
even prior to its inception and it having even been penned.
Perhaps, it is only a foregone conclusion, that one of our family homes should be
right opposite the parish of St Francis of Assisi in Port of Spain. In fact, there is
the very last home where my mother lived in contentment for the last decade of her
life, and where four of my brothers, and where my sister Gemma’s daughter, her
husband and their daughters, presently live. It certainly is ironical that our family
lives at this spot, in this particular point in time, during the reign of His Holiness,
Pope Francis, who by his own admission, named himself as such, after the Saint
(Francis) who is universally known for his love for the poor, his love for the
downtrodden. Our character, ginger-bread home is situated directly across the
street from the St. Francis of Assisi Parish on Belmont Long Circular Road, in
Belmont. Pope Francis’ name was derived for his love and devotion to that of St.
 48

Francis of Assisi, and he attributes his humility to his dedication to the older saint
as well.
When they say that, “the good Lord shows himself in a myriad of different ways”,
this is precisely what they mean. Since there is no way that all of this could have
been possible had we not had the His blessings with us, and if we were not in
God’s holy Will. Perhaps this is just God’s way of showing how much He cares
about us, and is such a major part of our lives, forever ad infiniti.
 49

Almost a saint: Pope Paul VI, Beatified, yet not as yet Canonized

Paul VI (Latin: Paulus VI; Italian: Paolo VI), born Giovanni Battista Enrico
Antonio Maria Montini (Italian pronunciation: 26 September 1897 – 6 August
1978), reigned from 21 June 1963 to his death in 1978. He died from a heart
attack. Let perpetual light shine upon him and may his soul, and all the souls of
the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Pope Francis has honoured one of his (to his many detractors, at least) most
controversial predecessors Pope Paul VI, who is most famous for reaffirming the
Catholic church's ban on artificial contraception.
Beatification puts Paul one step shy of formal sainthood. The move might seem
out of step with Francis' pastoral approach given that Pope Paul's birth control
ruling, in the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, set the stage for the culture wars that
overtook Catholicism, after Pope Paul died in 1978.
A wide slew of Catholics, especially in the United States, and Europe, were furious
over Pope Paul's decision. They were convinced that the ban would be lifted, and
that Pope Paul was shutting down the reforms that had begun a few years earlier
with momentous changes adopted by the Second Vatican Council.
The majority of the conservatives, on the other hand, hailed Humanae Vitae for
reasserting traditional doctrine, and the division foreshadowed the deep splits that
have played, out even the recent high-level synod in Rome; a polarization that
Pope Francis says he wants to overcome.
Yet, Pope Francis is still attempting to accomplish that goal by focusing, not so
much on Humanae Vitae, but on Pope Paul VI's many other groundbreaking,
though often overlooked, contributions.
 50

One of these is and was Pope Paul's call for a more “missionary church” that would
be open to the world, and one that would include dialogue with other Christians of
other denominations, and other believers, and with non believers alike as well, as
we see before us, in particular, our Muslim brothers and sisters.
"For us, Paul VI was the great light.”
Pope Francis said in an interview, referring to his years as a young priest.
In addition, like Pope Francis, Pope Paul VI was a champion of the underdog,
being very vociferous in standing up for the Church's social justice teachings, and
he sought to embed those concepts as foundation stones of Catholic doctrine. He
also implemented a system of regular meetings of bishops, called “ Synods” in
order to promote a more collaborative, horizontal Church. That's a legacy that
Pope Francis built upon, when he convened a free-wheeling Synod of Bishops,
deliberately modelled on Pope Paul VI’s vision, and in keeping with Our Lady of
Fatima’s messages and prophecies, during her apparitions to the three shepherd
children in 1917. She has also given the “ Three Secrets” and instructed us
through the children that our prayers will save the world, convert Russia, and bring
us to our final and last destiny, which is within the loving arms, resting upon the
bosom, of Our Dear Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, safe and sound, in peace.
"This synod, as it is unfolding, is what Paul VI had in mind -- a real debate among
bishops," said Massimo Faggioli, an Italian-born theologian and church historian at
the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.

Paul VI, the 'evangelical' pope

For Pope Francis, the key to Pope Paul's pontificate was his 1975 exhortation on
evangelization, Evangelii Nuntiandi ("On Proclaiming the Gospel"), which Francis
has called, the greatest pastoral document written to date
 51

In that landmark document, largely overshadowed by the Humanae Vitae

encyclical, Pope Paul said that the Church itself "has a constant need of being
evangelized” and he wrote that people today listen "more willingly to witnesses
than to teachers," so Catholic leaders, above all, must practice what they preach.
"The world calls for, and expects from us, simplicity of life, the spirit of prayer,
charity towards all, especially towards the lowly and the poor, obedience and
humility, detachment and self-sacrifice. Without this mark of holiness, our word
will have difficulty in touching the heart of modern man. It risks being vain and
sterile," Pope Paul VI wrote in words that could have come from the pen of
Francis, because they matched his theological viewpoint exactly.
In fact, in November 2013, Pope Francis sent a personal envoy to a meeting of the
U.S. bishops and had him read those passages to the hierarchy, followed by clear
instructions that he, Pope Francis, like Pope Paul, "wants 'pastoral' bishops, not
bishops who profess or follow a particular ideology." Pope Francis also asked all
eight cardinals in his special advisory groups to reread Evangelii Nuntiandi.

Paul VI, the true “Pilgrim Pope”

Elected in 1963 on the death of St. John XXIII, amid intense debates among
bishops at the Second Vatican Council, the former Cardinal Giovanni
Montini inherited the difficult task of seeing the council through to its conclusion
in 1965. In the following years, he pushed through the council's changes,
including updating the liturgy from Latin to the vernacular and completing a major
reorganization of the Roman Curia.
He also discarded the papal triple tiara and other trappings of the monarchical
papacy, sending a message "that the pope was not a king, but a bishop, a pastor, a
 52

servant," as the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops put it in one of
its tributes.
And Pope Paul VI, unlike one of his globe-trotting successors, Pope John Paul II,
with all due respect, was the original "pilgrim pope," the first pontiff to travel
outside Italy in the modern era.
On his first trip, Paul met the Eastern Orthodox patriarch in Jerusalem in 1964, and
during Paul's eight other foreign journeys he visited Asia, a knife-wielding artist in
the Philippines tried to stab him, Africa and Latin America. In 1965, Paul became
the first pope to visit the U.S., where he celebrated Mass at Yankee Stadium and
delivered a ringing denunciation of war to the United Nations General Assembly.
His calls for economic justice were controversial, but just as powerful. Because of
that particular track record, Pope Paul was and still is a hero, not only to Pope
Francis, but to many other priests and religious of the earlier days, and of our time,
who had gone on, and still go on, to become Church leaders.
"Pope Paul helped me to understand that you don't need to be a brilliant theologian,
a charismatic speaker or have the courage of a martyr to evangelize,"
said the great Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, New York, who until his recent
retirement, was the last bishop heading a U.S. diocese to be appointed by Pope
Paul VI.

Paul VI, the builder of bridges

Pope Paul is also returning as a hero, “The Comeback Kid”, if you will, for many
in the newer generation. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines, a rising
star in the global Church, has praised Pope Paul for his efforts to unify the church,
citing Paul's motto:
 53

"No one defeated; everyone convinced."

Yet, as Tagle told Catholic News Service, because of that approach, he said that,
"Pope Paul would be attacked from all sides and would never become a ‘star’
the way the other popes were."

Indeed, critiqued by the left over birth control, and by the right for reforms to the
liturgy, Pope Paul VI in his last years was depicted as a Hamlet-like figure of
equivocation. His end did seem tragic indeed, as he aged rapidly under the
burdens of the office, governing the church at a time of massive social upheavals,
both abroad and at home. This sort of dying is similar to that of my father’s and I
can draw certain similarities between Pope Paul VI and my dad. They died for a
cause, with their beliefs and integrity intact, they had many detractors, some who
back-stabbed them on the job, others who envied their ability and charisma.
In the spring of 1978, a longtime friend of Pope Paul's and a prominent Italian
political leader, Aldo Moro, was kidnapped and executed by left-wing terrorists in
Italy despite an impassioned appeal by the anguished pope. Paul died three months
later, "one of the holiest and most loving of Popes" but also "one of the saddest," as
the editors of the Catholic Magazine Commonwealth wrote at the time.
Will Pope Francis pick up the pieces left by this predecessor, Pope Paul VI and
possibly even land up achieving what Pope Paul himself could not have in his day?
Could Pope Francis be that Pope, in these last days, be the conduit to heal
divisions and be the one who would push the Church forward? Or will he suffer a
similar fate? Only God knows!
Despite the many affinities between the two popes, Faggioli said that,
 54

"The difference between Paul and Francis is the kind of boldness, courage - in a
way, recklessness - that Francis clearly has. He's taking huge risks, while Paul VI
was always much more cautious."

Humanae Vitae – The fundamental background and its key messages

A brief history of the Humanae Vitae:

o Latin title means Of Human Life
o Written by Pope Paul VI and issued on July 25, 1968
o Reaffirmed the constant teaching of the Catholic Church on married love,
responsible parenthood and the continued rejection of unnatural forms of
birth control
o There was an unwavering Christian prohibition on contraception and
abortion until the Lambeth Conference of 1930 at which the Anglican
Church allowed for contraception in limited circumstances. This gradually
opened the floodgates to widespread use of contraception.
o With the first appearance of oral contraceptives in 1960, and amid increasing
concerns about overpopulation, John XXIII issued a commission in 1963 to
study questions of birth control and population. The commission was
expanded by Pope Paul VI.
o This commission, made up of 58 clergy, theologians, married couples and
laywomen, did make a final report to Paul VI, approved by a majority of its
members, proposing that he might make use of his authority to approve at
least some form of contraception for married couples. A minority of
members opposed this report and issued their own report to the Holy Father.
 55

After two more years of study and consultation, Pope Paul VI issued the
Humanae Vitae.
o The views of Pope Paul VI reflected the teachings of his predecessors,
especially Pius XI, Pius XII, and John XXIII. Pope St. John Paul II’s
Theology of the Body fully vindicates and supports Humanae Vitae and
Popes Benedict and Francis have also voiced affirmation of its teachings.

The main reasoning factors of Humanae Vitae:

o Marital relations are much more than a union of two persons. They
constitute a union of the loving couple with a loving God, in which a new
person can be created, and upon which God completes the creation by
adding the soul. For this reason, Paul VI says right in the first sentence of
HV that the transmission of human life is a most serious role in which
married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. This
is a divine partnership.
o According to Paul VI, married love takes its origin from God, who is love,
and from this basic dignity, he defines his position:
o Love is total – that very special form of friendship in which husband
and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable
exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever
really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves
that partner for the partner’s own sake, content to be able to enrich the
other with the gift of himself.
o With this view, there can be no accommodation for giving something
less than oneself as created by God, as happens with contraception.
 56

o Schism in the ranks: Open Dissent following the publication of the

Humanae Vitae
o The publication of Humanae Vitae marked the first time in the 20th
century that open dissent from the laity about teachings of the Church
was voiced widely and publicly.
o Criticism came from many fronts, including development organizations
who said it limited ways to fight population growth and to stop the spread
of HIV/AIDS, and theologians and bishops who advocated for a change
in teaching.
o Within two days, a group of dissident theologians, led by Rev. Charles
Curran of the Catholic University of America, issued a statement that
“spouses may responsibly decide according to their conscience that
artificial contraception in some circumstances is permissible and indeed
necessary to preserve and foster the value and sacredness of marriage.”
o Two months later the Canadian Bishops issued the Winnipeg Statement
which said that individuals can in good conscience use contraception as
long as they have first made an honest attempt to accept the difficult
directives of Humanae Vitae.
o Decades of dissent and poor catechesis has led to the teachings of
Humanae Vitae likely being the most ignored teachings of the Catholic
Church.
o The main predictions of the Humanae Vitae:
o Pope Paul VI made four prophecies about the consequences of dissenting
from the Church’s teachings on marital love.
o Infidelity and moral decline
 57

He predicted that the widespread use of contraception would “lead to conjugal

infidelity and the general lowering of morality.” That this has happened is very
difficult to deny (increased number of divorces, abortions, out-of-wedlock
pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.)
o Loss of respect for women

The good Paul VI argued that “the man” will lose respect for “the woman” and “no
longer (care) for her physical and psychological equilibrium” and will come to “the
point of considering her a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment and no longer as
his respected and beloved companion” (50 Shades of Grey, sex trafficking,
pornography, etc.).
o Abuse of power
The Holy Father saw that the widespread use of contraception would place a
“dangerous weapon…in the hands of those public authorities who take no heed of
moral exigencies” (family planning programs in the Third World, forced abortion
in China, Obamacare’s contraception mandate).
o Unlimited dominion
He warned that contraception would lead man to think he had unlimited dominion
over his own body (Sterilization is now the most widely used form of
contraception in the U.S., in vitro fertilization, test tube babies, cloning, etc.).

Conclusion

Today, we can see up close and personal the tremendous harm artificial
contraception has brought to the world. In retrospect, it will not be wrong to
 58

conclude that the good pope was almost prophetic in his prediction, and as such,
truly worthy of the great and blessed title of “Saint.”
In fact, a whole lot of the world’s problems can easily be resolved if only people
simply trusted the Lord our God rather than contraceptives. I myself, am living
proof of the importance of being pro-life and my late parents (along with the
family of the late Pope himself) throughout their lives and actions, paid particular
attention to the idea that contraception can never truly increase health, wealth, nor
indeed Life itself, for that matter.
Let us all pray that more people join us in this way of thinking, so that the late
Pope Paul IV’s great work could continue, in perpetuity.
 59

Miracles of Our Lord Through the Divine Intercession of My Saintly Parents

The following are some of the miracles that actually occurred during, not just the
lifetimes of my parents, but also after their passing. Actually, my mom, who had
survived my father by twenty-one years, finally passed away in November 2006.
The following are a few miracles that have occurred due to the intercession of my
parents, either during their life, or even after, their passing:

Miracle 1: My mom’s conversion to the One True Faith

My mother's conversion from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism, as the wife of

my father and as a mother, she became a Roman Catholic, and not only was she
confirmed as such, but she had this particular Sacrament of Confirmation, duly and
specially, conferred upon her by His Holiness Pope Paul VI himself, at the Vatican
itself when my parents went there on diplomatic mission.

Miracle 2: My father wakes up from coma

My father’s absolutely miraculous, complete, and comprehensive recovery from

having slipped into a diabetic coma, after having almost lifelessly remained in the
nursing home, with no hope as far as medical treatment was concerned, with the
team of doctors and professors being unable to provide any other consolation, but
the words,
“it will take a miracle for him to live.”
Not only did my father come out of that coma alive and well, but he thereafter
survived another fifteen years after that! Not as any vegetable either, but as a truly
 60

living, walking, talking, Laughing-Out-Loud (LOL) Miracle, a Survivor, a great

Dad, who showed us, his children especially, what the meaning of real persistence
and determination really was, even more so than during his agile and active years
as a prodding Public Servant and as a charismatic, intellectual, vibrant Member of
Parliament, Minister of Government, had shown us. Here he was, a mere half of
the man that he once was, suffering a bit from Alzheimer's, getting his insulin
injection daily administered by our mom, yet it was right there, that he was our
Hero, our Saint, our Example. Such was the grace that God had bestowed on our
father, that he came out of that coma, “without the smell of smoke”, as they say.
He had absolutely not one sign of ever having even been in a coma, as a matter of
fact. Like I’ve said, all he had was slight senility and diabetes, medical conditions
quite normal for any elderly man of his age at that time. Then to live until 1985,
he had it “going on”, the man upped the ante in being a man for all seasons, a Man
who still could threaten intruders and drive them away from us if any undesirable
element sought to enter our premises. Plus, Mom still had her Husband on her
arm, as they went to family gatherings, etc. And we still had our Daddy, telling us
his stories, speaking his Latin, and Greek. We were so proud to have had our mom
and dad around us in those days. Now, they're gone, but not forgotten.
Upon waking out of the coma, my dad was telling my mom the story of how a
man was asking him (during his coma) to hand over $5.00, but he recalled that he
was vehement in letting that man know that he “will not hand over any money
whatsoever”. This account was determined by my mother and siblings that my
father was being called to the “Land of the Dead” by that man, who insisted that
my dad pay that money to him, as some kind of a token or a toll. But, as our
family later joked, that it was only due to our father’s inherent sense of
determination and shrewdness, that he out-right refused to give that money. This
way, he did not allow his soul to be taken into captivity (death) at that time, since
according to my mother:
 61

“The family was solely reliant upon Malcolm's two pensions, since I was always a
housewife and mother, with all of you little children, and there was absolutely no way
that we would have made it through, even for one month, without your Daddy's
retirement income.”
My father passed away in December 1985, the day of my niece Taryn’s baby
christening. My mom rallied on with us, her fifteen children, the grandchildren
and great-grandchildren, surrounding her. Oh, how I would love to have her be
with my my grandchild Aria. And, how I wish too that my dad had been around to
be with my daughter, Gariele. Also it would've been awesome if both Mom and
Dad could've been around to be with my daughter's daughter. But this is the way
in which the passage of time moves. As Dad used to say,
“Life is about change. If we don't change and welcome change, we won't be
able to keep up with the vicissitudes of life.”
Mom sweetly and peacefully passed away at the ripe, old age of eighty-eight, in
the year 2006. Her mom, our Granny Ellen (née Deane) Best, a slender, beautiful
half Indian, half-white lady, with long hair, down to her lower back. She used to
take all fifteen of us to Deluxe Cinema to see the show, “The Sound of Music”.
She died at the very ripe, old age of ninety-nine, in 1984. I never met my mom’s
father, “Papa” Percy Best from Barbados; neither did I meet my paternal
grandparents, “Pa” Alfred nor, “Ma” Marie (née Assam) Thompson, since they
passed away before I was born in 1961.
My heartfelt gratitude goes out to my ancestors, but in particular to my parents, for
always comforting us, and their words and deeds shall forever live on in our hearts,
souls and in our cherished memories of them.
 62

If there is only one thing that I know, this is that one thing, that our honour and
affection for them shall last an eternity. We salute them, we miss them, we try to
follow in their footsteps, to become “Saints” like them.
 63

The Divinity of Our Most Sacred Scriptures

This is what I understand about God and the Bible, this is in part how I’ve got to be
such a devout follower myself and a believer in Jesus Christ. From Genesis to
Revelations, I meet Jesus Christ in all scriptures and revelations. I encounter Him
in virtually every chapter and verse of The Holy Bible, as we do in our everyday
lives. These are the encounters that are relevant to our lives, these are the
encounters that must transform us, create the giants within us, and indeed, they are
the ones that must resonate within us as powerfully as the written words of,
"greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world", together with, "He abides
in me and I abide in Him", and "He must increase and I must decrease."

The Messiah: Our Lord Jesus Christ

I am not Jewish, therefore, generally speaking, I do not relate to the Torah, yet the
Torah is the written Word of God. This is the Book in which our Lord Jesus Christ
has been referred to as the Coming Messiah. It is the living out of Laws of The
Old Testament, as handed to Moses from The Great I Am. These are the pages of
Divine Scriptures from which Jesus Himself read, knew and proclaimed, since
Jesus Himself was a Jew, and in fact He was the One to whom the Torah referred
and related to, and through whom it became even more relevant to the Jews of His
day in Jerusalem. Indeed, He was and is the King of the Jews. He is the Messiah,
the One who came, and who is to come again. He is the first Adam, He also is the
one we meet in every man in the Bible who was mocked by men, yet blessed,
forgiven and sanctified by God the Father, and who was the chosen one who was
raised up to be King of each generation throughout the passages of time. He is the
 64

Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, and He has conquered. Through the
shedding of His Blood He sanctified all mankind. The ministry of which He
preached, lived and spread was and still is a ministry of love, life, healing, and
peace. These are the qualities that we must exemplify within our lives, and since
charity begins at home, we must apply them, first and foremost, within our own
families, and in our ministry of family life.
As a Christian, I read the Bible. This is my frame of reference, through which I get
to know the Lord Jesus Christ. As a Roman Catholic, Charismatic and Pentecostal
Believer, I believe in venerating the Blessed Virgin Mary, the immaculate Mother
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and I have studied from cover to cover, The New
Testament - The Acts of the Apostles, the Gospels, Colossians, the Epistles and the
Letters to the Corinthians, and the Ephesians, and so on.
As a student of Theology and Religion, I was not formally taught very much of the
Old Testament or Revelations as such. However, on my own, I pursued studies in
The Psalms, Proverbs, Deuteronomy, Ruth, Isaiah, Judges and other passages from
the Old Testament.
I was taught while attending Holy Faith Convent that the New Testament is the
fulfilment of the Old Testament. This is the Truth, was the Truth, and will
eternally be the absolute Truth. I believe the Bible, and I know it to be true, as
being true to its word, and as being the true history, words, account of the God in
whom I believe and who I love, worship, the God about whom I speak, preach and
follow. What I was taught was not anything separate from the Word of God. I
also studied Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. This had to be taught in the
Roman Catholic school system in Ontario, Canada during the 70’s when I attended
Madonna High School in Toronto. Yet, I was also taught about the birth of Adam,
how Adam and Eve came into being, through dust from the living breath of the
mouth of God, the Father, and how Adam and Eve, as the first man and woman on
earth, disobeyed God. I learned about the fact God gave free will to man - Adam
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and Eve - and how He set them in a beautiful paradise to dwell on earth, a place
called The Garden of Eden. Yet they sought instead to go their own way, to follow
their own inclination to adhere to suggestions made by a cunning and manipulative
creature named “Satan”.

The Epic Battle Before the Dawn of Time

Prior to the time of Adam and Eve, due to a battle going on in Heaven, between
God and His angels, one of these angels, Lucifer (Satan or the Devil) became
proud and wanted to be God himself, and so he no longer was a good angel, but a
fallen one, and He was thrown out of Heaven into the lower planets, into Hades or
Hell, but God gave him access to Earth as well. As such, he became the Ruler of
Darkness and Evil.
He was the one who tempted Eve in the beautiful Garden of Eden, to eat of the
Forbidden Fruit of the Tree of Life. According to Scripture, God told His children
Adam and Eve to "go forth, bear fruit, be fruitful and multiply", but God
specifically warned them, and insisted that they are not to eat of the Tree of
Life. The devil came to Eve, the Woman and tempted her, suggested that they
should eat of the fruits of the Tree of Life. He corrupted their minds to go away
from the Law as laid down by God, their Maker, their Father. He encouraged Eve,
who went and further encouraged her husband, the Man Adam to also eat of the
fruit, as they would get to know about Good and Bad and have knowledge. In so
doing, the First Man and Woman on Earth, defied God and were then rebuked by
Him.

The Original Sin

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God told the Man that by the sweat of his brow shall he work to eat, and by the
Woman's pain and suffering, out of her belly shall she bring forth children. From
this time, onward, this was what has been happening to both Man and
Woman. This was the Original Sin with which all mankind is born. Even though
Christ came, lived and died for this sin, and the sins of all mankind, we must still
be baptized of water to be set free of this Original sin of our forefathers, Adam and
Eve. We are baptized, or cleansed of sin, in the Name of the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit. This is because God the Father, who also is God the Son, as well
as God the Holy Spirit, are three Persons in One Person.

God, the Eternal Father

In the Old Testament, God the Father is the predominant Person who establishes
the Laws, the Prophets, the Kings, and the One Who performs miracles, wonders
and signs on Earth, through whomever, or whatever, He chooses. He is the One
who guides, directs, and ordains His people through the Land of Israel, through
Egypt, Babylon and other territories as noted in the Bible and the Torah. Just as
the people of Israel learn of their God, by hearing His Voice through the voice of
the Prophets, the Psalmist David, the Kings and all of the Chosen of God, I too
learned of Him and became familiar with Him, through the many avenues such as
religious studies at school, Catechism and Sunday school, going to Church and
Mass, listening to, and the reading, of scripture, the lessons that I have learnt in my
own life in terms of experiential knowledge of the way in which He operates in my
life, through stories from the Bible, as well as through the stories of family,
friends, acquaintances and people I encounter in life, in ministry, in practice, or
even read about.
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Our Lord is a God of Justice, Compassionate and Patient

I learn that He is an awesome God. I learn that He is a loving God, a patient God,
full of mercy and plentiful in compassion. I learn that He is the King of Peace and
the Bright Morning Star, I learn that He is a just God, a merciful God, a God who
forgives, a God who never fails, a God who provides, a God who heals, a God who
defends, a God who sets free the captives, a God who sets the lonely into families,
a God who gives the double portion, a God who is lavish with the gifts He gives to
those He loves and who love and worship Him, a God who works miracles, signs
and wonders. I learn of the God who sticks to the Law, but Who also saves, loves,
forgives and blesses His people even when they do break the Law and disobey
Him, but who are repentant. I learn that the years of the Old Testament are before
Christ (BC). Yet, in the New Testament I also learn of this same God, that He
came in the Flesh and Blood, of which we were told to eat and drink,
“He who eats My Flesh, and drinks My Blood, abides in Me, and I in Him,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.”
This is at Communion, it too is present at the Altar of the Exposition of The
Blessed Sacrament, The Host, it is the living precious divine Body and Blood of
our loving Lord and Saviour, Who died on that Old Rugged Cross for us. This was
His Plan for mankind, for Humanity and His loving Family.
We must now make our “Disappearum Sanctum” by
● frequent visits to The Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
● our own prayer chapel in our homes
● going to Mass
● having and attending prayer and worship meetings
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● forming our very own ministry within our families, our communities and
business and learning establishments and environments
● reciting the rosary
● reading the Bible
If only we knew how simple it is to spread the Gospel, to make known the
Goodness, the Greatness, the Loving Kindness of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is
our calling, our vocation, our mandate, especially now, as we are living in the days
of the Dispensation of His Grace, and in the End Times, as written in Revelations.
I really do urge you my dear readers to pray the Rosary. There are different ones
that the Church has, all of which are so powerful and so beautiful.

Of course the scriptural rosary is the first and most renowned prayer of the Blessed
Virgin Mary. The fifteen promises of the Rosary are as follows:

(From The Glory of St Dominic

Guido Reni
1613 A.D.
Fresco
San Domenico, Bologna and Blessed Alan)

The Blessed Virgin Mary promised to Saint Dominic and to Blessed Alan a great
sign of predestination.”

(Send this page to a fellow Catholics)

Taken from:
Catholic News from StGemma.com Productions
© StGemma.com Web Productions Inc. 2005. All rights reserved.
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Addendum

Just for your information, I have started a petition on Facebook to persuade Pope
Francis to grant sainthood to my parents Alfred & Nellie & Archbishop Anthony
Pantin.

My goal is to reach 100 signatures and I need more support. You can read more
and sign the petition here:

https://www.change.org/p/facebook-pope-francis-to-grant-sainthood-to-my-
parents-alfred-nellie-archbishop-anthony-
pantin?recruiter=279998976&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=email&u
tm_campaign=share_email_responsive"

As well, please do all you can to purchase and spread around the existence of my
book to those whom you meet. Rest assured that you will be in my prayers and
good thoughts, and the proceeds go in part to my struggles as an advocate for
change and a Pro-Life activist in my love for the children of the world and for
God’s great nature. My parties are:
The Alpha Love Party of Canada
and
Alliance Against Deforestation.
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THE MINISTRY OF FAMILY LIFE

Disappearum Sanctum:

The Hon. A.A. Thompson Esq. M.P.Mrs. Nellie Thompson and their Fifteen
Children

NOT THE END