The Good Thief: A Novel

"In this way Ren was responsible for most of the lost things being prayed for at the statue of Saint Anthony."

Ren begins to steal things—though small, admittedly—before he comes into Benjamin's care. Despite the threat of punishment by Father John and   God for his sins, Ren can't seem to help himself from taking these things. Later, Benjamin and Ren employ Ren's skills at theft to their advantage. 

"Possessing the book had made what happened inside the pages somehow belong to him."

Ren steals The Lives of the Saints from Father John's office and is later caught by Brother Joseph. Brother Joseph, however, allows Ren to keep the book after doing penance in the form of prayer. He seems to intuit that the stories of the saints will benefit Ren more than the punishment he will receive for returning it. 

"I told them what they wanted to hear so they'd give it to us."

Through his years of experience, Benjamin has become an adept confidence man, particularly when it comes to verbal manipulation. He has a gift for quickly coming up with stories to both get what he wants and get himself out of dangerous situations. Later, Ren will use this gift to buy himself time with Silas McGinty.