Many of us know what it’s like to have God get under our skin.

But here’s a story of a deacon in California who perhaps understands that better than most: he’s Dr. David Sire, a dermatologist with a powerful backstory about his vocation:

Sire, of Capistrano Beach, was a recent graduate of UC Irvine who was practicing medicine at the Naval Medical Center in Long Beach when, in 1973, personal tragedy struck.

His wife, Lucinda, was pregnant with their third child. She developed a condition, placenta previa, in which the placenta attaches to the bottom of the uterus, causing her to bleed as the baby grew.

Lucinda was taken to the hospital and hemorrhaged in the middle of the night. She was rushed to surgery. The baby was delivered prematurely.

Lucinda almost died. Their son lived for two weeks before dying because of immature lungs.

“It was the hardest and worst thing that we ever experienced,” Sire says. “It called us both to realize that we were not in control of our lives, and that we needed God’s help and love and consolation to help us make some sense or give us perspective on this tragedy.”

Sire, a native of the Bay Area and former lieutenant commander in the Navy, started reading the Bible and going to church regularly.

He became active at St. Angela Merici in Brea, becoming a lector and Eucharistic minister.

Still, he felt a deeper yearning.

He heard about the Catholic Church’s permanent diaconate, a rank just below priest.

After four years of intensive study, Sire, in 1979, became a permanent deacon – a member of the clergy who lives in the secular world

He has been affiliated with Mission San Juan Capistrano for 20 years, and is one of two ordained deacons there serving a parish of about 5,000.

A father of six adult children (four girls, two boys), Sire strives, like all permanent deacons who are married with children, to embody the Catholic sacrament of marriage and holiness of the family.

With classical music softly playing in his office, he has a calm, reflective, paternal demeanor – a man who appears used to listening to the tribulations of others, and dispensing his guidance.

There’s much more, so check out the link. And whisper up a warm prayer for this doctor of souls (and skin).

Photo: Dr. Sire by Christina House, Orange County Register