In observance of today’s feast, a social media friend polled his contacts today for a favorite verse from Saint Paul. Like many of his friends, I struggled to think of a single favorite. Two snarky thoughts popped into my head. First, can any good formulation of the apostle be boiled down into a single verse? And second, are we supposed to lean to the so-called authentic Paul?
This is what I offered:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
But I might change it up tomorrow, Who knows?
In the old days when we were awash in regular readers here, I might have thought to conduct a polling competition and see which of sixteen citations would win out over the rest. Anybody want to offer a fave in the comments?
Catholic Sensibility 
Pondering this as a challenge, something drew me to Colossians. And it wasn’t any famous verse or teaching. It was a verse I had ignored. The very last verse. Colossians 4:18: “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.”
To me, the epitome (in the older sense of that word) of St Paul the Apostle is not the specific content of his letters. Rather, it the act of witness borne out in his letters to his flocks – the care he took to try understand them and took significant personal responsibility for their care and feeding, as it were, even while suffering himself (and ultimately being martyred), *and* asking for them to in a way care and feed him in some way. And all in the grace that God provides.
That can all be found in that one little farewell verse.
The more I have read from various authors, the more I believe that all of the attributed letters to St. Paul were under his influence, even Hebrews. All of my favorite passages though are from 1Timothy. Yes, I consider favorite verse to be equivalent to complete thought.
1 Timothy 1:15-16
1 Timothy 2:1-6
1 Timothy 3:15-16
and 1 Timothy 4:4-5
For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
There is a cosmic scope to the mystery expressed in these passages but is also very personal at the same.