“I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.” (2 Timothy 1:6)

Last week, we reflected on Paul’s exhortation to Timothy from the perspective of Scripture itself. This week, we continue our October meditation by exploring this same verse through the lens of the early Church Fathers- those who received and lived this word within the vibrant, suffering, Spirit-filled Church of the first centuries. For them, this verse was both deeply personal and profoundly ecclesial. It spoke to the responsibility of each baptized and ordained person to nurture the grace they had received and to live it fruitfully for the salvation of others.

St. John Chrysostom, in one of his homilies, explains that the gift given to Timothy refers to both his personal sanctification and his ministry. “The grace of the Spirit is a fire,” he writes, “and it grows cold when it is not fed.” Chrysostom saw in Paul’s words a spiritual urgency. Faith must be stirred through prayer, vigilance, and acts of charity. St. Gregory the Great echoes this when he writes, “The fire of divine love, unless it be fed by good works, grows cold.” The flame must be stirred, not by emotion or novelty, but by holy obedience and the steady discipline of Christian life.

The Church Fathers often emphasized the sacramental nature of this gift. The “imposition of hands” refers to ordination but also points more broadly to the grace of the sacraments. St. Ambrose reminds us that it is not merely a human appointment but a divine gift: “It is God who gives the grace; the bishop only lays on hands.” The Fathers also warned against spiritual laziness. Basil the Great, in the Philokalia, stressed the synergy between divine grace and human cooperation: “The Spirit is given not to lie idle in us, but to renew us and work in us unto the full stature of Christ.” For the early Christians, to “stir into flame” meant that every part of life- prayer, work, study, community- must become fuel for the fire of God’s love.

This wisdom challenges us today. In a culture where faith is often treated as a private feeling or optional preference, the Fathers remind us that grace is never static. It seeks expression. It longs to burn brightly. In moments of discouragement or spiritual fatigue, we may wait passively for inspiration. But the Fathers urge us to act, to stir, to rekindle, to cooperate with what God has already planted within us.

This Sunday’s Gospel tells of ten lepers healed by Jesus, yet only one returns to give thanks. Gratitude is more than courtesy. It’s the act of recognizing and responding to unearned grace. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, whose feast we celebrate this week, lived this truth through her devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In her visions, Christ mourned the lack of gratitude among those He had loved and saved. Her mission was to reawaken the world to the burning love of Christ- a flame of mercy in His Heart. Gratitude, then, becomes an act of discipleship. To stir the flame is to return, like the grateful leper, to Jesus with praise and a life poured out in return.

If the Church Fathers walked among us today in Augusta, Gardiner, or Winthrop, they would urge us not to let the cold winds of distraction or doubt extinguish our fire. They would point to the same Christ, the same Spirit, the same sacraments, and call us to stir into flame the gift already given. This week, rekindle that gift through acts of thanksgiving: attend daily Mass, spend time in adoration, serve someone in need, or pray with genuine gratitude. In doing so, we join the saints and martyrs who kept the flame alive, not only for themselves, but for the whole Church. Stir the flame. Let it shine.