Most athletes who reach the professional ranks have had to demonstrate great fortitude in dealing with diversity. Whether in their personal life or their athletic experience, they have needed to be resilient, never giving up.
Similarly, we need to show fortitude in our daily life as Catholics, especially today when facing societal challenges, attacks, and contradictions to what we believe.
The definition of fortitude is a firmness of spirit, a willingness to be able to go beyond the call of duty; to sacrifice, act on convictions, and display courage to confront personal weakness. To have fortitude is to never quit, never give up. It helps one to cope with poverty, pain/injury, and loss (including crushing athletic defeats). It is a virtue that we all need to develop through habit and training.
There are many great examples of fortitude in sports, but some who quickly come to mind are Roberto Osuna, Lionel Messi, and Rick Hansen.
For someone who has overcome poverty, look no further than Roberto Osuna, the star relief pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. The 22-year-old devout Catholic had to drop out of school at the age of 12 to help support his family as a vegetable picker in Mexico.
They lived in an extremely poor and dangerous part of the country where the drug trade was rampant. His baseball opportunities were slim. Despite these obstacles, Osuna never gave up and at the end of his work day he would practise pitching with his dad. Within eight years he became the youngest closer the Blue Jays have ever had, and in the playoffs he became a national hero in Canada.
Lionel Messi is considered by many soccer fans to be one of the best players ever to play the beautiful game. His scoring feats for Barcelona and internationally for his native Argentina are legendary.
He also has shown incredible fortitude from a very young age when he was diagnosed with a hormone deficiency that restricted his growth. He had to take nightly hormone injections. He struggled with numerous other health challenges but with the help of his Catholic faith and a steely determination, he worked through the pain to eventually play for the famous Barcelona team at the young age of 16.
He has set numerous records and won numerous international awards. Due to his difficult youth, he has used his fame to become a global child health and welfare advocate.
Stories of persevering after suffering tragedy are always inspiring. Catholic Athletes for Christ speaker Rich Donnelly continued to press on in baseball after the death of his daughter. This year we saw the diminutive Boston Celtic guard Isaiah Thomas fight through the loss of his sister in a car accident just one day before an important playoff game.
Local legend Rick Hansen became a paraplegic after a terrible accident in which he was thrown from a truck. The accident could have ended a promising sports career, however Hansen ultimately responded by creating the Man in Motion tour, travelling around the world to help raise funds for spinal cord research. He rolled around the globe in his wheelchair, racking up tens of thousands of kilometers.
The late Terry Fox similarly ran across much of Canada to help fight cancer after losing a leg to cancer, the same cancer that returned during the run and claimed his life.
The never-give-up attitude shown by these two men is the true definition of fortitude.
Even within competition individuals and teams need to show fortitude. In tennis, for example, a player needs to learn to fight through bad line calls, an opponent acting badly, a minor injury, bad weather or court conditions, fatigue, or hitting a terrible shot. You have to learn to bounce back.
The very experience of losing can be very difficult to bounce back from. We’ve all had bad losses that discourage us from wanting to try again. But successful people have all suffered many setbacks. Like them, we mustn’t live in fear of failing but instead see the next opportunity to compete as a chance to improve.
Fortitude is always seen as a positive quality. When watching a movie, don’t we all admire the character who fights through long odds to accomplish what is right and good? In sports and in life, you can prove to yourself that you have the ability to bounce back with fortitude.
Start small by listing at the end of the day any setbacks you bounced back from in your faith, work, school, sports, or relationships. Reward yourself if instead of giving up you showed fortitude a certain number of times in a week. Set goals, see the positives, and above all, don’t run away or quit.