Patrick, the Pilgrim

Yesterday at lunch I sat across the table from one younger "monks" who has been around since I arrived. I've noticed that he seems to know his way around pretty well, and I've seen him entering the one "monastic enclosure" area. However, he doesn't wear the robes or sit with the Brothers during the services. I always assumed he was a novice (a monk in training).

So I asked him what his story was. It turns out that he calls himself a pilgrim. He became homeless when he was 17 and then he wandered for three years. Starting about four years ago he went to a (different) monastery and offered to trade hard work for room and meals. He now travels from monastery to monastery, staying a few months in each place that will have him. He's pretty sure he will eventually join a monastic order, I guess he's still seeking which one it will be. Currently, he seems to be working on keeping up the considerable grounds of the monastery (mowing laws, building garden walls, etc.).

I asked him if he enjoys it, and he said he struggled for a while with the idea of not owning anything, so four years ago, he would occasionally leave a monastery to work for a bit to buy "useless stuff" and now he realizes "that if you have a roof, food and love, what else do you need?"

While I'm not interested in becoming a monk, I guess I've never really thought about the process somebody goes through to become one. Yes, I know the monastery has an official "monk training program" which takes years. But how does God move a person in that direction? I would imagine that Patrick's path is one of many.