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In the West the belief in the existence of real fire is common. Augustine in Ps. 37 n. 3, speaks of the pain which purgatorial fire causes as more severe than anything a man can suffer in this life, "gravior erit ignis quam quidquid potest homo pati in hac vita" (P. L., col. 397). Gregory the Great speaks of those who after this life "will expiate their faults by purgatorial flames," and he adds "'that the pain be more intolerable than any one can suffer in this life" (Ps. 3 poenit., n. 1).

We are talking about flames, fire, pain, can you, in good conscience, just gloss over this as if it were the same as someone afraid of spiders?????

We are talking about flames, fire, pain, can you, in good conscience, just gloss over this as if it were the same as someone afraid of spiders?????

There will be real pain. The source of the pain will be more than likely psychological and will be a result of the cleansing. As opposed to a pain inflicted just for the heck of it.

If I may jump in here :), the flames are just, are only temporary. The end result is infinite joy in Heaven. That is true for all in purgatory. Sounds good to me.