Music God

There is no artist like the Lord of all,
He paints a beauteous sunset ever day,
nobody else can form a waterfall,
or nightly sketch, then sweep the stars away.

God gives us instruments, the music's ours,
we make the melody, then sing along,
on earth God sticks to shaping silent flowers,
and we must wait for heaven to sing His song.

But where's the music in the world God made?
The birds trill fleet and just repeat their notes,
the chords of nature sound and then they fade,
except refrains that hum from human throats.

The strains of heaven's choirs may be divine,
but here the sweetest symphonies are mine.

                          -- by Pete Voelz          2/07

Cancer Cross

You nail me, God, upon Your cancer cross,
I squirm, but I cannot escape my fate,
the game is up, my score is down--my loss,
make up my errors--I am just too late.

So why me, Lord? It is no good to ask,
I’m normal, and death comes to everyone,
God simply tells me to rise to the task,
the world moves on, it’s just my time here’s done.

The God Who made me calls me to account,
my every good and bad thought, word and deed,
He gives me time to make up the amount,
He will not break a bent and lowly reed.

Lord, I accept, to You my arms stretch out,
for only You know what it’s all about.

                      by Pete Voelz       2/28/15

Christ With Us

God made us incarnation, body and soul,
a mystery-mix of physical-spiritual,
the body dies, so we’re no longer whole,
God aims our spirit for heaven, a miracle.

Incarnate Christ took on our human form,
the spirit of sin and spirit of love made war,
He conquered death, then rose, made love the norm,
our body and soul, like His, joined evermore.

Christ stayed with us in two incarnate ways--
His Church that is His body and His spirit,
His Eucharist, though hidden from our gaze,
deserves our faith and love--no need to fear it.

I trust Your Church and Eucharist so dear,
both are Your love incarnate, Lord, down here.

                      by Pete Voelz       7/27/15

Keep Love Alive

Remember when you felt love live--and die,
you wondered how to keep your love alive,
without the feeling, how you didn’t try?
Love must be fed and practiced to survive.

When love’s spontaneous, it is more fun,
feelings of love still live inside your heart,
but feelings fade and, unfed, love’s undone,
it doesn’t hurt so much to be apart.

Love fresh can form some habits that remain,
love can be nourished and then exercised,
love takes commitment and accepts the pain,
with work, time, faithfulness, love’s energized.

Faith too in You helps, Lord, with grace and prayer,
but most of all, one simply has to care.

by Pete Voelz       7/26/15
Happy Parents Day

God Dead

God, I recall when Time announced You died,
I think it was in 1964,
we all felt just a little sad inside,
that You’d not be around much anymore.

Remember when the Beatles came along,
“Bigger than Jesus,” they said on the scene,
“Imagined” no religion in one song,
some kids OD’d their “Yellow Submarine.”

The next few decades You came back to life,
come to find out, You weren’t dead after all,
cut though the New Age nonsense like a knife,
then Communism died from St. John Paul.

It wasn’t odd You weren’t dead anymore,
for You’d come back to life here once before.

               by Pete Voelz                 7/25/15

Hurry Up, God

O God, I wonder why I hurry past You,
I’m in a hurry when I have to pray,
there are so many things I’ve never asked You,
I glance Your way and don’t know what to say.

I wish they’d hurry up when I’m at church,
I am a bit ashamed to say I’m bored,
I don’t see You around, don’t care to search,
I can’t work up much interest in You, Lord,

So much of You’s not relevant to me,
don’t mind if I just leave You on the shelf,
I look around, and You I do not see,
I have a lot of needs about myself.

I mostly hurry by cuz I don’t care,
but if I need You, Lord, I hope You’re there.

               by Pete Voelz         7/14/15

To Cherish God

I think I cherish Mary, she’s my Mother,
like my own mom, a living work of art,
and Jesus I can cherish like a brother,
the way He died for me subdues my heart.

The people near are easy here to cherish,
but God, Who’s far away, I cannot see,
unlike my family, friends in town and parish,
how can I cherish One not close to me?

I sense God sky and ocean, far and wide,
He is the core of all things everywhere,
I try to cherish God as He’s inside,
when we’re more personal in quiet prayer.

Omniscient God knows I do cherish Him,
with deeper feelings, not just as a whim.

                  by Pete Voelz         7/23/15

What Identity Crisis?

Where is this crisis of identity?
I’m made in God’s own image, I’m His child,
a sinner too, though God’s forgiven me,
unalienated, we are reconciled.

My self I do not need to try to find,
God founded me and found me long ago,
He gave me my own soul and will and mind,
and the ability to love Him so.

I am a temple of His Holy Ghost,
and publicly I worship Him in church,
I eat His body in the sacred host,
with Christ, who needs identity to search?

An heir of heaven I will forever be,
what lack have we of an identity?

                  by Pete Voelz         7/22/15

Retroactive Love

O Christ, You had no place to rest Your head,
so, God Who stands outside of time, I’ll be,
with retroactive love for You, Your bed,
where You can lay Your weary head on me.

God’s spiritual world exists outside of time,
there all is now, no future and no past,
our retroactive love can be sublime,
no place or time, all will forever last.

My freedom is unbound by time and space,
my retroactive love, Lord, You can feel,
no matter when or where You are, Your face
rests on the pillow of my love for real.

My love can freely travel on a prayer
to You, Lord, if I only choose to care.

           by Pete Voelz         7/21/15

The Brave Are True

The brave are true, the coward robs the bank,
real courage is the steady job, the law,
the brave are faithful and it’s God they thank,
the lazy coward holds God not in awe.

Peer pressure makes the coward take a dare,
with false friends he wants badly to belong,
with drinking, drugs and hook-ups everywhere,
invincible, he dismisses right and wrong.

The brave will try to cultivate their smarts,
the coward strikes the drunk’s and addict’s pose,
he trashes, leaves a trail of broken hearts,
he stinks but thinks he smells just like a rose.

The brave repent, try to be humble, true,
their fortitude brings them back, O Lord, to You.

                         by Pete Voelz         7/20/15

God Compelling

Fear of the Lord, I find, defeats my fear,
it is His truth and law that set me free,
the deeper God becomes, the more He’s near,
with fear and law and truth, He’s forced on me.

The logic of the Lord compels my mind,
the beauty of His worship soothes my soul,
my faith in Him’s the opposite of blind,
God wants to keep me clear-eyed in control.

God teaches me a lot so I am smart,
He stimulates my weak imagination,
He pushes His love hard into my heart,
He draws me to His words for inspiration.

In every way with grace, Lord, You compel me,
and make me yearn for everything You tell me.

                        by Pete Voelz              7/19/15

God Hiding

Sometimes I think that God hides far away
among the stars so we can’t see Him there,
our timeless God seems not with us today,
He hides because we are too much to bear.

Sometimes I think God hides Himself in me,
I sense Him and I talk to Him in here,
once here, then Him out there I cannot see,
how can He face our kind without some fear?

No, no, God throws His hat into the ring,
we see Him at the center of the action,
our infinite God’s involved in everything,
His faithful courage is a big attraction.

Since, Lord, You’re fired by love, You do not hide,
while I, unloving, hide in and outside.

by Pete Voelz               7/18/15

Unfair Life

"Life is unfair," I heard John Kennedy say,
"In this life I can't promise you much joy,"
Our Lady told St. Bernadette one day,
I wonder, then, is heaven just a ploy?

No matter how much pain I suffer here,
God promises He will take care of me;
it takes great faith to trust He's always near,
that His joy there will last eternity.

We often see bad men rewarded now,
though God said He would guard us from the foe;
why would God make this covenantal vow,
if He would not reward us when we go?

I can't accept this life is all there is,
when faithful God still calls me to all His.

                             -- by Pete Voelz       1/06

You Didn't Have To

You didn’t have to make the universe,
the galaxies, the stars, the moon and sun,
instead of good, You could have made it worse,
and never called it good when You were done.

You could have made a world that left out me,
or made it so that everyone was blind,
think of the flowers then we’d never see,
and all the rest that shows us You’re so kind.

When You made us, You knew we’d sometimes fail,
success is that most evil we contest,
You love our struggle for the Holy Grail,
desiring You, You see us at our best.

To show how much us, Lord of love, You did love,
You always knew You’d never us be rid of.

                               by Pete Voelz       7/16/15

God Prays for Me

God prays for me, He prays to me for me,
He prays by prayer He can my prayer inspire;
though He decrees for me to be still free,
He prays that I attend to His desire.

God's prayer includes appealing to my mind,
His prayer reminds me of our common goal,
He tests my body too when I'm too blind,
He preys upon my conscience and my soul.

God never quits or lets up on His prayer,
He constantly bombards me on my way,
He offers me eternity to share,
and lovingly begs me at least to pray.

O God, my answer is I'm praying too,
I pray the grace to pray for me to You.

                         -- by Pete Voelz       3/07

Hurry Up, God

O God, I wonder why I hurry past You,
I’m in a hurry when I have to pray,
there are so many things I’ve never asked You,
I glance Your way and don’t know what to say.

I wish they’d hurry up when I’m at church,
I am a bit ashamed to say I’m bored,
I don’t see You around, don’t care to search,
I can’t work up much interest in You, Lord,

So much of You’s not relevant to me,
don’t mind if I just leave You on the shelf,
I look around, and You I do not see,
I have a lot of needs about myself.

I mostly hurry by cuz I don’t care,
but if I need You, Lord, I hope You’re there.

               by Pete Voelz         7/14/15

God of Love and Truth

Why would a God of truth engage in lies?
Why would four holy writers fudge the story?
They did not tell their Gospels in disguise,
and such deceit could never bring them glory.

God tells His truth by science and Revelation,
His Big Bang through a communist and a priest,*
both tellings show His genius at Creation,
does pride deny my sharing in the feast?

A God of love would not betray us here,
nor would He come to die and rise for naught,
it makes no sense to face our faith with fear,
let us accept the treasure that He bought.

A truthful, loving God--what more could He
bring down from heaven to personally offer me?

*The Russian scientist Alexander Friedmann and the
Belgian Catholic physicist priest Georges Lemaitre
both discovered the Big Bang about the same time.

                             by Pete Voelz             7/13/15

What Do I Owe?

What do I owe You, God, for all Your gifts,
for all You do, what is my attitude?
When I think of such things, I know it shifts,
and I can't help but feel great gratitude.

From nothing, God, You brought me to exist,
You gave me life and made a special me,
for such great love, what leads me to resist?
Why be perverse just 'cuz You made me free?

You do not trash me when I go astray,
with mercy and  forgiveness You respond,
while I repeat my sins, faithful You stay,
despite my flaws, of me You prove You're fond.

I'm grateful, God, You love ungrateful me,
let me thank You into eternity.

                                -- by Pete Voelz       4/07

Keep Your Roots

The hogshed, woodshed, all the sheds are gone,
no corncrib, smokehouse, outhouse, barn appears,
the maple trees are missing from the lawn,
how transitory were my boyhood years.

The present empties soon into the past,
Pope Francis warns, “Do not forget your roots,”
our families and traditions surely last
when we let Church and children be our fruits.

Beware of “spiritual alzheimer’s,” he said,
do not forget the faith you have begun,
save up in heaven the good that you’ve been fed,
repent, and God forgets the bad you’ve done.

Nothing I’ll bring, Lord, when I go to sleep,
all will be gone, except the good I keep.

                      by Pete Voelz         7/11/15

God's Wormhole

God has a little wormhole in the sky,
where He sits on His end and I on mine,
in private dialogue just He and I,
so I can be in touch with the Divine.

My words sail faster than the speed of light,
my thoughts can land beyond the universe,
the words, in fact, I don't have to recite,
the thoughts I need not ever here rehearse.

God doesn't even have to hear a word,
He knows my prayer before I start to pray,
no amplifier’s needed to be heard,
He reads my secret heart that I betray.

O God, I pray my soul someday will fly
through--thick or thin--our wormhole in the sky.

                      -- by Pete Voelz       4/07

Answer to Complaints

I've oft complained as problems round me swirled,
and getting mad, I've wanted to get even,
a broken man inside a broken world,
I know I'm supposed to leave it up to heaven.

With all my troubles still the Scriptures say
I really should not kick against the goad;
a fallen soul, for many needs I pray,
this fallen world gives me a heavy load.

But Mary's answer Scripture does record,
and down through all the ages will be heard:
she said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
be done to me according to Thy word."

So though I know my problems weigh a ton,
them I accept and say, "Thy will be done."

                            -- by Pete Voelz        2/04

Why Works Matter

The hungry, thirsty we give food and drink,
so on that thrilling terrible Judgment Day,
that’s coming to us sooner than we think,
“Enter My Kingdom,” we’ll hear Jesus say.

Shelter the homeless, clothe the naked too,
the Corporal Works of Mercy, plain to see,
we’ll hear Christ list and then tell me and you,
“What you have done to them, you’ve done to Me.”

We help and visit prisoners and the sick,
we honor them with deeds, not just in speech,
no mystery here, salvation is no trick,
for Jesus lives a special way in each.

We last respect the bodies of the dead,
they’ll resurrect that day as Christ has said.

                           by Pete Voelz         7/8/15

God's Show

God’s greater than E equals M C squared,
His numbers stretch out even more than pi,
God knows a lot more math than what He’s shared,
we still don’t know what lies beyond the sky.

We only see what Mighty God creates,
we only know what Showman God reveals,
in His good time, He shows the one who waits,
and then there’s even more that He conceals.

God’s glad when we find out about His show,
He gave us our great curiousity,
God loves His science He wants us to know,
His nature, laws in all their mystery.

God likes it when we play nature detective,
if we keep show and Showman in perspective.

                            by Pete Voelz         7/7/15

Pray Pain

To ask to suffer more for You I dare,
O You Who suffered so much more for me,
to tremulously ask for it in prayer
to seek more pain and voluntarily.

Yet pain we always try hard to avoid,
though for a goal we say, "no pain, no gain,"
but if we hope our soul won't be destroyed,
if there's no pain, we leave our life in vain.

St. Theresa called her suffering a joy,
it gave her soul and sinners some reward,
she prayed to Christ to be His little toy,
to joyfully share the suffering of her Lord.

For love, she said, her pain had an appeal,
God, let me suffer so my love is real.

                    --  by Pete Voelz     8/10

The Me Within

Where is the me that hides inside my body,
the I resides, abides inside my soul,
the self within a life so short and spotty,
that takes all three of me and makes a whole?

This time and place for me I did not choose,
yet in my here and now I’m free to roam,
for body, time and place I only use,
this transitory life is not my home.

The self of short is not the I of long,
it’s fun a while, but heaven’s fun will last,
God does not make me weak to last, but strong,
the future counts, the present soon is past.

Lord, here and now be with my self and I,
I trust You’ll then be with me when I die.

                   by Pete Voelz           7/5/15

Surrender Together

So how can I surrender to the Lord,
Who made me free and placed me in control,
else how am I deserving my reward,
if I am not the captain of my soul?

I must accept, but first need faith and grace,
they are free gifts that I must freely choose,
not to rebel, nor sinning to embrace,
but give myself to God to win--or lose.

Yet in a way, God does surrender too,
He wants me saved, I choose my destiny,
so, Lord, I pray as if all’s up to You,
but work as if it all is up to me.*

We work together, Lord, yet I decide
if I forever will with You abide.

*St. Augustine’s famous dictum

by Pete Voelz         7/4/15

God's Natural love

Since God is love, that’s all He’s got to give,
His nature is to love, so is ours too,
as natural man, we make God’s love to live,
that’s what our love, like God’s, is made to do.

We love like God, our nature is like His,
love means that we obey His natural law,
made in His image, we’re to copy His,
of God, His love, His law we are in awe.

We pass our love and image on to others,
I look like God, my child looks like me,
by nature we’re their fathers and their mothers,
God’s love and ours in them to ever be.

To other ways, Lord, let me not succumb,
Thy will be done, Thy natural Kingdom come.

                            by Pete Voelz         7/3/15

Where Are the Words?

Where are the words to tell what's in my mind?
Where are the ways that can express my heart?
What words and ways to write I cannot find,
I wonder what keeps them so far apart.

God's thundering murmur I can barely hear,
like darkness 'round me I just know it's there,
He whispers to my soul without an ear,
without a word my soul responds in prayer.

God strikes me in a secret chamber place,
somewhere between my heart and my mind's eyes,
He visits with an ocean of His grace,
and offers me a glimpse of Paradise.

What Your love's like that You reveal to me,
I can’t say, Lord, but I can feel and see.

                           -- by Pete Voelz     7/09

Wherever God Is

Wherever God is, there’s His conscience too,
His knowledge, understanding, and His wisdom,
omniscient God, He knows us through and through,
a whiz, His risen business is His whiz-dom.

Wherever God is, there’s His infinite power,
in heaven He is endlessly creative,
He shows His beauty skills in every flower,
He’s never boring, always innovative.

Wherever God is, there His great love is,
a gentle God, up close and personal,
we are His children, all of me is His,
each one of us a special miracle.

You smother us, yet still let us be free
to leave You be, O God of mystery.

                 by Pete Voelz       7/1/15