In this section, Wojtyla address the justification of the whole sexual behavior of man in the eyes of God. He explains:

“Justice is universally recognized as a cardinal and fundamental virtue, since without it human beings can have no ordered communal life. When we speak of justice towards God we are saying that He too is a Personal Being, with whom man must have some sort of relationship. Obviously this position presupposes a knowledge and understanding of the rights of God on the one hand and the duties of man on the other.

“God is Creator and man is His creature. The ‘essences of all creatures derive from Him and reflect the eternal thoughts and plans of God.’ Faith founded on revelation discloses to us that God is Redeemer, and God sanctifies man by Grace. The personalistic norm has its fullest justification and ultimate origin in the relationship between God and man. This is exemplified in the commandment to love: ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul, and thy neighbor as thyself.’”

Luisa commented that if we do love the Lord this way, we can become the true persons we were created to be and can judge lovingly, in our completeness (but we must be in union with the Creator to judge lovingly). Emily added, if someone insults you, what do you do? We are called to love as He loved. Tata observed that in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus asked: How can you love me if you don’t love your neighbor, and He said: Make peace with your enemy. Juan brought up the passage in John which says “you’re a liar if you say you love God and not your enemy.” Laura added that this is impossible without God. Emily said that this is where love and mercy come in. We don’t deserve to be forgiven. Love (with mercy) is more than justice.

True religion consists in justice towards God. Man is fully aware of God’s love, understands God’s claim on his person, and sees the extent of human obligation towards God. “Man is just towards God the Creator when he recognizes the order of nature and conforms to it in his actions.” We have an obligation towards God. Peter remarked how this is manifested through our daily spiritual life. No one has more responsibility than the Pope, Peter said, yet he finds time to pray throughout the day. Sean quipped that he gets to pray on the job. Laura remarked that we have so many distractions today, so it is not always easy to see God’s love. This is why we really need prayer time, to pull away a little.

But “man, by understanding the order of nature and conforming to it in his actions, participates in the thought of God, becomes particeps Creatoris,” and shares in His laws. Sean remarked that justice means giving someone their due, while love means more than this. Juan added that justice can be seen on a legalistic level, but love intensifies justice because it is personal, not just legalistic.

Alberto said that this brings to mind the whole question of the dignity of man. Justice presupposes that you are respecting a person for what they are. If you recognize the true person, justice would be very demanding. Anushree added that even giving a person his due can be very demanding and can require love, e.g., dealing with a difficult person at work. You must think: I love God, so I’ll give you your due.

Justice towards the Creator comprises two elements: 1) obedience to the order of nature and 2) emphasis on the value of the person. Wojtyla concludes: “Man can only be just to God the Creator if he loves his fellows.”

This principle has special relevance to the conjugal and sexual life of men and women. It is impossible for a man and woman to behave with justice towards God if they do not respect the personalistic norm towards each other. “Justice towards the Creator therefore demands above all respect on man’s part for the personal order. And love is a very specific manifestation of that order, reflecting in a special way the essential nature of God... ‘God is Love’. (John, 4:8)”

Sean suggested that there is a natural form of justice and also a supernatural form, which involves self-giving love. If we don’t realize this dimension, he said, we’re selling ourselves short.

Wojtyla explains that in the natural world, sex is connected with reproduction, but because men and woman are persons, they consciously take part in the work of creation. For this reason, it is impossible to compare marital life with the sexual life of animals which is completely governed by instinct. Justice towards the Creator is inseparable from responsibility for love; this makes necessary the institution of marriage. “A man and woman fulfill their obligations to God the Creator only when they raise their relationship to the level of love, to the level of a truly personal union.” Only then are they truly particeps Creatoris. He concludes: “Unwillingness for parenthood in a man and a woman deprives sexual relations of the value of love, which is a union on the truly personal level, and all that remains is the sexual act itself, or rather reciprocal sexual exploitation.”