‘Grace to you and peace from God our Father’. These words form part of the beginning of St Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, from which our New Testament reading is taken. It is a classic apostolic greeting, found in many of the Epistles.

We can receive these words addressed not only to the original recipients of the Letter, but also to each one of us individually. In a quiet moment today, perhaps, we can concentrate specifically on these words, and receive grace and peace. May God bless you in it.