Friday, November 30, 2012

God's For Me First



O God of sun and stars, You’re never there,
Your heart of love does not beat far away,
for giant galaxies You little care,
as You have said, they’ll all be gone some day.

Instead of stars, You care for sinful me,
I am worth more than any galaxy,
the spiritual world’s more real than what I see,
with You my soul will live eternally.

Like Your mind, mine should aim itself to stay
fixed on You and the heavenly goal we share,
attentive to the eternal words You say
that join my own soul’s precious part in prayer.

Just as You, Lord, love me much more than space,
may I tend to Your great celestial grace.

                          -- by Pete Voelz       11/30/12

Thursday, November 29, 2012

The Waiting God



God doesn't wait for us to wait for Him,
He's all reved up and always prepped to go;
on top of all our needs and in the swim,
all ready, He buts waits for us to show.

All up to speed, God knows us inside out,
with bated breath, He teeters on the brink;
which way to go He hasn't any doubt,
He prompts, but we must be the first to blink.

Why do I pause, why do I hesitate?
I seem to be afraid of false alarms;
He's out of sight, out of my mind I wait,
I, faithless, fear to leap into His arms.

O God, hear now what I've so often prayed:
let me recall You said, "Be not afraid."

                         -- by Pete Voelz       1/06

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

We Are Here



O Lord, let me join You five minutes a day,
so that Our Father may both of us see,
to help me pray in this unfailing way,
and have Our Father always answer me.

Let me, O Christ, have all my sins forgiven,
when You and I together are with Him,
and with the Spirit enjoy a taste of heaven,
that by my sins and self seems rather slim.

O Jesus, may we just say, "We are here,"
 as You and I stand near Our Father's throne,
for with You there I know I need not fear
to be refused as when I stand alone.

O Lord Divine, I want You by my side,
where I hope to eternally abide.

                              -- by Pete Voelz      3/09



Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Meek Strength



Why is great God so meek before His creatures,
when He could easily make mincemeat of us?
Why are we made in image of His features,
except to prove again how He must love us?

We learn in school that meekness is not weakness,
how weak’s the Spirit hovering above us?
Somehow His love is mirrored in His meekness,
just as our meekness leads Him more to love us.

Our meekness shows we’re strong when we are humble,
a humble God shows He is worthy of us,
we can show humble meekness when we stumble,
to meekly take His cross He had to love us.

O Lord, to take Your meekness to such length,
Your meek humility must have much strength.

                           -- by Pete Voelz       11/25/12

Monday, November 26, 2012

My At-My-Mercy God



God at my mercy offers me His all,
He’s placed Himself there free for love of me,
He made me free to freely make the call,
He freely offers heaven almost free.

 God freely makes Himself available,
attentive to my prayer, always awake,
prepared to make another miracle,
Who even willed to die just for my sake.

What shall I do with my attentive Lord,
my Shepherd Who hands me the food I eat?
Do I desire not His great reward?
Shall I get off my duff and on my feet?

O at-my-mercy God, I’ll show to You
the mercy that I hope You’ll show me too.

                  -- by Pete Voelz       11/26/12

Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Thought of God



The thought of God makes me feel weak and little,
and yet I thrill to feel Him strong in me,
I know God made us to stand in the middle
and there to choose to be or not to be.

When we glance at Great God how small we seem,
and yet He helps us conquer all the earth,
our powers of work and prayer are not some dream,
but prove the bone and spirit that tell our worth.

With hope we prep ourselves to live forever,
why shouldn't we be great, stamped with His face?
Through faith our rejoined bones will disjoin never,
and like her too, we’ll be so full of grace.

Why do we dawdle through this chance God gave us,
when it's the means by which He means to save us?

                                    -- by Pete Voelz       11/05  

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Word or Miracle



God gives us miracles for we are weak,
His words should be enough for us to see,
and to believe, He only needs to speak,
not have to show things to make us agree.

But we are fallen creatures of the earth,
a cracked and broken world we suffer here,
where only things we sense have any worth,
and words need deeds in order to be clear.

Reason alone and Revelation true,
and God's own gentle voice prompting inside,
and all Creation giving God His due,
need sensual proof for our faith to abide.

To all these, Lord, You add a miracle,
enough to keep my senses sensible.

                  -- by Pete Voelz        12/09

Friday, November 23, 2012

God and Satan



How much do God and Satan intermix?
Can love and fornication intertwine?
Does God allow the devil’s bag of tricks,
to give our sins a sense of the divine?

Why does God let my spiritual pain exist
so I in church still mortal sins embrace?
How can God see His Son in Eucharist
become a sacrilege instead of grace?

How can a loving God allow our pain
or let the devil drag some souls to hell?
Unfree, I cannot love or heaven gain,
no choice, no sin, no guilt, no Adam fell.

If You and Satan took my liberty,
You would destroy, Lord, my humanity.

                -- by Pete Voelz       11/20/12

Thursday, November 22, 2012

The Birds Sing



The birds sing, Lord, they do not mind who hears,
their self-expression is enough reward;
they toss songs off, no care if there are ears,
they pelt the blithe and bored with sweet accord.

The birds rejoice, when dawn begins to rise
to stretch her rosy fingers in the sky;*
they sing with joy, as if to rhapsodize
the honey bee, the rose, the butterfly.

God's gift to us, is just to hear their song
so we end up rejoicing at the dawn;
with each new trill, we're called to sing along
and hope anew before the day is gone.

When His birds sing, God is not deaf and blind
and so like us will not be far behind.

* A favorite saying in Virgil’s Aeneid.

                            -- by Pete Voelz         7/05







Wednesday, November 21, 2012

The Hidden God



I raise my rose to peel away God's soul,
secluded in its petals and its heart,
does its rare beauty issue from the whole
or from some inner secret of its art?

What kind of an imagination draped
the shaded crimson colors on its form,
whose sense of symmetry serenely shaped
the velvet petals cuddled soft and warm?

God seems to hide some precious part of Him
beneath a flower's exuberance and style,
our genius can't create one whit the whim
that splashed a million blossoms mile by mile.

If He concocts His blooms with so much fuss,
how much more must He hide Himself in us.

                      -- by Pete Voelz          6/05

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

To Humble Be



It does not hurt a bit to humble be,
don't let my pride, O God, stand in the way,
it does not hurt to fall upon my knee,
and ask You, Lord, to help me as I pray.

To curb my pride is not a harmful thing,
I know I can't do everything alone,
I can't imagine what the Lord can bring,
it doesn't hurt to get Him on the phone.

The Lord commands I worship Him as God,
it's true He made me free to have my pride,
for creatures to bow low is not so odd,
so long as it reflects the truth inside.

Pray, God, You make me humble if You please,
because it's hard to stumble on my knees.

                    -- by Pete Voelz          6/08  

Monday, November 19, 2012

No Far Love



God’s far and yet I never see Him far,
my love is not for One Who’s far away,
I won’t wait to meet God in Kandahar,
when I can meet Him here at Mass today.

O Lord, I know I am not worthy of
a heaven that lasts for an eternity,
and yet You think I’m worthy of Your love,
and so You shower love on little me.

Love brings You close, and I am closer still
when with my love I too reach out to You,
less with my mind, but freely with my will
when I in faith believe Your love is true.

I know why You will let me see Your face,
because I choose to take Your gift of grace.

                     -- by Pete Voelz      11/18/12

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Light Love



I treat God light and so I treat love light,
when love’s why God created all creation,
I can’t create a thing with all my might,
yet love too is my greatest inspiration.

God’s people, children, marriage, love and sex--
what do I know of how or why they started?
I know each one can make me clear the decks,
and cure me quick of acting too hard-hearted.

I see that all together they make sense,
pop culture trashes them because it’s free to,
I think I should treat each with reverence,
or soon someone will start mistreating me too.

I know, O Lord, all these are good and true,
because, O God of love, they come from You.

                           -- by Pete Voelz      11/18/12



Saturday, November 17, 2012

Love Is God



Since God is love, then all true love is His,
by loving, I take part in the divine,
true love gives me a taste of Who God is,
and in some way by love I make God mine.

I can’t create love nor can I invent it,
true love must reach me from some other place,
I cannot buy it, borrow it or rent it,
such beauty has to be a gift of grace.

All love is shrouded in His mystery,
we wonder at a thing so wonderful,
why does God share Himself with little me,
so natural--love, yet still a miracle.

Lord, let me not play lightly with Your love,
I’ll only understand when we’re above.

                  -- by Pete Voelz       11/17/12

Friday, November 16, 2012

Love Lies



To lie of love turns love into a sin,
most when I try to trade a lie for love,
no end can justify the lie I’m in,
just break the heart I take advantage of.

As God is love, His love I can’t abuse,
since God is truth, I cannot live a lie,
like love and truth, a friend I cannot use
and hope by lies myself to justify.

I search for truth, not just my selfish pleasure,
I look for love, but love won’t be deceived,
God gives me truth and His love without measure,
true love does not want lies to be believed.

As love and truth, Lord, can’t support a lie,
let me love only truly ‘til I die.

                    -- by Pete Voelz       11/16/12

Thursday, November 15, 2012

God Father-Son



I wonder if He called His Father “Dad,”
the language for a father by a son,
or what kind of relationship They had
when He found out He was the only one.

Were there locutions so the two could talk,
so both could come to know each other well?
Did Son have visions on His desert walk,
so He’d see heaven where They both would dwell?

And when His Father told Him He must die,
with bloody sweat, He begged Him in His prayer,
to drink this chalice, Father dear, must I,
to prove My love, this cross I have to bear?

You love us, Christ, so great, but greater still
You loved Your Father, so You did His will.

                    -- by Pete Voelz       11/15/12

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

God Wants Me



God wants me here because He loves me so,
how disappointed He must be in me,
but heaven is the place I want to go,
and He's the only God I want to see.

What does He see in me He loves so much?
God is so warm, up close and personal,
inside and out He is the One I touch,
truly His love for me's a miracle.

And yet for Him so natural is His love,
God is love, I'm just too dumb to perceive it,
I'm far below, He seems too far above,
yet love so near that I must love or leave it.

You box me in, Your love I can't deny,
but still, O loving Lord, I wonder why.

                          -- by Pete Voelz        6/09

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

God's Smile



I can’t imagine God without a smile,
He is above the anger of the book,
so honest, open, gentle, without guile,
in heaven a smiling God is how He’ll look.

The anger He shows in His revelation
belies the loving teaching of His Word,
somehow it seems to me an aberration,
forever He’ll not be an Angry Bird.

He gets upset about the way we sin,
with freedom comes rejection of His grace,
with God there’ll be no more the sin we’re in,
no cause to change the smile on His face.

Your feelings, Lord, are such a mystery,
and yet I bet You’ll always smile on me.

                   -- by Pete Voelz       11/10/12

Monday, November 12, 2012

Blest Crumbs



If You love me, then You must help me more,
You give me crumbs because I am a crumb,
I need more than You’ve given heretofore,
some crumbs to last until Thy Kingdom come.

Am I a crumb because a smoldering wick,
because my faith’s a bruised and bent down reed?*
So little of Your grace crumbs seem to stick,
is it my fault that I am so in need?

Or do You want me to be crumb-like here,
so You can show Your great power through my weakness?
Your fortitude can conquer all my fear,
I’m strong because of, not despite, my meekness.

Your Gospel, Lord, my childlike eyes can see,
and even read it in poor poetry.

* “A bruised reed He will not break, a
smoldering wick He will not quench.”
-- Matt. 12:20

                    -- by Pete Voelz       11/12/12

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Love or be Loved



To love or to be loved, which gift is more? *
‘Tis better to give, we’re taught, than to receive.
“To be or not to be” we’ve heard before,
the active over passive, we believe.

Our active God does not sit idly by,
He gifts me love, but love needs to be free,
His love I must approve or else deny
by sharing it the way that He loves me.

God gives me my ability to love,
and with it my own liberty to choose,
a Godly power I can’t be careless of,
I use His gift of love for Him or lose.

O Lord, You are Your gift to love so true,
in sharing it, I give it back toYou.

* “O Divine Master, grant that I may not so
much seek . . . to be loved as to love . . .”
-- St. Francis of Assisi Prayer for Peace

-- by Pete Voelz       11/11/12

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Equal Gifts



What gifts, God, do I have to equal Yours?
You gave me life, I have a life to give,
You show me love so long Your love endures,
You let me love so long I have to live.

You give me friends, and You are my best friend,
Your love for me, You order me to share,
as much I love myself unto the end,
so for my neighbor You ask me to care.

I love myself, how can I do that best?
To get what I want most--to go to heaven,
and then with me, to gather all the rest,
their souls as gifts to join the gift I’m given.

If you give me my life and Your love too,
I’ll multiply my soul and love for You.

                    -- by Pete Voelz       11/9/12

Friday, November 9, 2012

Love's Victims



God is a victim of the love He is,*
He can’t help leaning on His weakest reed,
He can’t help loving this littlest lamb of His,
He can’t help helping in his hour of need.

God makes me too a victim of His love,
I no more can resist than even He,
though He is God, He’s still a victim of
this irresistable power of love for me.

God’s free to love or not like You and I,
but when I choose love, freedom can’t resist,
nor can I flee His love, nor can I fly
from His great gift of love in Eucharist.

As victim of Your love, Lord, I can’t flee
from sharing love as You’ve commanded me.

* 1 John 4:16 -- “God is love . . .”

                   -- by Pete Voelz       11/8/12

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Warm and Close



How can I warm up to Almighty God?
How can I close in on the Trinity?
Yet, Lord Who made me, wouldn't it be odd
if You were not now warm and close to me?

With You inside me there's no space between
us two for me to hide or stand away;
on One so close it wouldn't hurt to lean,
to One so warm it wouldn't hurt to pray.

My Father wants obedience for love,
dear Jesus wants me to see Him in others,
the Spirit asks I aim for what's above
and not just vainly focus on my druthers.

Being close to God has little mystery,
and coolness melts with warm humility.

                           -- by Pete Voelz      1/06

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

God Luck



How lucky we are to possess God's luck,
how little we appreciate our good fortune;
could evil not potentially run amok,
could we not be much worse off with our portion?

God made a world so beautiful, good and true,
He set His rational natural laws in order;
no matter how much sin we may pursue,
God always holds the bad within a border.

There is a reason for our lucky lot,
God is Himself so logical and caring;
it's no fun fancying evils we have not,
we'd rather bear those ills we share unsparing.

Should we not pinch ourselves we were created
by our good God, though unappreciated?

                             -- by Pete Voelz          7/05

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

So What



When my soul came to go, I left my diet
and exercise for body dear now dead,
my voice, my words, my messages now quiet,
my messy files, my plans, my past all shed.

I left behind each colleague, loving friend,
my lifelong love and dearest darling wife,
fun with my son and daughter came to end,
grandchildren's joy, the future of my life.

My library I left, my bank account,
from fondest memories I was bereft,
my thoughts, my cares, all that was paramount,
 with everything now gone, so what was left?

I was so busy with, oh, so many a thing,
so what now matters? Only what I bring.

                               -- by Pete Voelz        7/05




Monday, November 5, 2012

The Space of Grace



God gives me strength but also lets me be,
sometimes I pray, He showers me with grace,
yet not so much I am 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

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Wrong or Right



Sometimes I'm wrong, and it is not a sin,
sometimes I'm right, and yet there is no grace,
sometimes it seems a person cannot win,
the right and wrong can just be out of place.

The mind of God is not the mind of men,
the strongest law is still the law of love,
but it is love according to God's plan,
love ultimately guided from above.

The moral and the spiritual are tight,
and that is how they almost always stay,
but sometimes it is wrong to turn out right,
sometimes the right thing just gets in the way.

O God, Your rightness and Your love are one,
light as a feather, though it weighs a ton.

                            -- by Pete Voelz           11/09

Saturday, November 3, 2012

'Tis God Alone



'Tis God alone tells what life's all about,
who else knows really why we come and go?
Where we are from no one has figured out,
where we end up no one for sure can know.

In the great scheme of things, we're pretty small,
just who we truly are few know or care,
let's face it, we don't really count at all,
without God in our life, there's nothing there.

But God gave us our minds to reason to
how He created us and how we grow,
then He revealed to us what all is true,
and why He did--because He loves us so.

Since I can't take with me all that I own,
O God, let me most value You alone.

                          -- by Pete Voelz     7/05

Friday, November 2, 2012

Unboring God



Does God get bored with me when I am bored?
When I get tired of asking Him again,
of praying half-sincerely, “O my Lord,
please help me overcome the same old sin”?

I do desire His mercy miracle,
He always knows what I’m desirous of,
though I feel so, like, hypocritical,
He cuts through all my jitters with His love.

Why am I bored with such a caring God?
I pray and He’s already seen my goal,
He’s pierced my bored disinterested facade,
and bored deep in my infinitely precious soul.

Since, Lord, You’re never bored with me, it’s true,
I choose to be more interested in You.

                           -- by Pete Voelz       11/2/12

pmvoelz.blogspot.com

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Trust Rest



O Jesus, rest my heart, in You I trust,
Your peace in life I also do accept,
instead of rage, I take the things I must,
let me rejoice where heretofore I’ve wept.

More than I ever will, You ate the pain,
You trusted in Your Father’s will above,
let all Your care for me not be in vain,
instead of stone, we have a God of love.

O Jesus, You are God, You trusted Him,
so how can helpless I not trust the same?
Against Your powerful tide I cannot swim,
to not rest in Your peace--O what a shame!

O Jesus, let my trust in You increase,
so my sore heart rests in Your gentle peace.

               -- by Pete Voelz       11/1/12