As the Catholic Church in Australia marks National Vocations Awareness Week (2–9 August), we speak to Laura Burton about her calling and vocation.
If you have ever needed to call St Bernadette’s Catholic Church in Castle Hill, or visit their parish office, you may have had the privilege of meeting their office administrator Laura Burton.
The vibrant almost-35-year-old, has faithfully worked with the parish since 2018, starting as a youth minister.
Although her role within the parish may have changed, her mission remains the same: to love and serve the people that God has placed into her life as a single lay woman.
“Love, that’s my thing. [To have] the opportunity to really be there, for them,” she said.
Laura with Bishop Vincent and other pilgrims during WYD 2023. Image: Supplied
Laura expresses appreciation for her current vocation, seeing it as an opportunity to serve those who God has placed around her.
Whether it is the elderly, young parents, youth or her own family, Laura offers herself as a gift with no reservations. “It makes such a difference in their general well-being to be there for them,” she said.
Laura’s passions first appeared in her love of teaching, having spent many years as a primary school teacher.
She believed that her strong love for children meant she was called to motherhood.
But God had other plans.
Laura and her parents. Image: Supplied
When discerning her vocation, she did not have a flashlight moment. Instead, it was through serving her family and parish community that she found contentedness in being a single woman.
Through her singleness, God has been able to use her in ways that she would not have been free to serve in if she was in another vocation.
“For some of us God has something really special planned. Something we wouldn’t be capable of if we were married or in consecrated life.”
Laura spoke on the importance of these vocations, having witnessed her own friends and family members going through pregnancy, birth and transitioning into motherhood. But she discerned that this was a sacrifice she was not called to make, and instead she uses her skills and capacities in other areas.
“A mother of a one-year-old can relate to other mothers with young children, but if she needs help then a mother with older children, or myself can step in and say, ‘Let me help you, I can do this for you’.”
Enjoying time with family. Image: Supplied
This is one example of why Laura believes that community is the foundation, not only for her vocation, but all vocations. “It’s not just about keeping your community to people with all the same vocation.
“Married people have married friends, and sisters have sisters, but I think that through a mixed community, we grow as a community.”
It is through inter-vocational, inter-generational communities that all Catholics alike can flourish and grow in holiness.
The freedom her vocation allows is not about pursuing freedom for freedom’s sake, but rather to pursue God.
“A single vocation does not mean you’re going to be single forever for the rest of your life. God is calling to use you for the glory of Him, in the everyday.”
The most important thing for her is obedience to God and trusting in His plan for her. Image: Supplied
Laura is open to changes to her vocation, whether God places a stronger calling to marriage, or religious life. The most important thing for her is obedience to God and trusting in His plan for her.
“My vocation is whatever God calls me to be. […] For some people it’s to be a father or mother. Others a religious priest, brother or sister. Sometimes, it’s to be a teacher or nurse, even just being a teenager.”
Having some saints to look up to can certainly help Catholics with their journeys to holiness.
One of Laura’s favorite saints is St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, who was a teacher like her. She also had the chance to visit the hometown of another influential saint, St Teresa of Avila.
Pictured with Fr Andrew Rooney and other friends from WYD. Image: Supplied
Finally, Laura expressed the gift of having our Blessed Mother Mary to fall back on. “I already have a beautiful relationship with my own mother, but the Blessed Mother has been a role model for me.”
Her final encouragement for anyone discerning a vocation is simply about being “patient and seeing what God has in store for you”.
This National Vocations Awareness Week (2-9 August 2026), may these stories inspire all of us to listen more deeply to God’s call, wherever it may lead.
Vocations Awareness Week aligns with the Diocesan Pastoral Plan priorities of Prayer and Formation. To learn more about responding to God’s call, visit Discern My Vocation.
