God's First

Why are You first, O God, why must You be?
The Lamb of God wants me to be a lamb.
But You made me self-centered, selfish me,
yet there is something deeper than I am.

So I must love You first by Your command,
You say I must obey or be a loss,
be humble, not so great as I had planned,
if I must boast, it’s You, Your death, Your cross.

Since You are love, then when I love, I share
in what is best, most beautiful, and true,
I’m anxious to show love in work and prayer,
my heart is restless ‘til it rests in You.*

With You, O Lord, I will become well versed,
to put me last and always put You first.

*St. Augustine’s famous line

                   by Pete Voelz        6/30/15

God's Impregnable There

Why do we most believe in God? He’s there.
It helps to be there to such faith attract,
the God Who made the sweet birds of the air,
why, He’s impregnable when He’s attacked.

The enemies of God, that devilish crew,
can’t hurt a God Who was and always is,
can mere man stop the sky from being blue,
or steal away a world that’s always His?

God’s thereness is most unassailable,
who can deny our lungs their oxygen?
God’s nature rules, He’s supernatural,
He can’t be kicked around by silly men.

God is a fort no weapon can get near,
God’s solid there is just as solid here.

              by Pete Voelz         6/29/15

God Comes to Us

God comes to us in our desire for good,
especially when we do good for His sake,
to trust in Him and not to knock on wood,
and to return in trust after a break.

God comes more when we do more than desire,
He comes more when we start and end the race,
He comes to light, and then to spread, a fire,
to burn us and to heal us with His grace.

God comes best when we've just been reconciled,
and God comes best when grace we least resist,
He comes best when we feed a little child,
like we receive Him in His Eucharist.

There is no time or place where I can be
when You, O loving God, don't welcome me.

                                   -- by Pete Voelz         11/07

Love Miracles

A miracle is just a kind of love,
where God suspends His normal nature rule,
and interferes with power from above,
impressing everybody but the fool.

Here nature is a loving gift to all,
from life to stars to trees to animals,
bent out of Eden's nature by the fall,
yet often healed by loving miracles.

When witnessing a miracle, why scoff?
If God can make a butterfly or flower,
give God a break when He's just showing off
a little hint of His fine infinite power.

Combine my prayer with Your love, Lord, and see
if You might make a miracle for me.

                            -- by Pete Voelz     3/07

With God Alone

O God, we're never quite so unalone
as when we are in prayer alone with You,
we need no email, cell or telephone
to do our fond and welcome rendezvous.

Inside a crowd our soul is lonely still,
the noise and talk do not true solace bring,
the chatter drone and music only fill
the joyless trolling through a soulless fling.

It's true a friend may ease an endless day,
and family make my broken feelings whole,
but only You can take me all the way,
to overflow my empty reeling soul.

If we are busiest thinking on our own,
in prayer we're lonely least with You alone.

                       -- by Pete Voelz         1/04

God Close

O God, I need to feel Your hand in mine,
Your presence, so I do not feel alone,
a helpless human for someone divine,
a personal friend who I can call my own.

I need to know some answers to my prayer,
a spiritual someone listening to me;
I need to sense somebody really there,
an invisible force allowing me to see.

I need some reinforcement for my deeds,
support for the religious risks I take,
some comfort in my growing physical needs,
a steady hand when mine begin to shake.

O God, I pray You heal my ailing soul,
as I stretch out my fingers to my goal.

                         -- by Pete Voelz       2/04

Whim Faith

I love You, God, but only when I want,
yet, faithful God, You love me all the time,
my fickle faith in You is nonchalant,
Your endless faith in me is most sublime.

My aimless love is whimsical and breezy,
Your loyal love is steely, steady, true,
I only want to love You when it's easy,
especially when it's hard, Your love comes through.

About Your love and grace I'm vaguely curious,
I might not know for sure 'til my last breath,
while with them You are supernaturally serious,
You proved to me Your love is life and death.

O God, please help there be some symmetry
between my love for You and Yours for me.

                            -- by Pete Voelz            9/09

The Face of God

"If you see Me, you see the Father too,"
says Christ Who’s near, though God’s so far away.
O Jesus close, I can relate to You,
but how do I get close to great Jahweh?

The Father speaks in stars, You have a face,
yet He put His own image into me,
He shares His message with me, and His grace,
yet One so great must stay a mystery.

His love's so big, He sent His only Son,
to suffer and to die so I can live,
in greater mystery, You're Three in One,
I mostly take, while You Three give and give.

O Spirit of love, most faceless of all Three,
pour out Your grace and put Your face on me.

                                  -- by Pete Voelz       5/09

Gentle God

If God is greater than the world He made,
if He's more powerful than the universe,
yet gently tells us to "be not afraid,"
to give Him thanks and praise we could do worse.

If God dotes on us, counting every hair,
forming us gently in our mother's womb,
flooding us with His tender loving care,
He's worth a weekly worship, we presume.

If God sees all since He's ubiquitous,
and He's omniscient to the Nth degree,
all secrets He already knows of us,
there's no escaping His divine decree.

Yet, perfect God, I am still free to choose
Your gentle company to keep or lose.

                                  by Pete Voelz    

Lovely Cancer Spring

Wet April has shown us the prettiest May,
we view more lovely flowers long showers bring,
I see the contrast stark--like night and day--
the irony of my cancer’s lovely spring.

Invisible and insidious little cells,
the war within that’s not so beautiful,
no roses there, no canterbury bells,
I pray the beauty of a miracle.

Still at a deeper level, war, and goal,
there is no spring to greet, no illness grieve,
only the hope and glory of my soul:
“Blest those who do not see and yet believe.”

As sweet is lovely spring, its flowers’ allure,
Your spring of heaven is, Lord, much lovelier.

                       by Pete Voelz         6/21/15

The Personal Changes

I fear, but God, beyond all fear, does not,
yet I think sometimes God’s afraid for me,
He loves me so, like I am all He’s got,
so when I sin, He takes it personally.

I change, but God, unchanging, does not change,
yet sometimes I cause happy God to weep,
that God can change and be afraid is strange,
that I make Him afraid and change is deep.

O what an immutable, fearless God You are,
unlike us emotional little humans here,
You may be distantly different when You’re far,
but You show personal feelings when You’re near.

My fears and sins and changes take their toll,
on You, close friend, caretaker of my soul.

                           by Pete Voelz       6/20/16

Quiet Anchor

“Let He Who hath the steerage of my course,
direct my sail.” -- Romeo, that fateful eve

You are the quiet anchor on my way,
the silent steerage holding me to course,
speaking Your muted message when I stray,
the gentle friend Who prompts me without force.

You stir the breeze that helps direct my sail,
You steer to port and run to sport my speed,
from storm to stern, You lash me to the rail,
You bend my will to follow still Your lead.

You are the unseen Captain of my bark,
the star I watch for guidance that is true,
with eyes of faith, I track You in the dark,
to cue my crew unto our rendezvous.

O Holy Spirit, firm me in the foam,
and swift by sea please anchor me to home.

                               -- by Pete Voelz       2/10

Soft for God

For You, O God, I know that I should try
to soften my self-centered, stubborn heart,
for me Your heart's so soft that You would die
to keep our souls from staying far apart.

My heart will soften when I look around
and in the face of every person see
a replica of Your face freshly found,
just as You see Your image etched in me.

My heart will soften when I let You in
to humbly inside and in public pray,
when I defer to You instead of sin,
and freely let You take me on Your way.

O Lord with heart so lenient and so soft,
make my hard heart like Yours to hold aloft.

                          -- by Pete Voelz      5/09

The Edge of Cool

Is God like Walmart’s--on the edge of cool?
What must He do to still be popular?
Is He in competition, in a duel,
like Target--victim of some saboteur?

We know God has some potent enemies,
the world, the flesh, the devil pull Him down,
the media’s bandwagon can with ease
change this King of the hill into a clown.

Back fifty years, Time asked if God was dead,
the movies say so--they just leave God out,
we focus on our cell tech toys instead,
on camera, the spiritual has no clout.

Aquarius asks, the Visual Generation,
is it still cool--God’s Word and Revelation?

                        by Pete Voelz         6/17/15

Melanoma Sin

My melanoma cancer of the skin,
they call incurable, deadly and fast,
but in my soul, my melanoma sin,
since God is slow to anger, will not last.

And if my cancer is so deadly too,
my melanoma sin is deadly more,
though cancer ends my body’s battle, true,
sin kills my soul and makes me lose the war.

Unlike my cancer that’s incurable,
my melanoma sins can all be cured,
when I repent, God makes His miracle,
by mercy my forgiveness is ensured.

My cancer death’s but postponed by the knife,
my sins are banished from eternal life.

                            by Pete Voelz         6/16/15

True Identity

Who am I--what’s my true identity?
My first thought is I’m human and a man.
But what’s the most important part of me?
My soul, more than that I’m American.

I am a person like the Trinity,
made in the image of our God on high,
I am a Christian and Christ lives in me,
a temple of the Holy Spirit am I.

But best of all, I am a child of God,
down here, beloved by God Who rules above,
a brother in Christ, a member of His squad,
an heir of heaven, ever in His love.

If I to You stay faithful to the end,
I will, O Lord, forever be Your friend.

                by Pete Voelz         6/15/15

One Heart

Convert my heart, O God, as You desire,
so I can do small acts but with great love,
help me, I pray, to higher things aspire,
from lower kinds I may be fonder of.

My soul is but a pilgrim on my way,
throughout this life and world that I must roam,
my heart may like it here but cannot stay,
these I'll hold not too dear with heaven my home.

Let me make more of You and less of me,
"Thy will be done," O Lord, "instead of mine,"
for You may I love everyone I see,
and merge my love with Your own love divine.

I pray, God, when my earthly journey's done,
our lives, our love, our hopes, our hearts are one.

                              -- by Pete Voelz       12/10

Prodigal Mercy

God favors mercy for me over wrath,
He shows me mercy like His Prodigal Son,
I see the Father there with eyes of faith,
and in the son, myself and everyone.

Of course, the wayward son tells his repentance,
no mercy's shown for those who won't repent,
he says he'll be a servant for his sentence,
but God loves mercy more than punishment.

Sin is so bad because God is so good,
I'm so wrong when the good God I've offended,
as dawn drowns night, where sordid sin has stood
so glows God's light when mercy is extended.

O stubborn sin, I yet will conquer you,
when I repent graced with God's mercy true.

                                         -- by Pete Voelz     8/10

True Magic

We see a lot of magic on TV,
but there are no magicians who are real,
and superheroes are only fantasy.
Why does fake magic have such strong appeal?

There is a yearning for the spiritual,
but we’re not taught about the spiritual things,
we see the fake, blind to a miracle,
that God, the sole magician, brings.

But God just does His thing, and it’s not magic,
He made and changes nature from above,
that we don’t see His miracles is tragic,
this supernatural magician of love.

I want Your magic, Lord, because it’s true,
so I can do some magic love for You.

                    by Pete Voelz         6/12/15

God's Giants

Did You, Lord, make a great mistake with me,
or do I make some great mistakes with You?
You made so big our human dignity,
I’m not aware what to compare it to.

I came to You, Lord, feeling pitiable,
I was a loser, maybe deep in sin,
You fired back, “No, you are beautiful,
so stick with Me, together we will win.

“I made you great, and you are no mistake,
you are beloved by Me, you are a giant,
I made you good and real, you are no fake,
rely on Me to make you self-reliant.”

Make no mistake, if we make ourselves small,
then You can make us giants, Lord, so tall.

                      by Pete Voelz         6/11/15

Consistent God

There is no inconsistency with God,
all has a unity, all fits together,
all harmonized, ruled by His gentle rod,
the boulder sits still by the dancing feather.

The universe exploding from a speck,
a mustard seed of faith that moves a mountain,
looks like a mess and yet is not a wreck,
but ordered chaos, like a fire or fountain.

So are my life, my sins, my body and soul,
they hang together, they do not stand apart,
unisolated pieces, they form a whole,
united by deep longing in my heart.

My fallen self, Lord, future, present, past,
by You all me will be made sense at last.

                   by Pete Voelz         6/10/15

God's Tug-of-War

It’s like They’re in a friendly tug-of-war,
the Father, Son and Spirit Trinity,
each One competes to see Who can do more
to influence and funnel help to me.

The Father says, “I made you out of love,
I made your world, sustain your nature too.”
The Son: “I came to earth from heaven above
to give My life and save your friends and you.”

The Spirit teaches truth, my Church He guides,
and all my creativity inspires.
All work as One, so how can I pick sides?
They promise grace and heaven, all my desires.

With my free will, O Lord, don’t I control
Your gentle competition for my soul?

                    by Pete Voelz         6/9/15

Two Alphas

It all begins with God, with God it ends,
“I am the Alpha and Omega,” Jesus said,
on this alone our destiny depends,
for He will judge the living and the dead.

Yet I live like it starts and ends with me,
I am the one that I must figure out,
it’s history before I came to be,
my here and now’s what I most care about.

If all is God, I can’t be all there is,
if God’s in, then I’m in, for the long haul,
it can’t be mine, if everything is His,
if I don’t rise to Him, then I will fall.

It’s all too much for me, O Lord, that's true,
But if You’re for me, what more can I do?

               by Pete Voelz         6/8/15

Faithful Heart

On Corpus Christi, where’s my faithful heart?
Today His soul and body I receive--
will my poor soul and body do their part?
It’s in my heart and soul I must believe.

There in my mind and soul I have a choice:
Accept God’s gift of faith or now refuse,
faithless--regret, or faithful and rejoice?
Courage my heart! For I must will to choose.

Today I eat His body, drink the cup,
make mine His soul and His divinity,
take courage, faithful heart, do not give up,
return to Him, my soul, the whole of me.

My sins forgiven, let guilt and shame be still,
and faced with choosing faith, O Christ, I will!

                         by Pete Voelz         6/7/15

Infinite Love

If You, O God, love us with infinite love
because You’re God and so love infinitely,
and God is love, that’s all You are made of,
then shed Your love full infinite on me.

You brought Your love to us, Christ, like a flood,
love infinite as God-Man and God’s Son,
and shed Your love in suffering and blood,
I ask for what You have already done.

Your love did not start, nor did it stop, there,
from my beginning I’ve basked and still bask
in infinite love--in work, in sin, in prayer,
for what I have, what need have I to ask?

I need but look, O Lord, to realize
how so much love lies in Your loving eyes.

by Pete Voelz        6/6/15

Surprising Rock

God is a rock, Who strikes me by surprise,
all trustworthy yet unpredictable,
from all directions, always in disguise,
He wakes me up with a little miracle.

His startling GMCs are signs He’s there,*
His presence means He’s One I can rely on,
His personal interest shows His love and care,
giving support--and then a cross to die on.

God catches me before I go astray,
yet leaves me free to distance His control,
though I fly far, He will not go away,
He bides, and plans some new tricks for my soul.

Annoying God, Who will not let me be,
I trust You have a good surprise for me.

*God-Made Coincidences

                           by Pete Voelz       6/5/15

Divine Problems

The Church has problems, for it is divine,
it is Christ’s body, it must perfect be,
thus it should be more God’s, and so less mine,
but in this fallen world, it’s me they see.

We sin, we can’t escape our broken state,
we are the Church’s body, Christ’s the head,
we have an enemy that’s full of hate,
yet by God’s blood and body we are fed.

The Church is real, yet mystery and sign,
taught all truth, Christ said, by the Spirit, our friend,
He founded it by His divine design,
He promised to be with it to the end.

Despite our wrongs, Your Church, O Lord, is true,
I place my faith in it and thus is You.

                             by Pete Voelz         6/4/15

God's Aura

O God, Your mystery deserves respect,
You need some aura or You’d not be God,
how could we puny humans here expect
to run like You when we can barely plod?

We are not capable of understanding
the slightest bit of all Your Godliness,
how vain to think we can be so demanding
to want more for us whom You overbless.

Your Revelation You already give,
Your love, Your grace, Your life, indeed, what more
can we ask for, plus heaven where we shall live
with You--all this we should be grateful for.

Like Your Creation, Lord, Great Architect,
with faith, Your mystery I do respect.

                    by Pete Voelz         6/3/15

Filling the Crevices

So much I do falls through the crevices,
I can’t tell where all my endeavors spread,
I want something to work, but what it does
is go too far and break apart instead.

The towers I build so often develop cracks,
I reach for help from my community,
they bring their aid and sometimes break their backs,
imperfect them to prop imperfect me.

I don’t expect success or many thanks,
what I cannot, let Providence control,
the Spirit comes to fill in all the blanks,
so love and mercy patch my weary soul.

Heal, Lord, my crevices with Your sweet balm,
fill with Your grace the place I need to calm.

                         by Pete Voelz         6/2/15

Mother and Son

If I feel close to Christ since He’s a man,
there’s still some distance for He’s also God,
but Mary is my Mother per God’s plan,
and being close to her is never odd.

At Guadalupe, she said she’s our Mother,
like Christ named her our Mother from the cross,
thus too naming Himself as our own Brother,
to drift away from either--what a loss!

God formed her special with her sinless soul,
though fully human as the human race,
no worship here, her virtues we extol,
we do revere one God made full of grace.

O Mary Mother mine, stay close to me,
and pray for us who have recourse to thee.

(GMC--on-line story I saw today about Pope
Francis’s great devotion to our Mother Mary as
her son, after I wrote this poem this morning.)

                            by Pete Voelz     6/1/15