Conversion comes first, then the journey of perfection. We have the sacraments to help us. No one outside of sanctifying grace can attain this union with God.
The first stage of purgation must not be avoided. This is a great time of suffering and go on for years and years. Suffering comes to us as God decides, not as we decide. Having had cancer, which is not in my family, is only part of my time of purgation. These sufferings are real and must be faced directly.
I know this from experience, as for years I tried to avoid suffering. Being a "fix-it" type of American, I thought suffering was to be "fixed". Well, after stretching out the time of purgation, I finally yielded to the Hand of God. That is what we all must do.
St. Paul's period of purgation most likely occurred after his dramatic conversion and in that mysterious time after his sight was restored by Ananias. This time, according to scholars, could have been as long as six to ten years. Taking the lowest guess of six years, this would be a time of purgation for the saint who had persecuted the Christians, and, therefore, Christ, must have been in a desert situation to drop so completely out of the narrative of Luke. As I noted on the post on monks, he could have been with "religious", reflecting, praying, studying the Scriptures which applied to Christ, and repenting of sin-both serious and venial. The purgation stage prepares us for the life of the virtues and for the reception of the illuminations of truths, the mysteries of Christ's life and the virtues-in other words, prepares us for infused knowledge. St. Paul, as I have pointed out in Colossians and in other sections which I shall highlight, did experience that illumination. But no one gets to stage two without stage one.
The problem of the flesh St. Paul describes cryptically asking God to remove this cross only three times (how many times do we pray for removal of suffering) was not answered positively by God. St. Paul had to endure that pain. This is part of his purgation and more. It does not matter what it was. St. Francis had problems with his eyes, and St. Bernadette had tuberculosis of the bone. What matters is the manner of acceptance. I do not think his shipwrecks or scourgings were part of his purgation. He seems to have already been one with Christ in order to be in joy and with the Crucified One at those times. But, I am getting ahead of myself here.
"And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure" (2 Corinthians 12:7).
"Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me" (2 Corinthians 12:8).
