God is Love? What does this mean. This encyclical explains the Christian meaning of love. Is eros involved? You know, the sexual recieving love. The pope says yes! He calls eros ascending love, that the Church never got rid of. Even Christ on the cross has eros. Not specifically in the sexual sense, but it involves Christ effort to win our love. Christ gives himself on the cross-agape, and also recieves our love-eros. Pope Benedict explains the 3 forms of love known by the Greeks-eros, philia, and agape. the most important being agape, the love that is gift of self, sacrificial, decending love. Then there is philia, which is love given and recieved in friendship. One last statement- la papa says- the truth is not some intelligent thought or some ethical ideal we have, but is an event determined by a relationship with a Person(Christ). caoi.