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 para. 1 of Ch. 36 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

From time to time, I've noticed when someone is repulsed by the sickness of others, or avoids admitting to sickness in themselves as if it were a character flaw. But I hear St. Benedict suggesting that it is the sick who most truly represent Christ, and that their care is an absolute priority. This coincides with my own experience that the sick or the frail are sometimes the most "transparent" in a sense, revealing something about creation, that creation is animated not by ego but by love.