Catholic lay evangelist says the rosary is ‘the greatest prayer for overcoming vice’

Jan 3, 2026 / 17:45 pm (CNA).

Years ago, lay evangelist Gabriel Castillo physically battled demonic forces as he struggled against a pornography addiction, which he eventually won with the help of Our Lady’s intercession as he prayed the rosary.

Castillo spoke to EWTN News at the SEEK 2026 conference in Fort Worth, where he promoted his new book, “The Power of the Rosary.”

He said the rosary is “the greatest prayer for overcoming vice.”

He cited a 2018 study that found that 91% of men and 61% of women view porn regularly. To combat porn addiction, Castillo said praying the rosary is “essential.”

Asked how to pray well, he started by saying that “it’s ok to begin badly … Be satisfied doing it poorly, just get it done. The only bad rosary is the rosary you didn’t pray. As you pray, you will get better at prayer.”

“At the beginning of each mystery pause, recollect yourself, visualize the mystery as if you’re present. Imagine what it would have been like to be at the Nativity, to hold the beautiful baby Jesus in your arms, and realize that the baby is the Alpha and the Omega, and address your intention to the child Jesus as you’re visualizing,” he said.

“Visualize the mystery as if it’s happening in the place that you are,” he continued. “If you’re on a walk, and you see a tree, visualize Jesus hanging on that tree.”

When we pray the rosary in this way, Castillo says, it is “radically transformational.” He encouraged Catholics to pray the rosary throughout the day, and to pray it more often if one already prays every day.

“If you deny yourself twice a day, or more, and devote that time to prayer, what would happen to your life?” he asked. “If you make space for the voice of God, and allow it to penetrate your life and mind, the presence of Christ will be with you in those times when you’re not praying the rosary.”

“Your growth, your transformation, will take place at a much greater rate,” he said.

Four tips for praying the rosary

Castillo offered practical tips for praying the rosary on a regular basis. First, he suggested carrying a rosary everywhere one goes, in the hand, a pocket, or purse. (He carried one wound around his hand while speaking to EWTN News.)

Second, he suggested having a good intention: “Always have your ‘Why?’ before your eyes. We will do any ‘What’ if we have a good ‘Why,’” he said.

He recommended giving yourself “a time limit, not because you’ll stop praying when you reach it, but you’ll see it as a finish line, a goal.”

His third tip is: “Don’t be scrupulous. The rosary is a bouquet of roses to Our Lady and a weapon in the hands of the Christian. The devil will do anything to get you to stop praying, using distraction and discouragement,” he said.

“If you hear a voice in your head telling you to pray later, or ‘You’re not good at this’, that’s from the enemy.”

“St. Francis de Sales says if you spend all your prayer fighting off distractions that’s more meritorious than having fuzzy feelings after prayer. Constancy is a sign of spiritual maturity,” Castillo said.

The fourth tip is to make a plan: “If you’re going to be successful at anything, you have a rule of life,” he said. “When should you pray? First thing in the morning, get your prayers in. If a tragedy strikes, you’ve already prayed. We don’t know what Jesus is going to call us to. You have grace at your back already if you pray in the morning.”

Morally, ‘I was dead inside’

Castillo told EWTN News that he grew up without a father and without religion, and sought the meaning of life from the world, which led him to his sexual addiction in the form of pornography use.

After attending the University of St. Thomas in Houston, he became intrigued by the “reason” for Catholicism. Intellectually, he became convinced of the truth of the Catholic faith, but morally, “I was a dead man inside,” Castillo said.

Through the grace of a relationship with a religious sister, whom he called a “tough woman who told me to stop sinning,” and a devotion to the rosary, Castillo eventually healed from his addiction, but not before a physical struggle with the forces of evil.

The evening in college he first resolved to fight his porn addiction, he failed: “Within 30 miutes, I had no willpower,” he said.

However, “that evening, I had true contrition. I was crying, asking God for mercy, recognizing I was a slave to sin. As I was saying those words audibly, I heard a demonic voice mocking what I was saying.”

After an inspiration to pray to St. John Vianney, he told the religious sister the next day. She told him to pray the rosary, and gave him one, along with a pamphlet on how to do it.

When he tried to pray, he felt “a force choking me. It pinned me to the bed. I then heard another voice telling me to pray the rosary in my head. I wanted to cry out to my mom, who was in the other room, but I couldn’t.”

“I began to pray the ‘Hail Mary’ in my mind. I could feel the force on my throat let up. The second I said the word ‘Mary,’ the force left me and everything was back to normal.”

Castillo said that experience was just the beginning of a moral crisis he had to overcome, but after that, praying the rosary regularly felt like a wall of protection surrounded him, and he no longer felt hopeless, even though it was not easy to avoid sin.

“It took time and practice avoiding the near occasion of sin. I could still hear the devil, but the voice was distant, not on my shoulder,” he said.

A husband and father of four, Castillo serves as director of youth ministry at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land, Texas.

Castillo is the founder of True Faith TV, host of the podcast Children of Mary, and host of the YouTube channel Gabi After Hours. He has garnered 50 million views across various social media platforms.

He frequently speaks at conferences, parishes, and events, including appearances on shows like The Catholic Gentleman, Pints with Aquinas, and The Catholic Talk Show.

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