Morning Star Newsletter Monthly Reflection 

October 2026

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One bead at a time

Author: Peggy Sue Mutchler, Youth and Adult Ministry Events Program Coordinator  

About a dozen years ago, I was sitting on the couch in my parents’ living room visiting with my dad. He randomly handed me a pack of papers. I slowly pored over the words on the paper, trying to understand. 

 “Can you believe this?” he said. “They tell me I have cancer.”  

One bead at a time… 

At the time, my dad was a vibrant, healthy 80-year-old who would walk miles each day, tend to his garden, feed the chickens, and use his humor and wisdom to entertain his visiting grandchildren. 

After this diagnosis, surgery would be a must, and so would going off his blood thinner. Going off blood thinners for surgery is always a big risk, but this was a risk that needed to be taken. A risk that would end up being life changing. After surgery, my dad had a stroke, paralyzing half of his body. The doctors suggested physical therapy at the local nursing home. I checked him in, but he could only process that he was in a nursing home, not that he was only there for physical therapy. His body, namely his kidneys, started shutting down. We took him home on hospice care.  

One bead at a time… 

Once home, he perked up and started eating again. Although paralyzed, he started to thrive, only as far as a bedridden man could. 

Even though being at home was a huge benefit, it was still very challenging and required 24/7 care. However, I could see many blessings that emerged from his suffering. One was watching his faith stay stable; an acceptance to God’s Will. I also witnessed my mom’s generous giving of herself take a deeper form — depth I didn’t know was possible. A quiet surrender to God had taken place, even though I know it wasn’t as easy as it appeared.  

One bead at a time… 

I was blessed to enjoy my dad and his wit for another year and a half before he passed.  

One bead at a time… 

Before my dad’s passing, during our visits, we prayed quite often. My children enjoyed praying often with my mom and my dad too, mostly my dad’s favorite prayers: the Memorare, the Divine Mercy, and the Stations of the Cross. My kids loved it when ‘grandma’ brought out the ‘BigGuns’ to pray with, aka the giant wooden wall Rosary. In those moments, everyone felt the love of prayer; it always felt sincere. It was focused. It was prayed in faith. 

But not all prayer feels that way.  

Have you ever unintentionally measured your prayer by how much you accomplish, like a checklist? 

Mass: check.
Adoration: check.
Rosary: check. 

 Have you ever attended Mass, Adoration, or prayed the Rosary, but at some point, your mind completely checked out; completely lost focus?

Once we realize we are just checking boxes, or completely praying in a fog, we usually also realize this is a time to regroup; to check our heart, to check our intent, not check boxes. Once we do that, we can begin to see that each prayer is an invitation. Since October is the month of the Rosary, let’s use it as the example. We can say that each Rosary, each Mystery, each bead is an invitation from the Lord:

Come a little closer.
Give me this moment.
Stay with me here.  

That is often how God works in our lives. 

One bead at a time… 

We want to become holy, usually all at once. We want our prayers answered quickly, our weaknesses conquered immediately, our families healed, our fears removed, and our faith made strong.  

But God often leads us differently. One prayer at a time. One act of forgiveness at a time. One small sacrifice. One quiet, “yes.” One return to him, after we have wandered away.  

One bead at a time… 

Mary’s life was much the same. Her great yes at the Annunciation was followed by thousands of smaller yeses: the journey to Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt, the hidden years at Nazareth, standing beneath the Cross, waiting with the disciples for the Holy Spirit.  

The Rosary places these moments into our hands, one bead at a time.  

 Perhaps that is one of its greatest lessons.  

We do not have to understand everything God is doing. We do not have to solve tomorrow today. We simply need to be faithful with the bead that is in our hand—the prayer before us, the person before us, the grace God is offering us right now.  

And when we reach the end of our Rosary, we may look back and realize something beautiful: God was leading us the entire way.  

One bead at a time.  

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.