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Melissa Coburn

Melissa Coburn

Melissa Coburn is a Melbourne writer.

Saying the Rosary prayers, with the aide memoire of beads, is a common Catholic practice during Lent.

The many benefits of the rosary

Catholics have been reciting the rosary for 900 years. Think of it as an early form of mindfulness, with attention on the life of Christ, and in particular his mother, Mary.

  • Melissa Coburn

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Grand days … just don’t call me Grandma.

The kid who bought me lollies claims she’s about to be a grandma. I’ll get over it

This is confronting. It’s like the first time you realise you can no longer swing across monkey bars. Does this mean I’m old?

  • Melissa Coburn
Sometimes a paddleboard and a body of water is all you need.

Take a deep breath of nature

Immersion in nature, especially with children, can bring peace. Then there’s the peace of Christ.

  • Melissa Coburn
There’s no Mass like Midnight Mass: Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa leads a Christmas Midnight Mass in the Church of the Nativity, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, 2021.

There’s no Mass like Midnight Mass

For those who go to church but once a year, it might just be at midnight for Christmas.

  • Melissa Coburn
Not the North Pole but, quite possibly, the real-deal Santa.

What to do when your child plays detective to unmask Santa

If you are accused of being Santa, perhaps diffuse the crisis by answering a question with a question.

  • Melissa Coburn
Hands up who’s loving learning … a World Teachers’ Day tribute.

An unexpected letter arrived at my dad’s funeral – it contained one of life’s great lessons

Its author was a legendary teacher who struck fear into prankster girls – and transformed our lives.

  • Melissa Coburn
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Erika Kirk forgave the killer of her husband, Charlie, US right-wing activist.

To forgive is divine – and a human obligation

When you listen to the Lord’s Prayer closely, it makes it clear that God’s forgiveness is predicated upon our forgiveness of others.

  • Melissa Coburn
Melissa Coburn and her daughter.

My youngest child’s in Year 12: It’s the end of school for all of us

My daughter’s graduation is triggering memories of my own final weeks. Will she feel the same way?

  • Melissa Coburn
Jim Chalmers is the first treasurer to talk expansively about the gender pay gap and the economic productivity benefits of lifting women’s workforce participation.

I called my friend ‘flighty’ in year 8. It took her decades to tell me how much it stung

Words can crush the listener or soothe them. You must decide how your story is told.

  • Melissa Coburn
Blue light may not cause cancer, but it can change your skin.

I can’t take my eyes off my husband’s ‘rival’. Is this more than a dalliance?

My husband’s nemesis knows all my secrets, my passwords and bank accounts and has access to my emails. He controls my diary. But I can’t walk away.

  • Melissa Coburn