The Father’s Will: A New Book by Fr. Nicholas Lombardo, O.P.

Oxford University Press recently announced the upcoming American publication of a new book by Fr. Nicholas Lombardo, O.P., entitled The Father’s Will: Christ’s Crucifixion and the Goodness of God. Published in England at the end of November, it will be available in the U.S. in February. Fr. Nicholas’ work revisits the perennial question of why the infinitely good God would will not to spare his Son from the agonies of the cross. Although highly speculative as a question, the answer bears powerfully on the lives of ordinary Christians, in that the event of the Cross reveals to men the nature of their suffering and what it might mean in the light of Christ’s self-offering to the Father. Fr. Nicholas explores the philosophical, theological, and historical background to the issue, advancing the case for recapturing patristic ransom theory as a way to gain insight into the positive will of the Father regarding the Cross. Fr. Nicholas received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, and is now Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. His book The Logic of Desire: Aquinas on Emotion is published by The Catholic University of America Press, for which he was awarded the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise in 2011. The Father’s Will