Congratulations on your journey into the Catholic Faith! I think sometimes we are scared of purgatory because (naturally) we are scared of pain.
I have been dealing with a chronic illness for nearly four years now, and sometimes I have a great deal of pain. Through this, I am learning to offer my pain to God for the redemption of souls, as well as for the release of souls in purgatory.
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” Colossians 1:24
When we join our sufferings to Christ, He helps us get through them. I’d like to think it will be the same in purgatory, only we are so much closer to Him then. Also, because we will have no physical bodies, our suffering will be different than anything we’ve endured on earth. It is a purification.
A good friend of mine, Sr. Rosann, told me this way back in college when I was struggling with purgatory. She said that when we meet Jesus, we want to be sparkling clean; just like if the Pope came to our home, we would be cleaning and preparing for days! So it will be as we prepare to meet our Savior face to face, only we are cleaning our souls!
I don’t think it is anything to fear, because Jesus loves us so much, that anything we endure is only for our own good. Just as our parents have to let go in order for us to learn some hard lessons that may cause us pain; so Our Heavenly Father uses suffering to help us learn of the great love He has for us, and the value of “loving others so much it hurts” as Mother Teresa said.
Hope this helps! :getholy: