In my Catholic grammar school (back in the late 50s), we were always encouraged to pray, "Lord, send me here my purgatory!" It might be tad old-fashioned -- at any rate, I haven't heard it in years!
As a convert who sort of fell in love with Purgatory through Dante, I didn't have the whole picture.
But I'm getting it, little by little. Here's what I wrote to a friend yesterday:
You obviously bear a great big ‘P’ branded on your forehead. (At least one – as do I!) You have been given the chance to work it off now rather than in Purgatory. And, in the incredible mercy of God, you have not only been given purgative suffering but a loving Lord who will take all suffering offered to Him and use it for the salvation of the world.Seems like a pretty good deal to me! And it explains why, as we advance in decrepitude, God allows to have all sort of new and interesting pains.