power

Thank you Pilgrim,

For asking the original poster:

"What do you mean when you say 'save us'? Are you referring only to future salvation from hell, or do you mean current salvation from sin?"

...thank you poster Charlie Benjamin for answering with:

"save us meaning past present and future thanks for asking"

So what we are talking about is eternal life, being, the Eternal's life giving us to partake of the divine nature from out of the animal nature of humanity.
Receiving the gift of eternal life here and now means that we are saved and being saved as we live on.

Catholic means "UNIVERSAL". Eternal life is the UNIVERSAL POWER that the last Adam conquered on behalf of all Adams and Eves born before, during and after the life of our our Lord Jesus-Christ on earth.
(In case some might not know, the last Adam is an expression used by Paul in 1Cor 15, to speak of Jesus and of the power of the resurrection over the power of death.)
Once having brought all of whom gets to be born in Adam in death, He then rose from death and became the life-giving Spirit, offering to humanity the gift of eternal life in our heart and spirit here and now by His eternal Covenant.

That is the "saved" part of the experience of salvation. That is in our hearts and spirits:

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin."
Heb 10, 16-18

The "being saved" while we are still on earth, is for our soul's renewal and for the body's reception of life by the spirit. "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." Rm 8,11

This ongonig experience is by:

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. Lk 9, 23-26

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." 1Cor 1, 18-19

Now, to Micheal who wrote:

"But then your experience is a very small sample of the Vatican’s teachings and practices, even if you limit the arena in question to Quebec. So it is hardly representative or useful for making a decision."

I answer with:

When it comes to Vatican, my experience is a full blast experience of the papal approach to Christ teaching. Vatican knows nothing of the experience of Christ teaching, except for what happened in spite of them.

The genuine catholic experience of our Lord is summerisedby Paul:

"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ep 4, 4-6

...and by Jesus as being...

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent... Jn 17,3

...“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given. Jn 17, 20-24

So thank you Pilgrin

for stating: "The reason for referring to this study in this thread, was tied to an earlier statement by Benoit......'abuse of power by the clergy'.

By doing so, you have releived me of the burden of proof laid on me by by Micheal and somewhat Maria.

To be more accurate, what I mean by the study you brought forth and by all that I mean to say so far in this thread, is that:

"the nature of clergy is in itself abuse of power and Jesus-Christ has nothing to do with it, never did nor never will. It has been and it is in spite of the Roman priesthood that Jesus goes on saving people who are connected to Vatican, not because of their centuries old claim "to be the Church" and that "outside of their set of dogmas and practices there is no salvation."

That is what I meant by "Lording over the people".

I am number 12 of 14 children. My parents had 9 kids in the first 10 years of marriage, then God gave them 5 years break and then they had another 5 in 6 years.
After 2 and a half years during their break, in the middle of winter, the parish's head priest (curé, I dont know the word in English) he barged into the house without knocking, in the mid-morning while everyone were gone to school or work or too young to "witness" anything, he looked my mom up and down a few times and declared:

"I see that you are still not pregnant after 2 and a half years. Dont you know that it is a dead sin to control the family?"

My mom graciously open the door for him and gently said:

"You do not know what you are talking about Sir". Please leave now..."

Everyone in the family always had a feeling that had my dad been there, it might not have been so gracious of an exist for that oppressive visit from a rule of ignorance and inndifference.

When I mentionedd that the practice of liturgy to which I have been exposed to and superstition come from the same source and they add up to the same deceit from darkness in human interaction, we just have to remember that it is only since 1960 or so, that people can hear the mass in their own language. The masses could'nt understand the mass for centuries, all over the world.
Also, in most remote areas of Québec, it was a sin to have a bible in the house. I have been hosted, while knocking on doors to speak of the gospel as I did for over a year in 1977, by people who were excommunicated for having a bible in their house.
In Canada, all traditional organisations are in Courts because of what is known as "The Residential Schools", which is equated to a systematic genocide of Aboriginal culture.

I thank God for having saved me and for saving me. As He does so, I thank Him for saving others through His word of reconciliation in me, as I and all God's family gets moved by His Spirit within His One priesthood according to Melkisedek, and according to His nation of prophets who are given the One catholic experience of "Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Rev 19,10

Maria, you are right when you say that I have a real problem with authority; but only the wrong one, for Jesus said:

"But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Mt 23, 8-12

Thank you dear Lord for being the one and only aythority and for Your gift of eternal life here and now. I look forward to Your return so that our souls do not have to struggle against the flesh, the world and satan and for the the mortality of our bodies to be swalloed up by Your glorified renewal...amen to Your Yes in us all...

...may all blessings be with us all...
Benoit