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Happy feast of St. John of the Cross! On today’s show, Matt Swaim and Anna Mitchell welcome Kris McGregor to reflect on some of his writing and teaching. Other guests include pastoral counselor Kevin Prendergast with tips on managing stress during the holidays, and Dr. John Bergsma on what we learn about Christ and His Church from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Plus news, weather, sports and more…

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St. John of the Cross

Almighty Father,
you endowed John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial
and a love of the Cross.
By following his example,
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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RECIPES FROM RITA

Salted maple caramel sauce

Ingredients
1/3 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup whipping cream, unwhipped
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
Coarse salt – start with 1/8 teaspoon

Instructions
Put butter in pan over medium heat and cook until melted.
Pour in brown sugar slowly, whisking constantly until well mixed and melty. It will look grainy. That’s OK.
Pour in cream, whisking constantly.
Bring to gentle boil and cook, whisking occasionally, for several minutes, until it’s to your liking, thickness wise. This took about 4 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in syrup and vanilla.
Stir in salt to taste.
Store, covered, in refrigerator up to 3 weeks, and warm before using.
Switch it up!
Leave salt out.
Swap out vanilla with a couple splashes of bourbon or rum.

Simple hot fudgy chocolate sauce
A riff on the classic hot fudge, this sauce is super fast to make, with a similar consistency.

Ingredients
1 can, 14 oz, sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
6 oz bittersweet/dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips or bars, chopped – a cup or so
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla or chocolate extract

Instructions
Put everything but in a saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until chocolate is smooth, and mixture looks glossy. Stir in vanilla.
Store, covered, in refrigerator up to 3 weeks, and warm before using.
Cinnamon hot fudgy sauce
Stir in 1/2 teaspoon or so cinnamon with milk, etc.
Gift giving tips
Pour into microwave safe jar.
Indicate serving and storing instructions on the gift label.

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Dr. Jeffrey Morrow is online at ascensionpress.com.

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