Ultimate Love
Julián Carrón - Today, we see the true meaning of what we glimpsed yesterday: that Jesus, “having loved His own who were in the world, loved them to the end.” The account of the Passion we have just heard, which reaches its climax in Christ’s death, reveals what it means to love “to the end.” Indeed, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13). To lay down one’s life is the greatest sign of love. Therefore, it is on the cross that the full extent of Christ’s love for us is revealed.
In His total self-giving, He communicates the power of His love. He does not remain distant but defeats death and pain from within, overcoming them through His sacrifice. On the cross of Christ, the very nature of the Christian God is revealed: a God who, out of love, enters into suffering and death. “God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all” (Rom 8:32).
This total gift of His Son is the summit of revelation, for it shows us who God truly is: not a distant, invulnerable sovereign, but a God who loves to the point of sharing our humanity to the very end, without ceasing to be God. The cross is the place where the mystery of the Incarnation is fulfilled, where God’s love and truth are perfectly united.
Truth is often conceived as rigid and absolute, while love is seen as flexible and subjective. Yet, on the cross of Christ, love and truth meet perfectly: the truth of God is that He is love, and God’s love is true because He gives Himself completely. The cross, therefore, is the place where truth takes on flesh, suffering, and history, revealing itself as saving mercy.
This represents a radical reversal of our understanding of greatness. In a world that often measures strength by domination and value by visibility, we see instead that true glory lies not in power but in love that gives itself, even when it costs silence, rejection, or the cross.
This is the foundation of our hope: knowing that God did not remain distant but chose the path of humility gives meaning to our fragility. It invites us to live faith not as a privilege but as participation in God’s own way of being—marked by gift, truth, and silent greatness.
Only with His presence can we endure any suffering, darkness, or even death without being crushed by fear. Only a familiarity with Christ, like the one He shares with the Father, enables us to live every circumstance as an opportunity to know the true nature of God. God spares us nothing—not because He does not love us, but because He loves us so deeply that He desires to reveal His victory within our flesh, freeing us from the fear that so often grips us.
Good Friday – Passion of the Lord
Notes from the homily of Julián Carrón, April 18, 2025
(First reading: Is 52:13-53:12; Psalm 30 (31); Second reading: Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9; Gospel: Jn 18:1-19:42)
