Dima Chebib fulfilling one of her dreams: meeting John Paul II

On Christmas Day 1999, as the Jubilee year was just getting underway, I received a beautiful gift from God that changed my whole life. I was on a pilgrimage in Rome accompanying a lay Movement that I didn´t know very well. A friend, who happens to be a member, gave me a good dose of encouragement inviting me to come along. He told me: "Don´t worry, they are so nice and you will remember those two weeks with them in Rome for the rest of your life.."

Like all the Lebanese, I love the Holy Father very much. After he visited my country in May of the year 1997, John Paul II inspired us to work hard for the Kingdom of Christ in our region of the world. We received many graces during and after his visit so I was more than willing to see him again. If this was not enough, tacking on an opportunity to visit Rome for the first time provided plenty of motivation, especially because I am an architect.

Upon arrival to the eternal city, a number of priests and women where waiting for us. I soon realized that they where all consecrated to God! The consecrated women were so kind and helpful that they made every day in our pilgrimage better than the last. At first I was amazed by the architecture, the sculptures, the paintings, ... but afterwards my focus was more and more fascinated by these consecrated women and their life in the Movement. Their testimony was constantly inspiring me in new ways because they lived such a delicate charity while spreading a contagious happiness!

Our Lord gave me the grace to meet the Holy Father and to talk with him. I had prayed to God for this grace and as our Lord taught us: "Ask and you shall receive..." The gift which I had been longing for was providentially placed in my path without me really realizing it at the moment; the gift of my encounter with the Regnum Christi Movement that changed my whole life. The Movement helped me to wake up from a coma that had lasted a long time!

During our pilgrimage, we visited the Quo Vadis, where Jesus appeared to Peter while he was running away from the Romans who wanted to kill him. Peter was afraid and didn´t want to die just yet. In that place, I felt that Jesus was upset with me because, like Peter, I wasn´t willing to say YES to everything he was asking me to give.

After two weeks in Rome, I returned to Lebanon but my heart was still in Rome. I wanted to learn more about the Regnum Christi Movement so I began surfing the Web while chatting with a friend. I knew that Regnum Christi had something special in store for me and I believed that my place in the Church was within this Movement, which would help me to grow in my relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. I didn´t grasp all of its charism or its spirituality but the testimony of its members was clear enough for me. I wrote to the consecrated women asking for guidance and shortly thereafter I received some letters of Nuestro Padre to read: Time and Eternity and Gospel Charity. My love for the Movement and its founder grew through these letters. A few weeks later, I decided to become a co-worker, giving a year of my life to serve the Lord. This was the best decision that I had ever made in my life.

I thank God for this wonderful year. I have received so many graces, especially that of coming to know and love Jesus in a personal way. My life became a big house in need of hard work but I chose the best Architect to do it. Jesus began to build my life much better than I could. Moments of prayers became a strong foundation for this new structure. I realized how much I needed his graces to live as He hoped from me. I know now that God has a wonderful dream for each one of us. We discover it by fulfilling his will each day of our lives. Jesus taught me how to love and how to carry my cross out of love for him and for souls. Jesus taught me to live in a supernatural way and to always keep my eyes on heaven.

Now, after knowing him, I want to help everyone have this same experience so they can fall in love with Him as I have. At this moment, I´m in Lebanon, collaborating to establish the Kingdom of Christ in my country.

I thank God for his precious gift, which is the Movement that has formed me and helped me to grow humanly and spiritually. Thank you Lord. I love you!

Dima Chebib

Regnum Christi, Lebanon