comparison of the garments being girt, is taken from the custom of Eastern nations that use long garments; and when they are about to go on a journey or to walk, they gather up their garments and gird their loins, lest their garments should be in their way. Hence it is said of the angel Raphael, who had come as a guide to the younger Tobias: " Then going forth, found a beautiful young man, standing girded, and as it were ready to walk." (Tobias v. 5.)
And according to the same custom of the Orientals, St. Peter writes: " Wherefore, haying the loins of your mind girt up, being sober, trust perfectly in the grace which is offered you," &c. (1 Epist. i. 13.) And St. Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians says: " Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth." (i. 14.)
Now, to have our "loins girt," signifies two things: First, the virtue of chastity; Secondly, a readiness to meet our Lord coming to judgment, whether it be the particular or the general judgment. The holy fathers, St. Basil, St. Augustine, and St. Gregory, give the first explanation. And truly, the concupiscence of the flesh, beyond all other passions, doth greatly hinder us from being ready to meet Christ; whilst, on the other hand, nothing makes us more fit to follow our Lord, than virginal chastity. We read in the Apocalypse how virgins follow the Lamb "whither soever he goeth." And the apostle saith:
