“Return to me”
“Return to me with all your heart” and prove that your repentance is genuine “by fasting and weeping and lamentation”. Fast now and you will feast hereafter; weep now and you will laugh hereafter. Present mourning brings future joy… Well, I say it is not your garments you must rend but your sinful hearts which, like the wine-skin, will burst unless you tear them.
When you have done this you can return to the Lord your God from whom you have been estranged by your former sins. Do not allow the greatness of your sin make you despair of his pardon. The greater the sin, the more striking is the power of God's mercy. “The Lord is gracious and merciful”, preferring the repentance of the sinner to his death, “slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love”, not being impatient, as we are, but waiting a whole lifetime for our return to him.
(Biblical references: Jl 2:12-13 Vg; Lk 6:21; Mt 5:5; Ez 33:11)