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I built out a little search page, which you can reference from the menu above. I think it turned out pretty sweet!
I don't understand why PHP garners so much criticism. Truly bizarre. It's a Free Software language, which runs on every platform under the sun; it has a very simple syntax, can be learned in minutes, yet is full-on object oriented as well if you want to go that route; it has a thriving community with great documentation, and with tons of posts on places like Stack Overflow; it's fast, as evidenced by the myriad huge websites running on WordPress; and best of all, it doesn't needlessly change all the time like vendor-controlled languages-- the same PHP code I wrote in 2003 still runs today.
In the case of this site, I have a nice data access class, which has all of the methods to do CRUD operations against the backend. With two lines of code I can load in my site configuration plus instantiate that class-- and from there, it's just a matter of building a little bit of logic into the page PHP files to get the behavior I want. Finally, I just map the relevant data to the corresponding Smarty template for that page, then simply wire up the template. It's all fast, simple, secure, and has a great separation of concerns.
To Lapsed Catholics
I think a lot of lapsed Catholics stay away due to shame; they have this feeling that they've dug themselves into this huge pit with their sins-- and the ideas of trying to dig out, or to ask for the Lord's mercy, or to surmount thoughts of "I can only return if I'm going to be perfect, and I'm not ready to change my life that way", are perceived as such huge hurdles-- subconsciously or otherwise-- that people wind up severing their connection with the Church altogether, without even attempting to run the race.
But to those people I say, God's mercy is literally infinite! There is no hole too deep, God can drop down as big of a ladder as you need-- all you need to do is grab the rungs and start climbing.
What does that climb look like? First, write down whatever it is that you feel is preventing you from having that relationship with the Lord. Second, take that list of sins, go to Confession, and talk to the priest about your list, and what's weighing on your mind-- ask him for guidance and advice; you can kneel behind the screen, the priest won't even know who you are. Remember, priests have heard everything already, so you won't shock them. Third, go to the Holy Mass afterwards, and receive the Eucharist. You can sit way in the back if that makes you more comfortable. Give your hardened heart a chance to soften. Remember that God loves you more than you can literally even imagine.
After that, try your best not to sin-- try to root out and stop whatever caused you to feel the shame in the first place. But if-- or when, let's be honest, it's difficult to reverse course on what may even be a life-long habit or lifestyle or issue-- you slip up, remember that we are all sinners: God knows we're not perfect-- if we were perfect, we'd be Him! Every single person walking on the face of this Earth has their own struggles and sins that they deal with, daily.
Just because you've sinned or had a slip-up doesn't mean you can't have that personal relationship with Jesus, or be part of the Church-- in fact, it's just the opposite! When we sin is when we need God the most! God is that father who wants nothing more than to wrap His giant arms around you and give you absolute love, security, and mercy-- all you need to do is ask Him! If you sin, go to Confession and receive the Eucharist at Holy Mass again. Over time, you'll find yourself feeling better and better, in the fullness of God's light.
How do I know this? Because I walked this path! It wasn't easy, and was actually a little scary at first-- but as soon as the priest said "I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", I cried because it felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted off of my shoulders. This is a personal testimony, and I hope it's helpful to others.
I don't understand why PHP garners so much criticism. Truly bizarre. It's a Free Software language, which runs on every platform under the sun; it has a very simple syntax, can be learned in minutes, yet is full-on object oriented as well if you want to go that route; it has a thriving community with great documentation, and with tons of posts on places like Stack Overflow; it's fast, as evidenced by the myriad huge websites running on WordPress; and best of all, it doesn't needlessly change all the time like vendor-controlled languages-- the same PHP code I wrote in 2003 still runs today.
In the case of this site, I have a nice data access class, which has all of the methods to do CRUD operations against the backend. With two lines of code I can load in my site configuration plus instantiate that class-- and from there, it's just a matter of building a little bit of logic into the page PHP files to get the behavior I want. Finally, I just map the relevant data to the corresponding Smarty template for that page, then simply wire up the template. It's all fast, simple, secure, and has a great separation of concerns.
To Lapsed Catholics
I think a lot of lapsed Catholics stay away due to shame; they have this feeling that they've dug themselves into this huge pit with their sins-- and the ideas of trying to dig out, or to ask for the Lord's mercy, or to surmount thoughts of "I can only return if I'm going to be perfect, and I'm not ready to change my life that way", are perceived as such huge hurdles-- subconsciously or otherwise-- that people wind up severing their connection with the Church altogether, without even attempting to run the race.
But to those people I say, God's mercy is literally infinite! There is no hole too deep, God can drop down as big of a ladder as you need-- all you need to do is grab the rungs and start climbing.
What does that climb look like? First, write down whatever it is that you feel is preventing you from having that relationship with the Lord. Second, take that list of sins, go to Confession, and talk to the priest about your list, and what's weighing on your mind-- ask him for guidance and advice; you can kneel behind the screen, the priest won't even know who you are. Remember, priests have heard everything already, so you won't shock them. Third, go to the Holy Mass afterwards, and receive the Eucharist. You can sit way in the back if that makes you more comfortable. Give your hardened heart a chance to soften. Remember that God loves you more than you can literally even imagine.
After that, try your best not to sin-- try to root out and stop whatever caused you to feel the shame in the first place. But if-- or when, let's be honest, it's difficult to reverse course on what may even be a life-long habit or lifestyle or issue-- you slip up, remember that we are all sinners: God knows we're not perfect-- if we were perfect, we'd be Him! Every single person walking on the face of this Earth has their own struggles and sins that they deal with, daily.
Just because you've sinned or had a slip-up doesn't mean you can't have that personal relationship with Jesus, or be part of the Church-- in fact, it's just the opposite! When we sin is when we need God the most! God is that father who wants nothing more than to wrap His giant arms around you and give you absolute love, security, and mercy-- all you need to do is ask Him! If you sin, go to Confession and receive the Eucharist at Holy Mass again. Over time, you'll find yourself feeling better and better, in the fullness of God's light.
How do I know this? Because I walked this path! It wasn't easy, and was actually a little scary at first-- but as soon as the priest said "I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", I cried because it felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted off of my shoulders. This is a personal testimony, and I hope it's helpful to others.