I was in a new house, home with Anne and Judith; tall, with large rooms; two stories, a large staircase. Beveled glass French doors opening onto a terrace or veranda.

But there was trouble, danger, for we discovered there were many poisonous snakes – tiny, black-and-white striped – everywhere, under the furniture, in corners.

They were tiny, but fierce and aggressive, and at first, I tried to get them out with my hands – for some reason when they bit me, or struck at me, it didn’t have much effect. But I couldn’t catch them and get rid of them.

I tried ‘fishing’ for them with some kind of bait on a string, on a stick. The tiny snakes would bite it and hang on, but still, I couldn’t get many of them out.

Suddenly, without prompting or prayer, or any other words, a long Holy Sword appeared in my right hand, dripping with fire, rippling with Holy flames along its length. I was momentarily baffled, because I thought I was supposed to poke or stab at the snakes, because they were under the furniture, in corners; but just as instantly it became powerfully clear that I was to swing the sword in a great arc, sweeping it under the chairs, sofas.

This sword went out and into the corners, in-between table legs as I swung it, so that in one or two sweeping arcs, all the snakes were killed, stuck to the end on the sword, where I could simply flick them off behind me, into oblivion. There was an ease, a power of complete satisfaction, or more like complete Peace at cleaning out the pestilence, at making the house safe.