from Joan Chittister's The Rule of Saint Benedict
Benedict writes: "Care of the sick must rank above and before all else so that they may truly be served as Christ who said: "I was sick and you visited me" (Matthew 25:36) and "what you did for one of these least of my people you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). Let the sick on their part bear in mind that they are served our of honor for God, and let them not by their excessive demands distress anyone who serves them. Still, the sick must be patiently borne with, because serving them leads to a greater reward. Consequently, the prioress or abbot should be extremely careful that they suffer no neglect.
Joan Chittister's commentary: "The rabbis say, 'The purpose of maintaining the body in good health is to make it possible for you to acquire wisdom.' Benedictine spirituality is about coming to a sense of the fullness of life. It is not about being self-destructive or living sour lives or dropping down its of privacy so deep that no other ever dare intrude. Benedictine spirituality never gives up on life even though death is known to be the entry to its everlasting joy. Why? Becaue, the rabbi shows us, every day we have gives us another chance to become the real persons we are meant ot be. Why? Because, the Scripture says, to serve the sick is to serve the Christ.
The point for us all, perhaps is never to give up on life and never to doubt that every bit of kindness, every tender touch we lay upon another in life can heal what might otherwise have died, certainly in them, perhaps even in ourselves."