"Dear brothers and sisters, in these 40 days [of Lent] that will bring us to the Resurrection at Easter, we can find fresh courage for accepting with patience and faith every situation of difficulty, affliction and trial in the knowledge that from the darkness the Lord will cause a new day to dawn. And if we are faithful to Jesus, following Him on the Way of the Cross, the clear world of God, the world of light, truth and joy will be, as it were, restored to us. It will be the new dawn, created by God Himself."
From the General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI, 22 February 2012
Stations of the Cross:
Fridays in Lent at 7:00 p.m.
The Precious Relic of the Wood of the True Cross upon which Jesus Christ died and shed His Precious Blood is solemnly carried during the Stations of the Cross, or Way of the Cross, each Friday evening in Lent. The sick and suffering are encouraged to attend this beautiful and moving devotion, as Church tradition has shown that Relics of the Cross are instruments of God’s healing. At the conclusion of Stations, the assembled will receive a blessing with the Relic and may then venerate the Relic with a kiss or touch.
Indulgences in memory of the Passion and Death of the Lord:
From the Manual of Indulgences: Norms and Grants (USCCB, 2006), translated into English from the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum: Normae et Concessiones, fourth edition (Vatican, 1999):
A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful who devoutly assist at the adoration [veneration] of the Cross in the solemn liturgical action of Good Friday; or personally make the pious Way of the Cross, or devoutly unite themselves to the Way of the Cross while it is being led by the Supreme Pontiff and broadcast live on television or radio.
To gain a plenary indulgence for the pious works in memory of Our Lord's Passion listed above, it is necessary to have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin, and to fulfill the normal conditions - sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intention of the Holy Father - most appropriately on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed, or as soon as possible before or after the pious work, if circumstances do not allow for the same day.