Catholic interpretation of 1 Corinthians 3: fire = purgatorial fire that purifies the believer

The Catholic reading is: when we die we are unready for God's presence. The 'fire' in v. 13-15 is purgatorial fire (possibly literal, more likely symbolic) that cleanses and purifies. Since Scripture elsewhere uses fire as a purifying image, 'saved as through fire' = being purified in purgatory. Mike acknowledges this is a thin interpretation that doesn't go much deeper than the presence of the word 'fire.'