A certain group of people I’ve known or noticed over the years are among the ones I will be happiest to see in heaven someday.

They are the ones who wail uncontrollably, who beat on themselves with non-physical rocks, who throw themselves into intangible fires, and otherwise suffer with noticed or unnoticeable mental and emotional anguish.

I love to recall the man from the tombs in the Gospels. Jesus expelled the many demons who tormented him, and then the villagers were astounded to see the man “sitting there clothed and in his right mind.” (Mark 5:15) What a relief that must have been for that man! What a relief and joy it will be for all the folks in heaven who so suffered here on earth.

Come to think of it, I’ll be relieved to be done with the various fears and anxieties, the dismal thoughts that want to settle in, the subtle but gnawing worries that chew on me at times. I think all of us suffer from fears large and small that turn out to be rather irrational. Even Mark Twain commented about his hundreds of worries, and added that one or two of them actually happened!

Aside from the physical/chemical imbalances that can cause such burdens, at times we are perhaps our own worst enemies, settling into a pattern of victimhood. But not all of our mental and emotional problems originate in ourselves. Evil spirits do exist and do seek to derail our progress toward God and holiness. Whispers of doom that tempt us to turn away, run away and stay away from some good work that needs doing are certainly in their evil bag of tricks.

But even without that outside influence, an arsenal of niggling doubts is likely present in our own “how to drive myself crazy” storehouse.

But God is greater — far greater — than we are, and much more powerful than the worst evil. Just knowing that can give us hope for the future.

God’s peace is noted in the Bible as being beyond all understanding in part because it can unexpectedly calm us in the midst of trials. God even can banish fear from the hearts of martyrs so they can face life-ending evil with a supernatural, genuine and self-giving courage.

So, how can we tap into God’s wonderful assistance as we wade through the inner minefields on this side of heaven? Hey, if anyone has a foolproof way to pull His graces down, let me know! How handy that would be to have a formula or method that always brought us good results.

But ... it is not fair for us to wish for such a way.

Deposit-coins-and-push-a-button works for soda machines, but our amazing Lord is someone, not a something.

Consider that we don’t want to be approached by children or grandchildren as simply a source for money and gifts. Certainly the One who created us is not thrilled when we treat Him like a mere medicine cabinet or refrigerator.

Still, there is hope. God’s saints proclaim that He is generous. Jesus says that He “does not ration his gift of the Spirit.” (John 3:34)

So why don’t we get flooded with graces that we seem to need? There may be several reasons, some of which we can work on. For example, God told one of the St. Angela’s that she needed to make of herself a capacity so that He could flow into her like a torrent.

Most of us are not competent when it comes to making room for God within ourselves. Usually we attempt to fill spiritual emptiness with the good things of the earth — and sometimes with things that are less-than good. Pushing out the latter from our lives helps, but some of the good stuff has to go as well. Giving up those lesser goods can make us ready to receive the greater goods of God.

At some point, though, we realize that God will give us what He wants to give us. He has the right to be in charge of His gifts. He has His reasons for giving supernatural relief to some and not to others. Always, His reasoning is superior to ours.

But whether He chooses to heal us on earth or not, all who come to heaven will be healed — even more completely than the man from the tombs.

It is going to be awesome!