In our regular understanding and expression we most often think that repentance comes first and God's forgiveness follows. It is as if God is responding to us.
But I personally believe it is God who makes the first move. It is his Grace that moves us.
In the Gospel of today we hear the incident of the prodigal son. The son is repentant, after having lost all his possessions, and then thinks of his father. His decision to get back to his father is not primarily because of his guilt; what precedes and supersedes that guilt is the trust that his father will take him back. Perhaps not as his son, in his earlier status, but at least as one of his hired servants... nonetheless, the son knew for certain that his father would accept him back!
That benevolence of the father is the bedrock of our hope, our trust, our repentance. It is that same benevolence of the Father that draws us to approach the sacrament of reconciliation. Our repentance is in response to that benevolent grace; not the other way around.
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