Twice since I entered the Church on Easter Vigil, I have experienced something in the confessional that reminds me of why I love the Communion of Saints — even when it drives me a bit crazy.

It happened each time with a different priest; both were in their 70s. The most recent time was yesterday afternoon. I was getting around to the sin of pride, and I mentioned, "and I wrote a book, which is about to come out ..."

The priest's eyes got wide.

"Really?" he said. "I wrote a book ..."

He proceeded to tell me a little about it, noting helpfully that it was available on eBay.

I'm laughing just thinking about it. I wish I could capture his tone; as with the other priest who volunteered that he'd written a book, he wasn't being braggadocious. It was actually kind of sweet.