An oral reflection for you in celebration of the feast of St. Polycarp:
(Quoted excerpts are from “A letter from the Church in Smyrna to the Church in Philomelium”, aka, “The Martyrdom of Polycarp”.)
A priceless thing…
"It is a priceless thing to be led by God and to have no will of your own." – St. Porphyrios
A priceless thing... 
Hi Mary,
Thank you for reminding me of the antiquity of the Church. Reading a little about Poycarp I found that he, as well as being an disciple of John, had many influential disciples of his own including St..Iraneus, and St. Ignatius of Lyon. And I suppose that we could trace the disciples of those Saints to and find other links to our Church’s past to our present. I find it comforting that God provides us teachers and apostles to guide us and that we don’t have to “figure out ” Christianity by ourselves.
Thanks, Rodger. Though it often seems like we still have a lot to “figure out”, your comment reminds me of how much I take for granted in what the early Church accomplished. Not only did the early Fathers (& Mothers) of the Church keep the faith alive, but they helped steer the Church away from many errors – and often suffered terribly because of their commitment to the truth.