Antivenom (or antivenin or antivenene) is a biological product used in the treatment of venomous bites or stings. Antivenom is created by milking venom from a relevant snake, spider, insect, or fish. The venom is then diluted and injected into a horse, sheep, rabbit, or goat. The subject animal will undergo an immune response to the venom, producing antibodies against the venom's active molecules which can then be harvested from the animal's blood and used for treatment which must conform to the standards of pharmacopoeia and the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the 1st reading, when the people grumbled and complained about the unsatisfying food, fiery serpents appeared and their bite brought death to many people.
When the people repented and begged Moses to intercede for them, he was told by the Lord to make a figure of a serpent and to put it on a standard. And so Moses fashioned a bronze serpent and on a standard, and anyone bitten by a serpent would just have to look at it and be cured.
We may find it ironical that the figure on the standard was that of what caused death to the people.
In a way it is similar yet not the same; in fact it is the opposite of each other.
What caused death was a fiery venomous serpent. What was on the standard was a bronze figure of a serpent.
This account in the Old Testament prefigures the sign of salvation in the New Testament.
The cross was an instrument of torture and death used by the Romans. Jesus died on the cross. But by His rising from the dead, the cross is now turned into a symbol of salvation and even exalted as the holy cross.
We must acknowledge that we are sinners and that our sins have caused us great pain and our hearts crumble into the tomb of a spiritual death and we view the cross as a symbol of our sinfulness.
But now the Cross is exalted by the Resurrection of Christ and it has become the symbol of victory over sin and death.
Let us look at the Cross. It is no more a symbol of sin and shame. Because of the Resurrection of Christ it has become a symbol of the power and the glory of God.
Let us draw grace and mercy from the Cross of Christ and in overcoming our sinfulness may we also proclaim salvation through the Cross.
In the 1st reading, when the people grumbled and complained about the unsatisfying food, fiery serpents appeared and their bite brought death to many people.
When the people repented and begged Moses to intercede for them, he was told by the Lord to make a figure of a serpent and to put it on a standard. And so Moses fashioned a bronze serpent and on a standard, and anyone bitten by a serpent would just have to look at it and be cured.
We may find it ironical that the figure on the standard was that of what caused death to the people.
In a way it is similar yet not the same; in fact it is the opposite of each other.
What caused death was a fiery venomous serpent. What was on the standard was a bronze figure of a serpent.
This account in the Old Testament prefigures the sign of salvation in the New Testament.
The cross was an instrument of torture and death used by the Romans. Jesus died on the cross. But by His rising from the dead, the cross is now turned into a symbol of salvation and even exalted as the holy cross.
We must acknowledge that we are sinners and that our sins have caused us great pain and our hearts crumble into the tomb of a spiritual death and we view the cross as a symbol of our sinfulness.
But now the Cross is exalted by the Resurrection of Christ and it has become the symbol of victory over sin and death.
Let us look at the Cross. It is no more a symbol of sin and shame. Because of the Resurrection of Christ it has become a symbol of the power and the glory of God.
Let us draw grace and mercy from the Cross of Christ and in overcoming our sinfulness may we also proclaim salvation through the Cross.