You Belong to Christ —Lessons From St. Polycarp
My late father used to bring up St. Polycarp.
Usually in that familiar family debate about which confirmation name someone should choose. The bold ones. The poetic ones. The saints with dramatic stories and beautiful statues. The saints with funny sounding names.
Polycarp.
As a child, I’ll admit — it sounded more like a fish than a saint. Growing up along the shores of Lake Erie, I assumed it belonged somewhere between perch and walleye.
And yet.
It is easy to look at saints from long ago and quietly dismiss them. We have our newly canonized young saints. We have our beloved classics — St. Thérèse, St. Teresa, St. John Paul II — our “cluster” of saint superstars. Some saints linger gently in the background of Catholic life. Appreciated. Respected. But not likely to trend. No one is rushing out to buy St. Polycarp socks.
But perhaps that is exactly why he matters.
St. Polycarp lived in a confused culture. A culture pressuring Christians to conform, to soften, to blend. He did not reinvent himself to fit it. He did not dilute truth to avoid discomfort. When commanded to deny Christ, he simply said:
“Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He has done me no wrong.”
No rebranding.
No panic.
No compromise.
Just belonging.
And that feels deeply relevant.
Today as a Catholic woman, I am constantly invited to redefine everything — femininity, motherhood, marriage, success, freedom, even truth itself. The subtle pressure is not always dramatic persecution. It is often quiet persuasion. Adapt. Update. Soften.
Polycarp reminds us of something steady:
You do not belong to the world.
You belong to Christ.
Attentiveness is not flashy holiness. It is rooted identity. It is the quiet refusal to let the culture name you.
Perhaps the saint who once sounded like a fish is really a reminder of depth — of living below the surface noise. Of remaining when reinvention would be easier.
And maybe the question for us today is simple:
Where am I being tempted to redefine myself —
instead of remaining steadfast?
Stay there.
Stay rooted.
Stay His
Stay Attentive. .
