Fr. David Smith, MIC

Local Superior
Washington, D.C.

First Vows: 8/15/2013
Final Vows: 8/16/2019
Priestly Ordination: 8/17/2020

Assignments and dates:
National Shine of The Divine Mercy, Stockbridge, Massachusetts: August – December 2020
Parochial Vicar, Saint Peter’s Parish, and assisted at Holy Rosary of Pompei Parish, Kenosha, Wisconsin: December 2020 – February 2021, August 2021 - August 2022
Saint Patrick’s Parish and Saint Mary’s Parish, Plano, Illinois: February 2021 – August 2021
Assistant Novice Master, Washington DC House: August 2022 - August 2023
Local Superior, Washington DC House: August 2023 - Present

Do you have a devotion to a particular Saint(s)?
I do have some favorite saints in St. John Paul II and Padre Pio. First, St. John Paul II also loved the Blessed Virgin Mary very much. His Papal Motto, Totus Tuus (“Totally yours”), is his acceptance of the Blessed Virgin Mary as His Mother and Queen (Jn.19:27). He entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he asked her to help him in His Papal ministry, and he honored her as his Mother. Saint John Paul II’s reliance on the Blessed Virgin Mary helped him to do the Will of God, and to serve Jesus Christ and the Church. We baptized in the Church are the Body of Christ, and the Saints in Heaven can assist us with prayers and helps, if we ask them to pray for us just as we can pray for one another on earth. Their prayers are supercharged, because they are in Heaven, and they persevered to the end. Most importantly, the Blessed Virgin Mary has the most honor of all the Saints, because God gave her that honor again, through the grace of the Immaculate Conception.

Saint Padre Pio is another favorite saint of mine. He dedicated himself to Jesus at 5 years old and joined the Capuchin Order at the age of 15. It’s a reminder to me that it’s never too early to follow Christ and to do all for God’s glory. What a great gift St. Padre Pio made of himself back to God. He also spent many hours in the confessional. I am reminded in my priestly ministry to be there for the people for the important Sacrament of Healing in Confession. I also had the privilege of giving a one-day mission at the National Centre for Saint Padre Pio a few years ago in Barto, Pennsylvania. That was a great experience, and I had a fun time with the many pilgrims who came that day.

Do you have a favorite story from your ministry? 
Listening to a woman at the grocery store pour her heart out about how she loves God.  That was a beautiful thing to hear as she teared up.  It was a blessing just to hear her speak about the love of God and how God is working in her life. I just listened to her and it was very peaceful and grace filled.  A true blessing of the Lord. 

Favorite quote from the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska?

The Lord said to me, My daughter, do not tire of proclaiming My mercy. In this way you will refresh this Heart of Mine, which burns with a flame of pity for sinners. Tell My priests that hardened sinners will repent on hearing their words when they speak about My unfathomable mercy, about the compassion I have for them in My Heart. To priests who proclaim and extol My mercy, I will give wondrous power; I will anoint their words and touch the hearts of those to whom they will speak. (Diary, 1521) 

I need to be reminded to preach about God’s unfathomable mercy so that hearts will be softened to come to the Lord.

Favorite prayer to Our Lady?
The Memorare is a beautiful prayer because we can ask the Blessed Virgin Mary for her help and assistance in our lives, which is a consolation and blessing. It’s a blessing because as our Mother, she can intercede and help us in our daily trials (see CCC 969). Since she is Immaculate, through the grace of God, she can help us receive blessings from God. The Blessed Virgin Mary is perfectly united to God’s Will through the grace of the immaculate Conception. She is Our Mother too (Jn 19:27). Thus, I like this prayer because I can call upon her and beseech her help each day, or as often as I speak to her, especially invoking her help with the Memorare Prayer.

His story:
Father David Smith, MIC, grew up in Southern California in the city of Azusa.  He is from a large family of nine, with five sisters and three brothers. While growing up in the faith, David had a closeness to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and her presence in his life lead him to serve Christ and the Church. God’s grace and goodness in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary opened his heart to God, and to the tender care of his Heavenly Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary.  

Father David graduated college with a business degree and worked in the business field for seven years before he heard the call to pursue the vocation of religious life. After a period of prayer and reflection (and some pilgrimages), Father David entered the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception in 2011 as a postulant. Upon completion of his peminary work at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington D.C., Father David graduated in May 2020. 

More on Fr. David:
The Marians’ Newest Priest  
‘A Servant,’ in Imitation of Christ 
In Search of the Newborn King 
Clarion call of the Marians 
Perpetually Professed! 
Making the Immaculate Conception My Own 
Call Them ‘Brothers’!