Cecilia Lucina James Celebrates 102nd Birthday, Shares Wisdom On Faith, Family, And Longevity

Surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, Cecilia Lucina James was treated like royalty at her 102nd birthday celebration at the Radisson Hotel on Saturday. One of the few citizens who reach this milestone, her advice to long life is to trust in God. "Keep your body clean, be satisfied with what you have, and it is God's will that keep you alive, and you go to church. If you don't go to church, you have the housework to do, and you do it faithfully and willingly." Ms. James also has these words of encouragement for parents of today: "Be satisfied with what you have and be a good parent. Give them good advice. Tell them don't go here and don't go there, and I don't want you to do this and do that, and they will listen to you." Daughter, Laura Lee, says her mother never did anything without prayer. "She has instilled in us the fact that with prayer and with God, everything is possible. We are all living testament because we have excelled and I can tell you one thing - we have never ended up in a police station." And one of her grandsons thanked Ms. James for the influence that she had on his life. "I hope I can get to 102 where she is because we live in a time where 75 is probably the cap, 50 is probably the cap, but she's always praying." Ms. James received a commemorative pin, a certificate, and other tokens from the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services as part of the Ministry’s National Centenarian Programme.