Ave Maria!Before delving into this rich Pauline passage confirming the absolute primacy of Christ, Fr. Maximilian establishes who the subject of the Canticle is. Is St. Paul speaking in one instant of the Incarnate Word and Redeemer, then in another instant of the Eternal, Uncreated Word apart from the mystery of the Incarnation, and then switching back again to the Incarnate Word and Redeemer? Or is the entire Canticle a unified whole referring always to the Incarnate Word? Pope Benedict XVI confirms the answer and thus gives us the key to unlocking what are perhaps the strongest verses in Scripture on the absolute primacy of Christ.Ave Maria!
