Little children do not naturally love. Love is not natural to humans and yet love is needed if we are to find happiness in our life. "Love is something that has to be learned". How do we learn it? We learn love first from seeing love. By helping and sharing we grow in love.

In the second reading of today's Mass, St John tells us "Little children, let us love in deed and truth and not merely talk about it". We may have great ideas about good works, but if these ideas remain only in our mind . . . we don't love. The rule of life is Jesus' command "to love as he has loved us". How? "In deeds".

In the Gospel today, Jesus tells us that life in God depends on our union with God. He is the vine, we are the branches. Unless we are joined with Him we cannot have life with Him. Yes, we need union with Christ so that we may learn and grow in love with Christ.

Sunday after Sunday, we gather together for Mass and community prayer, and as we pray and sing together with Jesus present in our midst, we go closer to each other and to God. We learn and feel love. As we give the sign of peace to one another, and as we receive Him in communion, we grow closer to God and to one another and so we learn love because we "abide in Him and He abides in each one of us."