Book Review: A Review of Things Worth Dying For

Anyone with eyes to see or ears to hear is aware that the modern culture abhors the very thought of suffering and dying. The lens of COVID-19 sheds much light on the state of our collective soul as a nation... and it is not often a pretty picture. While there were some benefits gained from the pandemic, such as more time spent with immediate family and increased parent involvement in their children’s education, some negatives were also unmasked – one of them being the west’s inordinate fear of suffering and of death. Living in a society that has moved from theistic and God-centered to relativistic and self-centered, a book with a title such as this one certainly grabs attention. Written by the archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia, Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap., it is a topic that, when he began the draft for this in 2019 at age 75, became more urgent for him since “the road of life in the rearview mirror is a lot longer than the road ahead” (7). Having retired in 2020, after serving for 9 years in Philadelphia (he was named archbishop by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011), he took some of his newfound free time to pen many thoughtful reflections and insights on death, and therefore, life. Chaput begins the book talking about the importance of history and a having a purpose. He discusses our natural loves as humans – family, friends, honor, and integrity – and that, as Christians, we know that these flow from the Author of life and love itself. However, he cautions that there are times coming that will test us and cause us to fall into fear and doubt. “Fear of martyrdom is the start of an honest appraisal of our own spiritual mediocrity” (14). We must not think that we can compromise with the culture on the Christian view of the human person because “the world and its hatreds won’t allow it” (23). He also reminds us that love requires sacrifice: