People of the Book has a nice summary of a Catholic classic. Excerpt:
The drama of the book is the story of how this man becomes a mighty instrument of God's love and mercy. He does it by forgetting about himself. His humility is as false as the arrogance of a prideful man. He is self-absorbed, and this blocks the work of God. The story's decisive moment is the priest's encounter with the local countess. He is able to lead her to relinquish her bitterness toward God, but he does so only because he finally surrenders his preoccupation with himself. In surrender, he becomes a tool for God to use. When the woman achieves peace with God the priest realizes that he himself is somehow responsible for it. He's astonished. “Oh, miracle–thus to be able to give what we ourselves do not possess, sweet miracle of our empty hands! Hope which was shriveling in my heart flowered again in hers.”
