Watch: Q&A with Father Joe

How can a young wife cope with the grief and pain of unexpectedly losing her husband in the run up to Christmas? That’s just one of the questions put to Father Joe Krupp in the latest edition of the "Q&A with Father Joe" video podcast.

“I say this as someone who has suffered a lot of loss on his life, he [Jesus] is weeping with you,” said Father Joe, explaining how the Incarnation of Christ saw God take on our human nature, including grief, and transform it.

“The first time Jesus cried, tears became holy. The first time he laughed, laughter became holy. In the same way that Adam and Eve’s sin sent this bomb, with ripple effects, that changed everything – so the moment that Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb changed everything, changed humanity as the divine now entered the equation.”

“So, instead of making death disappear, he [Christ] entered death and changed death, he entered grief and changed grief.”

“So I ask Jesus to bless you and heal your broken heart, and I encourage you: don’t give up on the Lord, you yell at him, you get it out there, and he’ll meet you there, not in anger but as someone who wants you whole more than you could ever want to be whole.”

A native of Montrose, Father Joe Krupp was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Lansing in 1998. He has since served in parishes in Lansing, Ottisville, Jackson, Adrian, East Lansing, Hudson, and Manitou Beach. He is currently the Pastor of Holy Family in Grand Blanc and St. Mark’s in Goodrich.

Father Joe has written for FAITH, the official magazine of the Diocese of Lansing, since its inception in 2000 and his column “In the Know with Fr. Joe” is one of the publishers most popular and most syndicated articles.

Fr. Joe’s first book, “Smart Answers and Bad Jokes from a Priest Who Proves that God Has a Sense of Humor” is currently available on Amazon.

* Want to send a question to Father Joe? Just click on the link to the Church of the Holy Family Facebook page l and submit your question there.