At this late point in Lent, it's likely that whatever Lenten practices we had prepared for we have either failed, or we are desperately looking forward to Easter so we can go back to the way things were. It seems to be part of our human nature that we struggle with real and enduring change. Sure, we can pray a rosary a day - for a while, we can promise to be on time - for a bit, we can give up cursing, complaining, and gossip - till we can't. It's almost as though these kinds of changes require grace. We can't do it on our own.
Jesus Christ, in a heated parle with the Pharisees says something quite striking, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me." Jesus, through whom all things are made, admits that he does nothing on his own. If Jesus knows that he must depend on God the Father to complete his mission, how much must we depend on God's grace for even the small things. If we have failed in our Lenten practice, if we are gritting our teeth - can we remind ourselves that we are in desperate need of a Savior, and the realization that we have one is in fact good news.