Huh. You mean I can't make it happen myself?

Some very great things are (thank God) not under our control. The amount of grace we receive isn’t something subordinate to our will. God reminds us thereby that we are creatures, and that it’s a privilege to cooperate with Him and achieve what we could never do on our own. Man constantly needs to be reminded that “without Me, you can do nothing.” Holiness is perfect collaboration with God. St. Thérèse of Lisieux relates that from the age of four until a few days before her 13th birthday, she was a cry-baby, and calls herself “unbearable.” Every remark—however harmless—addressed to her could trigger a torrent of inappropriate tears. Hard as she tried, her will was incapable of controlling her touchiness. For nine years she begged God to liberate her from this infirmity. When the grace was granted to her, she knew it was a grace; she could not command it, but she could will to beg for it. All that God had requested was her good will to be healed. -Alice Von Hildebrand

This is extremely encouraging to me. I struggle with a lot of faults, a lot of disordered passions. I'm starting to understand what being 'powerless' really means, and that in the end, our own powerlessness is irrelevant, since it is not our power that accomplishes what needs to be accomplished. Neat!