Your priest’s understanding of purgatory, at least as you have recounted it, is problematic on two counts. To say that purgatory is “a time where the deceased [meets] face to face with God and [chooses] heaven or hell” gives the impression that purgatory is a “second chance” in which the choices of this life make no difference, so long as the deceased chooses correctly once he meets God.
First of all, beholding God “face to face” is indicative of the beatific vision, which is not granted to humans until they are in heaven. So, to say that the deceased will behold the face of God before entering heavenly glory is not correct. Beholding the face of God
is heaven, not a preparation for it (cf.
CCC 1045).
Second, one’s definitive choice for or against God takes place in this life before death. Immediately after death is the particular judgment of the soul, when the soul is either saved or damned (cf.
Heb. 9:27,
CCC 1051). If a soul has definitively chosen against God before death, the soul goes to hell. If the choice is for God, the soul either goes to heaven if it is entirely ready for heaven or to purgatory to be cleansed and made ready if not.
Recommended reading:
Purgatory
The Roots of Purgatory