Sunday, July 31, 2011

Space of Grace

God gives me strength but also lets me be,
sometimes I pray, He showers me with grace,
yet not so much that I’m no longer free,
along with help, He always gives me space.
God grants support to give my will some spine,
He wants to guide and yet not to control,
He knows the choice, but wants it to be mine,
we both do battle for my fickle soul.
I want what's right, my body drags me back,
it seems to want a life that's all its own,
God's only there to help take up the slack,
He wants the true me, not some godly clone.
God made me real, which means He made me free,
He leaves my fate and choices up to me.

                                -- by Pete Voelz      2/05

Saturday, July 30, 2011

A Little Finger

I move my little finger and God moves,
God moves my finger right along with me;
the moving does not prove that He approves,
it only proves that He lets me be free.
God does cooperate with me, and I
cooperate with Him without my knowing,
and I must carefully choose the way to fly,
not just whichever way the wind is blowing.
The God Who lets me wag my finger free
will not stop me from making big mistakes,
with freedom comes responsibility,
my choices mean a lot, for heaven's sakes.
O God, grant me the grace to know which way
You want to help my finger move today.

                            -- by Pete Voelz      6/06

Friday, July 29, 2011

A Godly Mood

Sometimes I don't feel in a Godly mood,
I'm tired and then the prayers stick in my throat,
for all His gifts I feel small gratitude,
it seems my sodden bark can barely float.
I brood and feel like God broods on me too,
I cannot deem Him glad with all my sin,
I dread our needed spiritual rendezvous,
I doubt He'll solve the pickle that I'm in.
Between a rock and hard place I feel trapped,
I do not want to look Him in the face,
I strain to find some avenue untapped,
can He surprise me with some easy grace?
Yet my soul worn from fighting this dark night
will sense His presence with the dawning light.

                             -- by Pete Voelz           8/05

Thursday, July 28, 2011

God's Par

What makes far God come down far to me here?
God's love's so great it forces Him to share;
my quiet voice breaks through the atmosphere,
He has no choice but listen to my prayer.
Can I exploit and take advantage of
a God Who makes Himself almost my slave,
or shouldn't I give back my little love,
and both have the acceptance that we crave?
It's natural for us both to love and share,
and necessary for us both to be,
and so desirable that we make a pair,
I'm good for Him as He is good for me.
O God, far from You're being very far,
so close we’re paired we're put upon a par.

                             -- by Pete Voelz      9/06

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Love and Fame

If you share love, you do not need the fame,
some seek the fame and lose love in the trade,
forgetting it's love wins and is the game,
love earns the grade and is itself the grade.
Fame comes and goes, but love is what will last,
fame's just a name for popularity,
love still is there when all the fame has passed,
fame's fantasy to love's reality.
Of course, like fame love can be fleeting too,
few things die quicker than a fickle heart,
but love is faithful when it's deep and true,
full of hope, virtue, mystery and art.
Love's sired by God and nurtured by His grace,
and glancing at your face, I see its trace.

                         -- by Pete Voelz      9/10

(Dedicated to those who make it to their 40th
     anniversary and to those who hope to)

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Grace of God

He has this strange disease, his cross to bear,  
to him, my gifted life's pie in the sky,  
I walk right by and barely see him there,  
yet there but for the grace of God go I.  
I never act the Good Samaritan,
the friends I'm playing with drown down his cry,
I never wonder what he does for fun,
that there but for the grace of God go I.
I'm full of fun, so healthy, happy, free,
I don't see Christ in him or even try--
"What you do to the least, you do to Me,"
or there but for the grace of Christ go I.
Still Judgment Day, Christ, I hope You can see,
not my fun, but Yourself somewhere in me.

                                    -- by Pete Voelz      4/11

(Dedicated to a new friend and an old friend)

Monday, July 25, 2011

Fear But Be Not Afraid

God has no fear, why should I be afraid?
Without You, God, I should fear everything,
I should not fear except when I have strayed,
Fear of the Lord, Psalms say, much good will bring.
I should fear God, not be afraid of Him,
I should hold God in reverence and awe,
my take on God should not be based on whim,
I fear His justice when I break His law.
But if I break His law, my fear can fade,
if I repent I trust His mercy too,
but of my foes, I will not be afraid,
if they are His foes and if I stay true.
I join You, God, in giving up my fear,
so long as I am there and You are here.

                         -- by Pete Voelz      12/05

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Best Bucket List

So what is on my spiritual bucket list,
(Does God have His own bucket list for me?)
the things in life I don’t want to have missed,
that make me glad for all eternity?
O God, I pray You help me to compose
whatever here You want me to fulfill,
the vital items for me You have chose,
so what I do may be true to Your will.
Your Ten Commandments I’ll put near the top,
Your corporal works of mercy I’m fond of,
the scroll of sins I deeply wish to stop,
but most of all Your Great Commands to love.
Lord, as I kick the bucket when I die,
I hope it and our bucket list are dry.

                         -- by Pete Voelz       6/11

Saturday, July 23, 2011

I Love You, God

I love You, God, let me say it again,
the magic words You've tried to teach to me;
I love You, God, more than I love my kin,
the You I know and too Your mystery.
I love You, Lord, because of Your command,
and also for all You've provided me,
our world, my life, my family, friends and land,
Your heaven by mercy given so generously.
Since You are love, I just give back to You
the image of Your love You put in me;
and when I really love another true,
it's Your own love reflected that they see.
I love You, Lord, with all the love we share,
in word, in deed, in heart, in loving prayer.

                             -- by Pete Voelz      7/23/11

             (Dedicated to all those I love)

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Bad to Good

All bad gives way to good, for God is good;
from every trajedy there comes a blessing,
because we recognize God's fatherhood,
our sinning brings our humbling and confessing.
We pray "Our Father" for He is Our Lord,
we do believe He rules from heaven above;
all things obey His rule with one accord,
we know Good God rules everything with love.
With all our pain and grief we barely cope,
in His almighty plan we put our trust,
in His mysterious ways we hold out hope,
for we know He is merciful and just.
From all His gifts we sense He is our friend,
from all the bad He'll save us in the end.

                        -- by Pete Voelz        1/04

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Special Loves

God loves me special in two special ways,
one is He made me novel and unique,
to all He gives distinctive sobriquets,
and love to fit our personal mystique.
My biometrics, DNA suffice
to show another like me’s never been,
that one of me will never turn up twice,
no clone to have me ever come again.
God also gives a special love to each,
a kind of love peculiarly our own;
He makes it new from His own infinite reach,
and shares this singular love with me alone.
O God, my unmatched prayer only I pray
and love You back in my own special way.

                         -- by Pete Voelz    7/20/11

Balm and Bread

There is a bread to fill my emptiness,
there is a drink to quench my thirsty soul,
a guiding light to aid me in distress,
an antidote to heal and make me whole,
For every painful time there is a balm,
for every wound, a salve for where it's sore,
no storm at sea that cannot be made calm,
no desperate cell that doesn't have a door.
There is a cast for every broken bone,
a quiet port for every howling wind,
a gentle friend whenever we're alone,
and absolution every time we've sinned.
Sweet Jesus, I can reach and touch Your hand,
for any mystery I don't understand.

                           -- by Pete Voelz       1/08

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

No Test No Rest

We ask God not to lead us to temptation,  
yet freedom brings the taking of the test;  
we lucky humans, out of all creation,  
with heaven's best, eternal rest, are blest.
There is no verdict won without a trial;
there is no victory earned without a war;
no threat undone, no need for us to smile;
no distant shore, no need to more explore.
It is not God Who makes temptation come,
our fallen nature starts the mystery;
some would prefer the world's delirium,
it's not that easy we can be so free.
So made with freedom, we accept the task,
and done, eternal life is all we ask.

                            -- by Pete Voelz       8/04

Monday, July 18, 2011

My Reference Point

(With a bow to Czeslaw Milosz,
Polish poet and Nobel Laureate)

God is my reference point, my link to all,
the alpha and omega of by being,
my ground for truth, my sodium pentothal,
my feeling, hearing, tasting, sensing, seeing.
God is my hypothetical and need,
my craving, dreaming, hoping, thirst and hunger,
He is my root and branch, my fruit and seed,
my change and sameness, older self and younger.
God is my absolute, my universe,
my fear and love, my terrible awe and wonder,
my constant blessing, inescapable curse,
my spiritual light, my natural lightning, thunder.
Omnipotent God, my earthly albatross,
my gentle load, my sweet celestial cross.

                   -- by Pete Voelz           11/04

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Holy Waiter

God waits on me, His towel across His arm,
He gives me water as I order toast;
three drops splash on my forehead like a charm
named for the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
I tell my woes while He makes sure I'm fed,
His salad oil confirms me to persist;
absolving me with blessed daily bread,
He piles upon my plate His Eucharist.
All reconciled He asks me to assert
to wed my wine to one who fills my bowl,
or order holy fare, then for dessert,
a final feast of grace to heal my soul.
From such a waiter, such solicitude,
I can't refuse such sacramental food.

                     -- by Pete Voelz       6/05

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Tangled Lives

I see the tangled webbing of our lives,
the ambiguity of most we do,
the complex nature of our thoughts and drives,
the subtle mix of good, bad, false and true.
I feel bad for the awful things I've done,
the harm to my own life and destiny,
the hurt I've brought to almost everyone,
each sad neglected opportunity.
I sense I've made a mess of everything,
and only God knows how it'll all turn out,
the tawdry ways I've treated God won't bring
an easing of my conscience or my doubt.
Yet since I know God helps the life we spend,
I do believe He'll save us in the end.

                              -- by Pete Voelz      12/04

Friday, July 15, 2011

Galaxy God

The God Who guards the galaxies
also keeps my soul,
the Lord Who whispers in my ear
makes the thunder roll,
the blinding One Who forged the sun
made my eye to see,
before He'd nurse the universe,
He cared for little me.

A trillion years before the stars,
at me the Lord took aim,
amid ten billion people sketched,
He wrote my tiny name,
then He put down a golden crown
for me upon His scroll,
to set in place before His face
my sin-forgivened soul.

Before He birthed the moon and earth,
He blessed my destiny,
then rescued my humanity
with His humility,
for though a king, His suffering
evened up the score,
can any man since time began
ever ask for more?

Eternity and infinity
really do exist,
Incarnate resurrected gift
in my own Eucharist,
the Trinity's divinity
sits on the altar shelf,
so the mystery of the Diety's love
can center on my self.

                  -- by Pete Voelz       1998

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Suffusion

God's light of love suffuses every star,
each drop of ocean and each grain of wheat,
all molecules and atoms that there are,
each granule of salt sharp and sugar sweet.
So too His light of love suffuses me,
unsensed by me, unheard, unfelt, unseen,
unknown to me, but known eternally
and sensed by Him and felt with love most keen.
What contrast 'twixt His light and my dark deep,
how different is our shared attentiveness,
mine feeble, muted, lax, all but asleep,
His constant, stalwart, bright, all but excess.
I pray, O God, help me in others to
suffuse anew the light of love from You.

                              -- by Pete Voelz       4/05

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

God's Power Less

God chooses to use power much less than more,
God wants to win with power more in than out;
instead of rich, He came to us as poor,
He calls with more a whisper than a shout.
A lion Who is more kittenlike than cat,
God answers with a purr more than a roar;
He bunts more than He homers when at bat,
to hit an RBI so we can score.
He'll save a sinful soul with honey sweet,
more than with barrels of vinegar galore;
though He's fought every fight without defeat,
He's more a God of peace than God of war.
Still when I have some hefty spiritual chore,
I pray God shows His power not less but more.

                                -- by Pete Voelz          10/06

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Enchanted Prayer

There is enchantment in the prayers we pray,
but prayer's not magic automatically;
the will of God must have the final say,
prayer's real success is still a mystery.
Prayer seems to change the way the future works,
as if the laws of nature are not fixed;
somewhere in God and us the answer lurks,
ours inextricably with His will mixed.
Sometimes He bends true nature's rules a bit,
or with a miracle, He breaks them clean;
He made them, so good nature must submit,
He often grants our prayer to intervene.
O charming God, You let us charm our way
into Your heart when for Your charms we pray.

                                   -- by Pete Voelz      7/05

(Dedicated to my friends who are Harry Potter fans)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Love Bold

If I am bold to love, I'm bold to God,
my boldness is an aspect of my love;
my love for God and all, He need not prod,
for me love’s deep not just a fancy of.
You want me, God, and also I want You,
You are the best and want the best for me;
much as I love, I can't Your love outdo,
yet our love lasts for an eternity.
You started this, for in me love You stirred,
I loved it so, You made me want to spread it;
I know to some, such love may seem absurd,
don't blame me for bold love that's to Your credit.
We learn to love by loving, Francis said,
so I'll keep loving boldly 'til I'm dead.

                              -- by Pete Voelz        11/10

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Story God

O God You're One Who loves to tell a story,
by which a part of You You can reveal,
and let leak through a little of Your glory,
and carve a bit of covenant to seal.
What bigger tale to tell than Your creation,
so simple yet unfolds a universe,
what better one than that of Your salvation,
yet one that kills Your Son, what could be worse?
You let us help You through Your Providence,
and then we tell it all in history,
through our hard work, we make it all make sense,
though You reserve a touch of mystery.
So let me listen to the tales You give,
told with such care, O God of narrative.

                                 -- by Pete Voelz         12/06

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Cool Passion

God gives me reason He wants me to use,                                                    
He also gives a loving heart to feel,                                                              
the gift of faith He hopes I won't refuse,                                                  
then freedom so my share of life is real.  
I am the co-creator of my fate,  
deciding by my deeds my destiny,  
choosing to use my skill to love or hate,  
to use my natural gifts for God or me.  
My reason and my heart should complement,  
to cooly balance out to know what's best,  
yet passionate to follow up God's bent  
with faith that He will help me pass the test.  
This blend of reason, freedom, faith and heart,  
with Your grace, God, I'll fuse to do my part.  

                              -- by Pete Voelz          12/06

Friday, July 8, 2011

Soul Tech

No email flies as swiftly as my prayer,
no words misspelled, no need to use a code,
no Facebook friend, prayer is sent anywhere,
with God there is no fear of overload.
No cell phone made can match my prayer's design,
with God's big ear, nothing can interfere,
and being free, no monthly bill is fine,
each call gets through, for always God is near.
No words to text, no need to write a letter,
God knows my prayer while it's still in my heart,
my soul's technology I think is better,
for prayer shows God and I are not apart.
So when, O God, it comes to You and me,
prayer is indeed my sole technology.

                                    -- by Pete Voelz         2/09

(Dedicated to my all techie friends)

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Love Given

Love's not a feeling but a thing we show,  
when we but feel love then there's not much there,  
love stands not still but must be on the go,  
love blossoms when we show it as we share.  
Love's not emotion but a thing we do,  
and it's not something we just put to words,  
love's real in action when we follow through,  
romantic love alone is for the birds.  
Love is not fleeting, love's for the long haul,  
unfickle love is a commitment best,  
if love's not loyal, it's not there at all,  
our active faithful true love does not rest.  
So lift your feeling, love, and let it live,  
not something that we get but what we give.  

                              -- by Pete Voelz         1/08

(Dedicated to true lovers young and old)

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Out of Love

Out of my love come memories and prayer,  
we most recall emotions that are strong  
and love for one another that is rare,  
I pray they might not stray if right or wrong.  
Love prompts a prayer when nothing else will do,  
I beg God send His angels to their side,  
immediately my prayer flies straight and true,  
and nothing bars the grace they are supplied.  
The loved ones never see the one who prays,  
the silent sacred words they do not hear,  
yet none can doubt the power the prayer conveys,  
and God to both of us is now more near.  
I know, O Lord, fond memories are fine,  
but prayer can bring Your love to join with mine.  

                                   -- by Pete Voelz        2/08

           (Dedicated to old friends and new)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Know to Love

O God, how do I know if I love You?  
I know I love You, Lord, because I pray.  
I also know because of what I do,  
because I follow You and I obey.  
How do I show obedience and prayer?  
The Thou Shalt Nots, the Seven Deadly Sins;  
if I have faith and hope, never despair,  
and when in doubt, I know love always wins.  
I choose God and recall God is a choice,  
in everyone I meet, behold, His face,  
I give that audience of One great voice,  
breathe in, then share, His great amazing grace.  
Repent, thank God, praise God, Who reigns above,  
pray, I do these, then I do know I love.  

                                   -- by Pete Voelz        11/09

(Dedicated to my religion class at St. Mary’s School,
all seven of them, my dear students)

Monday, July 4, 2011

Tipping Point

When how I feel about the cold is less  
important than my feelings about You,  
when how I fix my hair or how I dress  
takes second to what You want me to do,  
when I make someone's phone call have to wait  
until I've finished calls to You in prayer,  
when I come early so I won't be late  
to church because I do believe You're there,  
when I keep faith with each religion rule  
and try to do my best to win the race,  
and offer up if some think I'm a fool  
to try so hard to merit more Your grace,  
then, Lord, perhaps I can bow down and say  
that I have reached a tipping point Your way.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Weed Flower

O pretty flower, blossoming by the road,
providing fodder for small rodents' feed,
and shade or cover for some wandering toad,
brightening my eye with joy in my sad need,
filled with your own mysterious natural code,
glorying in life's gifts, giving back your seed,
flourishing unsung yet spied to inspire this ode,
unwelcomed, unappreciated little weed.

O weed, amongst compatriot loathsome pests,
whose goldenrod and ragweed make us sick,
who roadside, noses, lungs and air congests,
whose friends like nettles and sharp thistles prick
or poison ivy hides 'neath pleasing crests,
who sometimes chokes our crops by growing thick
and our neat gardens maddeningly infests,
does not your beauty compensate each trick?

O weeds, that some would nickname wildflowers,
exposed to all the elements outside,
untrained, unpruned, unspoiled by greenhouse powers,
attacked by farflung poisoned herbicide,
rooted and sturdy, drenched with passing showers,
no useless breed yet not of garden pride,
you are like us poor humble human plowers,
unnoticed and part wild yet dignified.

Did God, O unnamed perennial tendril bold,
create your lovely petals by mistake?
Or were you formed to worship Him half-souled
as we were made--to of His Spirit partake?
Can millions of you ravishing to behold
compare one whit with one prayer crumb we make?
How sad to all your beauty manifold
unmindful you are doomed to never wake,
while we mere sinners, threatened and cajoled,
enjoy your view and God's for heaven's sake.

                                   -- by Pete Voelz        1998

(Dedicated to the great horticulturalist, my sweet
sister-in-law Professor Becky McCann)

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Love Is Greatest

Love's greater than the universe I'm sure,  
for love is God just as great God is love,  
to share God's love should make me more secure,  
that God loves me I can be certain of.  
All-powerful God is still all-loving more,  
God is not power, but love itself He is;  
with mighty God, love's not a metaphor,  
His greatest power is this true love of His.  
God's powerful love is gentle, kind and good,  
it does not bow to size or great things far;  
as beauty wins us more than power could,  
a daffodil shows more love than a star.  
Lord, Your love's good, so beautiful and true,  
forgive me if I fall in love with You.

                                -- by Pete Voelz     7/2/11

Friday, July 1, 2011

Mystery Love

Love is a mystery for it is of God,
true love's a gift from God and thus is given,
as mystery, love's still normal, not so odd,
as gift, love's natural and other-driven.
God does not take, so mostly love's not taken,
love's not just for a part, it makes us whole,
love does not leave and leave loved one forsaken,
love leaves a heart and leaves behind a soul.
Eternal God does not just come and go,
true love's from God and so will last the same,
true love must be for real, not just for show,
love cannot go by any other name.
Though mystery, God tells us enough of love,
love comes from God and must end up above.

                              -- by Pete Voelz        12/09