Right now, this very moment, you are being shaped. In fact, having read that last sentence, you will never be the same person again. Oh, look there, I did it again. I am molding you with my every key stroke. (BWAHAHAHAHAHA).

Of course this is true for every piece of information your senses take in. You are constantly being changed and affected by what you come in contact with. Every moment of your life you’re slightly different than the moment before. You change. See? You’re a different person now. And still different now. And even if that single difference verges on insignificant, it is the sum of those differences that end up making you who you are.

In the Christian life, this change is also called conversion. Working out our salvation. The journey. Life. It’s a good thing…as long as it is forming - not deforming - us into the people we were made to be.

I may not get to choose all of the things that shape me in life, but I do get to choose a lot of the important ones. For instance, who I hang around with. What shows I watch on TV. What books I read. What music I listen to. How hard I work. How often I pray. How often I frequent the sacraments. How much time I spend on Facebook. What blogs I choose to regularly read. What news sources I depend on. Who I follow on Twitter. Who I allow into my email inbox. How I spend my time on the computer.

All of these things (and endless others) in my life build the machine that molds a Matthew Warner. And the kind of fella that pops out at the end of my life will largely be a product of these choices…these habits.

The world is in the midst of the blitz of the Information Age (and beyond). Humans are bombarded with more information than ever before in history. It is no longer a small factor in our formation, one that we can afford to passively accept. More than ever before, we must make proactive choices about what information we allow to wear daily on our souls.

Every little thing we touch changes us. It either sharpens us, or it dulls us. It builds us up. Or it breaks us down. Take control of the process. Surround yourself with information and influences that will help turn you into a saint.