Things Worth Dying For: Thoughts on a Life Worth Living
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- Create Date：2021-05-28 12:31:45
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Charles J. Chaput
- ISBN：1662071248
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Reviews
Sean Zimprich
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As always， Chaput has done us all a great service in sharing his wisdom and perfectly gleaned candor。 There were many points in the book where I felt as though God was speaking to my soul and whispering to me “pray about that” and “ponder this more”。 I love Chaput’s writing style and his ability to describe realities of our world in clear understandable English and subtly challenge the reader without making him feel completely overwhelmed but realistically hopeful。 I definitely give it a strong As always， Chaput has done us all a great service in sharing his wisdom and perfectly gleaned candor。 There were many points in the book where I felt as though God was speaking to my soul and whispering to me “pray about that” and “ponder this more”。 I love Chaput’s writing style and his ability to describe realities of our world in clear understandable English and subtly challenge the reader without making him feel completely overwhelmed but realistically hopeful。 I definitely give it a strong five stars。 。。。more
Justin Goldman
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This is a fascinating contribution from the former Archbishop of Philadelphia as he sought to reflect on his five decades as a priest looking at the essential questions of how we can live and die meaningfully。 While clearly from the conservative wing of the Catholic hierarchy， in keeping with canon law he submitted his resignation to Pope Francis upon turning 75 in 2019。 While he covers a lot of ground in this short volume， his genuine introspection comes out in this scholarly and candid book。 H This is a fascinating contribution from the former Archbishop of Philadelphia as he sought to reflect on his five decades as a priest looking at the essential questions of how we can live and die meaningfully。 While clearly from the conservative wing of the Catholic hierarchy， in keeping with canon law he submitted his resignation to Pope Francis upon turning 75 in 2019。 While he covers a lot of ground in this short volume， his genuine introspection comes out in this scholarly and candid book。 He wrestles with a changing America where Gallup found in 2020 that just 47% of U。S。 adults belonged to a church， synagogue or mosque。 He states "liberal society is good at many things， instilling moral coherence， and a shared sense of things worth living and dying for， is not one of them。" He clearly acknowledges shortcomings in America， but he describes how when we visit Independence Hall in Philadelphia we should celebrate what has been a durable design of government and one we should be committed to。 The Afterword is fittingly entitled "On Friendship" and reminds us of that essential message to remain hopeful。 。。。more
Chris S。
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I'm a little torn here， because I think Archbishop Chaput states his claims well but I also think he's a little harsher on modernity than Bishop Barron， and not always justifiably。 I don't want to give him a bad rating because I disagree with him， but I suppose that is going to impact my enjoyment a little。 It was nice to see his influences in thought and some of his ideas on what exactly the Church and its people should do at this moment in time and every day， and I'll take at least some of the I'm a little torn here， because I think Archbishop Chaput states his claims well but I also think he's a little harsher on modernity than Bishop Barron， and not always justifiably。 I don't want to give him a bad rating because I disagree with him， but I suppose that is going to impact my enjoyment a little。 It was nice to see his influences in thought and some of his ideas on what exactly the Church and its people should do at this moment in time and every day， and I'll take at least some of them to heart。 Overall， though， there are some excellent sections here， especially Ecclesia Sua。 Definitely a decent read。 。。。more
Peej
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Archbishop Chaput prophetically and poignantly describes what we’ve lost in the postmodern United States。 Though we’ve lost our unity， Christ and His Church provides us hope during this cultural turning point。
Joseph
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Sometimes it comes off as an opine of a grumpy old man in his general criticism of modernity （i。e。， this generation is worse than the previous one）。 And other times， it is an on-point criticism of a time and place that is better off knowing what ails them。 When it offers hope and mercy， the criticism is poignant and heartfelt。 When it is simply critical， it appears a series of insensitive complaints yearning for a by-gone era。
Robert
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It's good enough， but not terribly original。 I found myself nodding along with most of it， but to me it's little more than a restatement of some relatively obvious Catholic principles。 It's good enough， but not terribly original。 I found myself nodding along with most of it， but to me it's little more than a restatement of some relatively obvious Catholic principles。 。。。more
Irene
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Ranging from Casa Blanca to The Pilgrims Progress， from the French Revolution to a childhood in small town America， from reflections on the significance of story to the meaning of friendship， Archbishop Chapup’s book embraces a wide breadth of topics in the attempt to convince the reader to embrace more intentionally their Catholic faith in every aspect of their life。 I suspect that many readers will find themselves disagreeing with some of his observations， but I also suspect that every Catholi Ranging from Casa Blanca to The Pilgrims Progress， from the French Revolution to a childhood in small town America， from reflections on the significance of story to the meaning of friendship， Archbishop Chapup’s book embraces a wide breadth of topics in the attempt to convince the reader to embrace more intentionally their Catholic faith in every aspect of their life。 I suspect that many readers will find themselves disagreeing with some of his observations， but I also suspect that every Catholic reader will find something to ponder and something that will challenge them。 。。。more
Jim Becker
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Outstanding book。 Clearly written by a man who loves his Lord。 I remember when he was in Denver for a time and he would write occasional columns for the Rocky Man News （RIP）。 I always appreciated what he wrote about。
Brent Soderstrum
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I won this book through GoodReads First Read program。This book is written by a Catholic priest in Philadelphia。 I am not Catholic but I found from reading it you really don't have to be to enjoy it。 Father Chaput sets out in 9 chapters the things that you should be willing to die for which include family， friends， your country， and Christ。 In today's world， this can be pretty controversial。 He uses today's social culture in many of his examples which is good。He also uses God's Word to set out wh I won this book through GoodReads First Read program。This book is written by a Catholic priest in Philadelphia。 I am not Catholic but I found from reading it you really don't have to be to enjoy it。 Father Chaput sets out in 9 chapters the things that you should be willing to die for which include family， friends， your country， and Christ。 In today's world， this can be pretty controversial。 He uses today's social culture in many of his examples which is good。He also uses God's Word to set out what is worth dying for。 We are all going to die sometime。 I personally have no issue with dying。 Take away the pain and I think it would be great if it happened tomorrow。 If you are going to be in paradise with Jesus and you really believe that why do we have so many issues with death。Good title and good read。 。。。more
Christopher
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Highly recommended！
Richard Grebenc
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Abp。 Chaput is a joy to read。 Insightful， erudite， but plain-spoken。 I cannot sum up the book better than the author does at the end of Chapter 1: "Chapter 2 speaks to how we should think about death and the verdict it passes on the lives we live。 Chapter 3 examines the culture we have now -- a culture of irony soured into cynicism， a culture of deriding and refusing the questions that death raises， and the desert of meaning that results。 Chapter 4 is about the Author of our lives， the true God Abp。 Chaput is a joy to read。 Insightful， erudite， but plain-spoken。 I cannot sum up the book better than the author does at the end of Chapter 1: "Chapter 2 speaks to how we should think about death and the verdict it passes on the lives we live。 Chapter 3 examines the culture we have now -- a culture of irony soured into cynicism， a culture of deriding and refusing the questions that death raises， and the desert of meaning that results。 Chapter 4 is about the Author of our lives， the true God and the source of meaning， and our chronic temptation to evade him。 Chapters 5 through 8 examine the things -- sometimes ennobling， sometimes idolatrous -- that so many of us consider worth livig for and dying for: nation， ideas and ideologies， family and loved ones， and the Church herself。 Chapter 9 speaks to the nature of our earthly pilgrimage and the 'four last things' we each inevitably face。 And an afterword reflects on friendship: friendship with God and friendship with each other -- the essence of Christina life， and a foretaste of the life to come。"Chapter 9 is worth the price of the book， but there is so much food for thought here。 After reading this latest effort， if you have not read his other books， I would encourage you to go there next。I had fervently hoped Chaput would receive the red hat。 Maybe he will yet， as an honorary gesture。 In any case， he is a prince of the Church and would make a great pope （I can think of no American bishop who would be better suited）。 Alas。 。。。more
Debra
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Archbishop Chaput has always been a faith filled and holy man。 He imparts more of his wisdom in this book。 He does it in a manner that is very readable and gives one many things to meditate on。 This is the world we live in。 How can we make it better and what is worth dying for？ Loved this book！
booklady
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Let me say upfront that whatever I have to offer by way of solitary insight on this marvelous book， it will only be the thoughts of one reader。 If you want to ‘go deeper’， there is an excellent and dedicated group over at Catholic Thought and they have done a chapter-by-chapter group examination of Things Worth Dying For which offers in-depth insights from the perspective of some extremely intelligent and faithful Catholic readers and writers。However， if you are pressed for time or happen to be Let me say upfront that whatever I have to offer by way of solitary insight on this marvelous book， it will only be the thoughts of one reader。 If you want to ‘go deeper’， there is an excellent and dedicated group over at Catholic Thought and they have done a chapter-by-chapter group examination of Things Worth Dying For which offers in-depth insights from the perspective of some extremely intelligent and faithful Catholic readers and writers。However， if you are pressed for time or happen to be a friend of mine， you might read this scaled back version。 Archbishop Emeritus Chaput has long been one of my favorite American senior clergy and I don’t have many。 I love that he is so faithful， also a rarity these days。 So， I was excited when I heard about this book and eager to read it。 I started Things Worth Dying For on the heels of a Lent already spent with Remember Your Death （Memento Mori）: A Lenten Devotional， so you could say ‘death’ was a familiar topic even before beginning the Archbishop’s book。 After six weeks reflection on my ultimate demise， I wondered what else there was to be said。 In Chapter 2， Chaput discusses different traditions about Death across cultures and time， but he also points out how those within the same time and religion can also be far apart in their understandings/ experiences of death。 For example， there is a young monk dying of multiple sclerosis。 As he moved toward God， he moved away from his fellow monks。 Having walked four dear friends and my Mom to midnight* I have become accustomed—well as accustomed as you ever get in such a situation—to how the person who is dying changes， pulls away from those around him/her。 This chapter is a significant reflection on Death， which prepares one for the rest of the book， yet could stand on its own if that were the reader’s purpose Chapter 3 examines our current culture and the effect it has on our views of and approach to Death。 Chapter 4， one of my favorites， is about Our LORD and God。 It briefly traces the history of our understanding of the Author of Creation from Revelation through church and human history。 We have always flirted with idols， from the very beginning， preferring their easy manipulability to the steadfastness of the Almighty。 There is nothing new under the sun…Chapter 5 is about our country， war and patriotism。 Having served in the armed forces for many years， this was another favorite chapter。 In Chapter 6， Chaput makes crucial points worth re: ideas and ideologies。 He wants to warn us about our capacity to change what it means to be “human” at a biological level， especially since ‘we seem least willing to think morally and modestly about our own power。’ For me， family， comes right after God; it is definitely something ‘worth dying for’ to me。 But it wasn’t always that way， I’m ashamed to admit。 And based on Chapter 7， I can tell I am not alone。 Our nation’s families are in serious trouble。 Families are the building blocks of our society， so if they are not doing well， neither is the rest of the country。 Chaput gives four factors working against the health of American families: 1） political system itself; 2） our consumer market economy and human nature; 3） the dark side of new technologies and scientific advances; and 4） hostility to the idea of the family itself， a unique feature of the modern era。 In Chapter 8， the Archbishop did something really classy; he gave the microphone to the laity， deacons and priests。 He wrote to a number of people he knew and admired and asked them their opinions and thoughts about the church and then included them in the book。 It was so refreshing and cosmopolitan！ At the end Chaput included his own thoughts which were also timely， wise and relevant。 Chapter 9 ties things together and I realize this bare outline does not begin to give the wealth of quotes， references， stories， and extracts which enrich the text of Things Worth Dying For and make it so enjoyable to read。 Again， check out the Catholic Thought group for more on that。 Or for starters， get the book for yourself and read it。 You will be blessed by it。 *The expression ‘Walk to Midnight’ is used by those who care for the dying and it means you stay with them until the end， which is midnight。 。。。more
Andrienne
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