Reflecting on the book of Genesis (2:25), John Paul II writes:
The human body, with its sex – its masculinity and femininity – seen in the very mystery of creation, is not only a source of fruitfulness and of procreation, as in the whole natural order, but contains “from the beginning” the “spousal” attribute, that is, the power to express love: precisely that love in which the human person becomes a gift and – through this gift – fulfills the very meaning of his being and existence. (TOB 15:1)
Only when we learn to die to ourselves, trust in the Lord and become true gifts of self to one another can we hope to bear good, sweet and ripe fruit. What happens when sex is self-serving rather than self-giving? Jenny talks about the rotten fruit that grows on the evil tree of selfishness:
When sex ceases to be primarily about the gift of self, (and, consequently, the gift of life) it becomes primarily a means to self-gratification. And everyone deserves to be gratified. To be satisfied. To be happy. It’s one of the last remaining ‘virtues’ we seem able to agree upon as a culture: happiness. Except sometimes one person’s version of ‘happiness’ turns out to be tantamount to another person’s version of ‘hell.’
By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them. -Matthew 7:16-20