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Generic vs. Divine Love
Love is one of the strongest forces in human life. It shapes relationships, influences choices and helps us understand ourselves. While authors describe love in emotional or poetic verbiage, science tells us generic love has biological foundations. Romantic love, family love, and friendship all activate the brain’s 'reward system,' which releases the hormone dopamine—the chemical linked to motivation and connection. What if love is not only emotional or romantic? In our faith, many patients choose to unite their suffering in union with the suffering of Jesus Christ. This raises important questions.
The brain's reward system
Several brain areas work together to release dopamine. Dopamine is not just a “pleasure chemical.” It helps the brain learn what is meaningful. It encourages us to repeat actions that bring connection, comfort and purpose. When someone invests their time in a loved one or receives a kindness, dopamine strengthens that bond. Ergo, neuroscientists believe that all forms of love—romantic, friendly, or spiritual—involve dopamine. It is the final step in the brain’s process of reinforcing love. Or is it?
Empathizing with Jesus
CS Lewis explains 4 types of love: affection (storge), brotherly (filial), romantic (eros) and charitable (agape). Yet, not all love-types are the same in our brains. It is illogical to apply the pleasure or reward pathway the charity of uniting our suffering with Christ's. More applicable is the empathy pathway. Empathy is the ability to feel another persons' actions. Neuroscientists believe empathy is supported by the Mirror Neuron System (MNS). MNS brain neurons activate, as evidenced on functional (f) MRI, PET, EEG, etc when another performs actions that we ape: smiling, sadness, crying, etc. If a Christian reflects on the suffering of Jesus, the MNS brain pathway unites us to His pain and purpose. We feel compassion, closeness and a desire to share in His mission of love. In this way, empathy appears to be the door to spiritual, divine and unconditional Love.
Brain Pathway for Empathy
A second brain pathway involved in spiritual love is theorized as the Default Mode Network (DMN). Via f-MRI, the brain DMN activates when we think of our memory, our understanding and our will. The DMN is where we reflect on who we are and what our lives mean. When we unite our suffering with Christ's, we not only empathize, we shape our identity with His. We weave our pain into His love story, sacrifice, and redemption (John 3:16). The DMN helps us connect personal suffering to deeper spiritual meaning. While dopamine is the output, inputs come from empathy, identity and certainly not, pleasure.
Jesus asks us to bear fruit
Based on the type of love experienced, multiple brain pathways are employed and not all are understood. In addition, we are aware of 50 hormones of the hundreds+ that probably exist. All cerebral pathways that lead to dopamine production are supplemented by hormones of God's choosing. As hormones are applied, romantic love begins with attraction based on pheromones. Family love begins with protection and care from oxytocin. Spiritual love, if uniting our suffering with Christ, begins with empathy and a rich blend of cortisol, if based on a greater identity rooted in faith. Ergo, the dignity and depth of patients seeking redemptive suffering cannot be based on pleasure but on empathy and agape, which is a desire for something greater than ourselves. How does this bear fruit?
Scientifically, all of the above has been grossly oversimplified. Yet, knowing how our brain supports different kinds of love helps us see how love is hormonal, biological, personal and divinely spiritual when suffered with Christ. It transforms pain into a contagious love which is greater than happiness and comfort. Like Mother Mary at the base of the cross, love is about standing with others in their struggles, grounded in compassion, even when it costs everything. Every tear from Mother Mary nourished His holy orchard.
Sources
Science cannot explain suffering. As Lay Passionist and nurse, she challenges modern health care assumptions; contraception, abortion, euthanasia, herd immunity and more. Behind every health dilemma, God asks us to abide in Him. Author of 7 books & >20 peer-reviewed nursing journal articles; she also writes as "The Catholic Nurse" on Substack, see "Archives." She is a veteran of the Army Nurse Corps. Her primary charism is mercy through which she explores redemptive suffering, spiritual healing and the joy of bringing of souls to God.
