Which comes first, repentance or grace?

Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
​Readings may be found here

Repentance is itself a gift of the Lord. The foundation for our repentance and for forgiveness is the person of Jesus Christ. It is our relationship with Him that brings us to regret sin and desire the grace He offers. In the Acts today, Paul encounters believers who had responded to the call for repentance – the baptism of John. Paul now confers upon them the gift of the Spirit, drawing them into an active, ongoing relationship with the Lord Jesus.
 
In the gospel passage, we see the same focus on relationship with the Lord Jesus. Even as Jesus faces the hour that will look like defeat, His passion, He asserts that He has the victory. No power, not even death, will overcome the love and grace of God. 
 
It is a good thing when our conscience calls us to repentance, but we are mistaken if we imagine that we have the capacity to change and put our sin behind us by our own efforts to reform. True repentance begins with the Good News of the Lord’s love for us – His victory and His mercy. Repentance is a response to grace.