Innocent Smith is a Dominican brother — devoted not to beer and baseball like many of his 24-year-old peers, but to serving God and preaching God’s word. He has given up much for his faithful pursuit but has gained a joy and clarity uncommon among people of any age. Smith spoke with The Washington Examiner about Lenten sacrifices and the blessings they can reveal to Christians preparing for the Easter celebration. He will lecture on the history, influence and meaning of Lenten Gregorian chants at 7:15 p.m. March 27 at Northeast D.C.’s Dominican House of Studies. Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?

I am a Christian by having been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and by having accepted that the one God who hasrevealed himself throughout historyhas now spokento us in Jesus Christ. Further, I’m a Catholic because I believe there’s a continuity between the church that Jesus instituted and the Catholic church today. And I’m a Dominican, which is not a faith, but a community approved by the church as an effective means of living out the faith.