Onesimus, servant of Jesus Christ, liberated to his present state by God the Father, to Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, brother and father in Christ, prisoner on behalf of his testimony: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank the Lord daily for you, Paul, always offering him my deepest gratitude concerning the day I met you, and praying constantly for your salvation from the dangers you have to cope with during your stay in Rome, for it was you who has inaugurated my salvation by proclaiming the gospel to me when I was in dire need. Now, once again, you have been turned into a prisoner on behalf of Jesus Christ, and I hear that your health is bad, for which reason I wish to encourage you, since the faith you are still consistently preaching is raising more and more children in Christ throughout the world. The one invisible and eternal God, who has raised his Son from the dead and appointed him as king over the visible and invisible world, does not forsake his children. He will most certainly not forget his servant through whom he has issued the proclamation of his Son to the Gentiles in order that they may be saved. For our present participation in the suffering of Christ is but a dim reflection of our sharing in his glory, which will come in our unification with him.