Cardiologist of the Eucharist!

By Dr. Gerard Abreo, MD –

On August 28th, 2023, my daughter Rachel was being confirmed in Houston, TX, alongside more than forty youths. As has happened in previous years, the retired bishop, still in excellent health, celebrated the Mass and bestowed the Sacrament of Confirmation on the children.

After the consecration and before the Lord’s Prayer, the bishop suddenly moved away from the altar and collapsed onto his chair. Physicians and several nurses rushed to the altar and found that he was sweating profusely and losing consciousness. It was unclear whether he was having a stroke or a heart attack. In the chaos that ensued at the altar, my request to immediately place him head down was initially ignored, but then suddenly his chair was turned around, the bishop was now head down at my feet, next to the tabernacle, and everyone listened to my orders. Going in-and-out of consciousness, he tried to stand, telling me that he needed to distribute Communion. I insisted that he put his head down, and he instantly obeyed. A minute later, the pastor anointed him, absolved him of his sins, and gave him Holy Communion.

The stunned and fearful congregation witnessed the sacraments of anointing, reconciliation, Holy Communion, and only a few minutes prior, confirmation. Many believed that the bishop had passed away. A few seconds after receiving the sacraments, there was a significant clinical improvement. The bishop regained complete consciousness, told me that he takes only a cholesterol medication, and asked what was happening.

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Introducing myself as a cardiologist, I told him that we were trying to figure out why his blood pressure dropped. EMS arrived and measured the bishop’s blood pressure, which was now surprisingly normal, without any IV fluids or medicines. My medical opinion was that this was severe dehydration, and after giving him oral fluids he would not need to go to the hospital, but several medical professionals at the altar recommended otherwise. The bishop sat up and proclaimed, “I will not go to the hospital”.

After the Mass, I went to the ambulance and took responsibility for not sending him to the hospital. The bishop held my hand tightly as he made his way to the sacristy, to the applause of the congregation. After giving him fluids, juice, and salty goldfish, the bishop was now back to his normal state.

Three days later, attending daily Mass at a nearby parish, to my surprise, the prayers of the faithful were for the same bishop who was coming to confirm the youth of this church, as they had heard what happened at his previous confirmation Mass. The church administrator came up to me while I was at adoration. I told her to instruct the bishop to hydrate and eat a snack with salt before celebrating Mass and that he would be just fine.

This time, everything went perfectly, and the following day, the bishop drove back to his hometown in south Texas. This story is still spreading through the entire Catholic community in the area, in which I am blessed to have been practicing cardiology for the last 25 years.

I believe this was yet another Eucharistic miracle, several of which I witnessed during the pandemic when, while seeing an increased number of patients in the hospital and clinic, I was surprised, blessed, and honored to be the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion for the hospital. Initially intended for only one very sick patient, as the pandemic dragged on, I brought the Eucharistic Jesus to sick for more than a year.

During that time, most COVID patients were devastated and even inconsolable after receiving what they believed to be a death sentence diagnosis. The amount of fear that these patients experienced, due to the political climate, was extreme. Cardiologists were actively involved in such cases because COVID pneumonia mimics congestive heart failure.

As soon as I brought the Body of Christ into the room, I was blessed to see the patterns of Grace. Weeping was always present when I entered these rooms. The sickest patients would focus on the raised Host with their eyes suddenly wide open. After I had distributed Communion, I was often able to witness forgiveness and reconciliation within families that had been long broken, demonstrating emotional and spiritual healing to all. Some of the patients would peacefully pass away only a few hours later. The sickest amongst them had a great hunger for the Eucharist.

Each day was filled with miracles. I would like to share some of them.

• An 83-year-old Baptist, visibly crying, called to me, and said, “Dr. Abreo, I see Jesus in you,” while I held the Eucharist in the pix to give to another patient on the same floor. The elderly gentleman joined the RCIA program and he was received into the Catholic Church a year later.
• A 60-year-old man was in septic shock, along with suffering from kidney and liver failure after bypass surgery. He was not expected to survive. Yet, 24 hours after receiving the Eucharist, he had a complete recovery.
• An 80-year-old woman’s heart rate decreased to only 35 beats per minute after TAVR(valve replacement from the groin). During the prayers before receiving the Eucharist, the nurse noticed that the patient’s heart rate rose to 76 bpm. Instead of needing the pacemaker that had been ordered, she was discharged the same day.
• A 76-year-old woman who suffered from recurrent unexplained cardiac arrest with underlying severe heart failure (planned for Hospice care) had a miraculous recovery after receiving the Eucharist. She was able to have a defibrillator and was discharged after 2 days.
• An 89-year-old man had an infected pacemaker removed. He was in the hospital for 3 weeks. Yet just 3 days after receiving the Eucharist, his blood culture was negative and he got a new pacemaker.

Those who obtained complete healing were likely to pray the daily rosary and divine mercy chaplet, and actively attempted to align their own will with that of God through prayer. They understood that believing in God’s existence is not the same as believing in His goodness and trusting Him. Their physical healing was a sign that led them to an even deeper relationship with God.

So often, we think of miracles as being distant events that are so departed from us that we could never experience one ourselves. Yet, I have lived these miracles, occurring in our own day, in tear-soaked hospital rooms. How wrong it would be to allow the memory of these miracles of Divine power to perish. We are given miracles because of God’s goodness, compassion, and pity, for the purpose of intensifying faith for the individual and those around him. Further, they are a sign of what will come, that if we die in a state of grace, we will be purified through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Acknowledgement: Would thank Ms. Sarah Cain for her editing and encouragement.

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Dr. Gerard Abreo, MD is a cardiology specialist in Webster, Texas, United States and has over 31 years of experience in the medical field. He graduated from St John’s Medical College Bangalore India in 1991. He is affiliated with medical facilities Houston Healthcare Clear Lake and Houston Healthcare Mainland. He is grateful for his Catholic upbringing, faith, education and morals.