What is Love?
All of us in the Diocese of Raleigh are familiar with the common theme that Bishop Luis Zarama often refers to in his homilies and reflections, a simple but profound word: love.
In his Good Friday message, Bishop Luis invites the faithful to go deeper with him — beyond sentiment, beyond comfort — into what he and, more importantly, Jesus means by true love.
“Where in our faith can we really see what love is?” the bishop asks. His answer is clear: we see it most fully on Good Friday. “Good Friday helps us to understand what love means,” he said. “It’s the best way and the best example for us.”
A Dark Day That Reveals Love
Bishop Luis acknowledges that Good Friday is “a very dark day in some ways.” It is a day marked by suffering, betrayal, and death. Yet, paradoxically, it also offers the clearest window into divine love. On the cross, Jesus gives his life — not reluctantly, not with anger, but freely and with complete openness.
Even in betrayal, Jesus responds with love. Reflecting on Judas, Bishop Luis notes that Jesus did not reject him, even in that final moment. Instead, he remained open, offering one last opportunity for conversion. From the cross, Jesus continued that same approach — turning toward the “good thief,” extending mercy, and praying for those who crucified him.
“If we don’t understand that,” the bishop said, “how will we be able to celebrate Easter?”
The Path to Easter Runs Through the Cross
In a culture often eager to avoid suffering, Bishop Luis emphasizes that there is no true celebration of Easter without first passing through Good Friday. “Going to Easter without going first through Good Friday doesn’t make any sense,” he said, underscoring that the joy of the Resurrection is inseparable from the sacrifice of the cross.
This invitation can be challenging. Good Friday forces each of us to ask: How open am I to letting Christ take my sins? Am I willing to “die” to sin with him in order to truly live?
Love Without Conditions
Bishop reminds us that the love of Jesus is unconditional. Pointing to Jesus’ encounter with the good thief, he noted that Christ did not impose conditions or demand prior perfection. Seeing the man’s heart was enough.
“He didn’t say, ‘First go and make this penance,’” the bishop explained. “He saw his heart, and it was enough for Jesus to say to him, ‘You will be with me today in paradise.’”
This, Bishop Luis explains, is the heart of divine love: a love that meets us where we are, invites us to conversion, and offers mercy freely.
An Invitation to Walk Both Days
The bishop cautioned against remaining in the sorrow of Good Friday alone. The Christian life is not meant to stop at the cross. “We cannot stay there without celebrating Easter,” he said. “Both of them are together.”
Suffering and redemption; death and new life; sacrifice and victory. Together, the bishop reminds us that Good Friday and Easter reveal what “love” is through who he is and who we are called to become.