By Selwyn R. Cudjoe
February 22, 2025

On Saturday last weekend, we celebrated the life of Joseph Sam Phillip, a districker, at the Good Shepherd Anglican Church, Tunapuna, at which Archdeacon Kenly Baldeo, another districker, presided. Good Shepherd, one of the oldest edifices in Tunapuna, was consecrated in 1866.

Sam was an outstanding districker and citizen. We attended St Mary’s Anglican School and were/are parishioners at St Mary’s Anglican Church. His grandmother, Mother Gerald, was the chief Shango priestess in the village. My grandmother, Tan Darling, was one of the chief Shango devotees. She cooked the saltless meats for the annual Shango festival that usually took place in November.

Sam was a man of many moods and associations. He began his career by joining the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF). Brigadier General Anthony WJ Phillips-Spencer, Sam’s brother-in-arms, spoke of the army’s impact on Sam’s life. He said: “I can affirm that Sam lived a life of generous service and sacrificial selflessness…His approach to leadership reminded me of the enduring and indelible adage that we must ‘Serve to Lead’.”

Sam’s involvement in national football and cricket was also exemplary. He started in the Eddie Hart League on the Orange Grove Savannah, Tacarigua. Hart recalled Sam’s youthful enthusiasm when he came to him and expressed his desire to join one of the teams. Hart also spoke of Sam’s love of the game and his contribution to football in the area.

Sam went to work with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) and the T&T Cricket Board’s executive. A TTFA release read: “He was an integral part of our football fraternity, serving as assistant manager during our historic 2000 World Cup Campaign and as the manager of Joe Public Football Club.” It described him as “a dedicated servant of Trinidad and Tobago football”. (Express, February 9.)

Phillip and his wife, Annie Griffith, had two daughters, Sparkle and Shaunell. Sparkle’s eulogy captured the essence of the man: “My father’s greatest dedication was to his family. After our mother passed away, he made a promise to take care of Shaunell and me, to make sure we could stand on our own two feet.”

He also acted as the guiding light of his grandson, Giovani. Sparkle said: “He lived for him, loved him deeply, and found pure joy in watching him grow. He was also like a father to his son-in-law, Jean Ve, treating him with the same love, respect and guidance he gave to me.”

Hart and Sparkle’s tributes resonated with me. Hart spoke of Sam’s self-confidence; his generosity to others; and his love of the people of his community. Sparkle said: “Daddy was more than just a father. He was a mentor to many, a friend to all, and a man whose presence made a difference.”

These sentiments made me reflect upon the Christian concept of ordo amoris and the recent exchange between US Vice-President JD Vance and Pope Francis. St Augustine, an African father of the Catholic Church, developed the concept in the fifth century. It has been translated to mean “order of love” or “order of charity”.

Vance, a convert to Catholicism in 2019, used Augustine’s notion of ordo amoris to defend Trump’s massive deportation of illegal immigrants. He argued: “There is a very Christian concept—that you love your family, and then you love your neighbour, and then you love your community, and then love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that you can focus and prioritise the rest of the world.

“[Those] on the far left…seem to hate the citizens of their own country and care more about people outside their own borders.”

St Thomas Aquinas expanded upon Augustine’s concept. He said: “In certain cases one ought, for instance, to succour a stranger, in extreme necessity, rather than one’s own father, if he is not in such urgent need.”

Pope Francis responded to Vance: “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. The true ‘ordo amoris’ that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating on the parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”

David Fergusson, a professor at Cambridge University, also expanded on Augustine’s idea. He said: “[Although] we have obligations to those near us, it is not the case that we must always prioritise them. Obligations can be overruled when someone further away is in greater need. Exigency can overrule proximity.” (Financial Times, February 15.)

Sam Phillip embodied these conflicting ideals. He served his family, his community and his country well. We rejoice in his devotion to these institutions. We can say of him: “Well done, thy good and faithful servant.”