As the 40-day Lenten journey to Easter commences with the recieving of ashes on Ash Wednesday, we are reminded that no authentic return to God begins with us. For it is God who first comes to us through His Son, and it is God who's loving mercy forgives us our sin and opens the door to the freedom of new life in Him - to a deeply fulfilling and intimate relationship with Him. It is God who desires and initiates this and it is God who invites us to respond. What we are primarily called to do then is to get out of our own way, so-to-speak, and allow God to retake the lead in our lives once again; to recieve Him as our True Vine and reaccept ourselves as His cherished branches ... no matter how far or how often we have gone astray.
