Ash Wednesday 2013: A Day of Obligation

Today, Ash Wednesday, is a day of obligation for the faithfuls.

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, the seventh Wednesday before Easter. On this day ashes are placed on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them of death, of the sorrow they should feel for their sins, and of the necessity of changing their lives. The practice, which dates from the early Middle Ages, is common among Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Episcopalians, and many Lutherans; it was also adopted by some Methodists and Presbyterians in the 1990s.

Watch: Lent prayer.

Also read: Ash Wednesday Fasting Rules and Lent Abstinence

VIDEO: What are the Biblical Origins of Ashes?