God’s Voice
Submitted by Michael Leach on April 17, 2008 – 9:14 amNo Comment
Walter called me a few days before his death. “Hello?” he said. Every time I’d pick up the phone and hear his warm baritone voice, I’d say “Walter, how good to hear from you!”
This time there was a pause, and Walter asked, “Who is this?”
“It’s Mike.”
“How good to hear from you!” he said. “Thank you for calling me!”
I knew something was up.
But it was the same dear Walter. He asked about my wife who has Alzheimer’s, as he always did. “She’s right here,” I said. “She wants to say hello.”
“Hello, Vickie,” he said. “I am praying for you at Mass every day.” And he was, for four years, since the day we received the diagnosis.
“It means everything to me,” she said.
That was the last we heard from Walter, but Vickie and I will remember his voice forever. It was deep and rich and good and kind – just like God’s voice must be.
Walter and I never met in person but as the publisher of his autobiography Long Have I Loved You, and one of his favorites Justice: A Global Adventure, we became phone friends who got together every few weeks. We talked about books and the church and God and life. Walter was always more interested in my thoughts or endeavors than he was in his own. Only the great ones are like that.
Everyone at Orbis Books loved to receive phone calls from Father Burghardt. They knew “God’s voice” right away and always told others how wonderful he was to work with, how grateful he was for the smallest favors, and how sweet he was. We sent Walter laminated plaques of his covers. He hung them on his wall as if they had been designed by Michelangelo, and showed them to everyone. It wasn’t pride, but simple gratitude for people who loved him enough to make that small gesture. Only the really great ones are like that.
When Walter went nearly blind in the last five years of his life, he worked with his friend Kathy Waldron in continuing to write. His creativity was a fountain of youth that nothing could stop. Close to sightless, he was thrilled to write an article on vision for a medical journal. Kathy visited Walter at Manresa Hall during his illnesses, and became his bridge to the wider world. Walter told me about a new book of “short sermons for preachers on the run” that he was writing with Kathy’s help. He asked me if it would be alright if her name could also be on the cover because he couldn’t do it without her. “Of course, Walter,” I said. “We can do anything you want. And, after all, that would only be justice.”
“Justice….” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Yes,” he said. “If I die then, make sure Kathy finishes it, and then you publish it. I think priests might find it helpful.” Only the greatest ones are like that.
I miss God’s voice.
