The Power of the Rosary

October is the month of the Rosary – a powerful devotion that Catholics have prayed throughout the centuries. But what makes the Rosary so popular and so powerful?

Fr. Carl Pieber, International Director of the Miraculous Medal Association, stopped by Morning Air® recently to discuss the power of the Rosary.

Fr. Pieber began the conversation by posing the question, “Why the Rosary? Why has this prayer been so effective, powerful, popular, and come down through the ages?”

He answered, “Because it is the only prayer in the Church that takes Scripture, dogma, our belief, the Trinity, God the Father, Jesus Christ, and Mary all in one great prayer. The mysteries of the Rosary tell us all that we believe about the Catholic Church. Many of the dogmas, all the signs, everything we have.”

Fr. Pieber explained the power of the Rosary comes from the power of Mary’s intercession, and her special role as the Mother of God.

“When the earliest Christians prayed to Mary, they prayed to her as the Mother of God, the Mother of Jesus Christ, their savior,” he said. “And they knew she was special, they knew she had power, they knew she was selected by God. And so they knew God wanted her to be God’s mother. … She loves God so much that God totally works through her … It’s just amazing how she just takes you right to God”

There are stories throughout Church history that tell of the power of the Rosary. But these are not just stories of the past, the Rosary is still a powerful presence in our world today. Fr. Pieber shared his own recent experience of seeing what a devotion to the Rosary can do in areas where Christians are still persecuted.

“I was just on a big trip to Asia to visit the associations out in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos,” he said. “We have about 300 members in Laos, and it was kind of underground, but they are up now and running. And every one of those members had a Rosary in their hand.”

“Now, if you don’t think that is a witness to a power, you are really wrong,” he continued. “That means that Mary was their power, their hope. They prayed that all the time, and look at what they’ve done. They keep expanding in a country that is negative to Christianity. It doesn’t bother them, they are emboldened to ask their neighbors – who are usually Buddhist or Hindus – to join the faith.”

When Fr. Pieber was with this community that had a devotion to the Rosary, he himself felt the power of this beautiful prayer.  He said, “All of these people praying that Rosary – their favorite prayer – and I was there with them. And it just said to me, ‘I am here.’ That’s what I felt, Mary saying, ‘I am here. I am here protecting these people, loving these people, bringing them to Jesus.'”

If you haven’t prayed the Rosary in a while – or ever – Fr. Pieber has a simple piece of advice for you and for all of us during this month of the Rosary: “I’m telling you, if you haven’t done it in a while, get to it and do it.”

Listen to the full conversation below:

Morning Air can be heard weekdays from 6:00 – 9:00 a.m. Eastern/3:00 – 6:00 a.m. Pacific on Relevant Radio® and the Relevant Radio App.

Stephanie Foley serves as a Digital Media Producer at Relevant Radio®. She is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she studied journalism, and she has worked in Catholic radio for 12 years. Stephanie is a wife, a mother of three boys, and in her free time she enjoys reading, running, and really good coffee. You can find more of Stephanie’s writing at relevantradio.com and on the free Relevant Radio mobile app.