3 February 2021
Optional Memorial of Saint Ansgar, bishop
Optional Memorial of Saint Blase, bishop and martyr
St. Ansgar died on this date in 865. As a Benedictine monk and a bishop he was very influential in spreading the Christian faith in northern Germany, Denmark and Sweden. Statues and monuments to him still stand. There is even a crater on the moon named after him: Ansgarius. Today’s practitioners of Ignatian spirituality should take note of this medieval figure because he had many supernatural visions throughout his life, which we find recorded in the biography that his friend wrote shortly after his death.
St. Ansgar had his earliest vision when he was only five years old. His mother had recently passed away, and his father had sent him to a boarding school. In the vision, he saw his mother in the company of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He wanted to join them, but he could not get to them, because he was in “a miry and slippery place, from which be could not escape except with great difficulty.” Noticing his plight, Mary asked him if he truly desired to be free. When he expressed his eagerness to do so, she told him that he “must flee from every kind of vanity, and put away childish jests and have regard to the seriousness of life (temet ipsum in gravitate vitae custodire).” After having this vision and hearing these words from Our Lady, St. Ansgar began “to avoid childish associations, and to devote himself more constantly to reading and meditation and other useful occupations.”
Visions like this one were instrumental to St. Ansgar’s success as a Christian, as a monk, and as a bishop. All these centuries later, God has not stopped using such means to inspire those who would follow him. Ignatian spirituality is one way for us to be open to the possibility of having similar visions, and learning how to wait for them.