St. Ansgar

St. Ansgar Image from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/26808/Saint-Ansgar 

You might think, and rightly so, that since today is the feast of St. Blaise, that I'd write about him.  I was going to, but today is also the feast of St. Ansgar.  Who's that?  That's what I asked and that's also why I'm writing about him.

I like him.  If you're a pessimist, (or realist) you'd think Ansgar was a failure.  But God doesn't look at results (Thank God!); he looks at intent.  Ansgar was a Benedictine priest.  He was sent as a missionary to Denmark.  He stayed there for three years with hardly any success.  He was transferred to Sweden.  On his way there, he was waylaid by pirates.  He was captured.  Finally, he found himself in Hamburg.  You think his life was now safe and peaceful?

Get this.

After 13 years of work, those very same people he was once missionary to, (Denmark and Sweden) raided Hamburg and burned Ansgar's monastery down.

Yet, he is famous, not for his failures, but for his preaching, humility, and holiness.  He also is NOT a martyr.  So he must have really been something pretty spectacular to be honored when he didn't achieve anything tangible.

He is considered the patron saint of Denmark.

Personally, I think he should be considered the patron saint of perseverance.  In fact, that's exactly why I'll be invoking him.