We ponder how Christ overcame unbelief and skepticism and powerfully rescued all humanity. He is the arm of the Lord, strong to save! (Our Suffering Savior, 145). A Christian custom on Ash Wednesday is to receive a mark of the cross made with ashes upon the forehead. Ashes are a symbol of repentance and of our mortality, especially as we hear the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”