Chapter 36: The care of the sick in the monastery
The care of those who are sick in the community is an absolute priority, which must rank before every other requirement, so that there may be no doubt that it is Christ who is truly served in them. (From Ch. 36 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Being sick, or being with those who are sick, can sometimes radically simplify my vision, and make me more sensitive to Christ's healing power of relationship.
I like what some would say, that being sick, at least mentally ill, is part of the human condition. It is good for me to remember that everyone I will meet today is recovering from life in some way. The religions of the world seem to begin, in one way or another, like the Buddhists, whose First Noble Truth is that to live is to suffer. It helps me to remember the inevitability of illness, as well as the two other human “unavoidables”, aging and death, whenever I am tempted to feel sorry for myself, or meet with another person’s anger or fear .
ReplyDeleteThe hands that have been my tools for service are incapacitated for a while and I am being served instead. This situation has given me pause as I reflect on aging and incapacity and the kind help of others. Christ is here in the whole situation. By letting go of complaining, demanding, and despair, and the "poor little me" syndrome, the sunlight and joy and gratefulness of God's love can shine through others. They are graced and so am I.
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