Why Christian meditation requires humility

When meditating in the Christian tradition, truths come to light that confront the state of our own soul, requiring us to acknowledge our own weaknesses.

Meditation might seem like an easy activity to engage in, but in truth, meditation can often leave us feeling uncomfortable.

God often uses our time of meditation to reveal to us our own inadequacy and need of conversion.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains how this happens in meditation:

To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality.
CCC 2706

Meditation does not consist of only reading a spiritual book, but letting the truths of that book sink in and apply to our lives.

This can be difficult for us, but the key is to be humble:

To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that stir the heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to come into the light: “Lord, what do you want me to do?“
CCC 2706

Humility is a basic requirement of Christian meditation, as it forces us not only to look critically at ourselves, but also to be open to God’s will.

God might be trying to speak to us through our subject of meditation. In order to hear his voice, we need to be humble and open to his interior movements.