In June, the sun reaches its zenith in the sky of our northern hemisphere, bringing much needed light, warmth, and vitamin D. Produced by our skin in response to sunlight, this nutrient is essential for building up our bone health and immunity.

This month we celebrate another kind of nournishment though: the Body and Blood of Christ, given to build up our strength and bring us into the Divine life. Gerard Manley Hopkins’ translation of the great hymn to the Eucharist, Adoro Te Devote, captures the hunger that this gift should awaken in us:

Jesus whom I look at shrouded here below,

I beseech thee, send me what I thirst for so,

Some day to gaze on thee face to face in light

And be blest forever with thy glory’s sight.

Unfathomable though it is, sunlight itself is merely a “bare shadow” of the light of God’s presence, through which our souls may be built to full strength.